| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
9 Jun 2003 : Column 597W—continued
CABINET OFFICE
Terrorism (Emergency Planning)
Brian Cotter: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the sources of information that are available on emergency planning in the event of a terrorist attack for members of the public who (a) are unable to access the internet and (b) are visually impaired; and if he will make a statement. [117277]
Mr. Alexander: The main source of information for the public in the event of a terrorist attack will be through the broadcasters and their full range of services.
This includes TV (with sign language or subtitles as necessary), Radio including minority language broadcasts, Teletext, Ceefax and through websites. These will provide a range of accessible options for users with hearing or sight impairments. Such arrangements are appropriate to existing and anticipated threat levels.
The core advice to the public is to "Go in, stay in, tune in" and follow the advice from the emergency services who will be best placed to decide the appropriate response.
While many people do not have access to the Internet at home, through the People's Network programme (part of the UK online initiative) the technology is available in most public libraries together with trained staff to help new users of any age or ability.
The Home Office website, www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism, has details about the nature of any threat, general guidance on sensible precautions to take for a civil emergency, and detailed information about how Government work behind the scenes to protect the public. More sources of information can be found on www.ukresilience.info.
TREASURY
Bank Regulation
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out the timetable for the introduction of
9 Jun 2003 : Column 598W
legislation to empower the Office of Fair Trading to regulate the bank clearing system; and if he will make a statement. [117717]
Mr. Boateng: The Government are closely monitoring developments in payment systems and will introduce legislation to give the Office of Fair Trading new powers to promote effective competition in payment systems as soon as parliamentary time allows.
Leisure/Hospitality Sectors
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate was of new job creation in the leisure and hospitality sector in the last 12 months. [117000]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Gardiner, dated 9 June 2003:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the rate of new job creation in the Leisure and Hospitality sectors in the last 12 months. (117000)
- There are no figures for jobs created but an indication can be obtained by comparing the annual surveys of employee jobs. The Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) gives an estimate of the number of employee jobs in Great Britain in December of each year.
- The latest year for which figures are available is 2001 and so a comparison can be made with 2000.
- Between 2000 and 2001 the ABI data shows net increases in the number of employee jobs in the 2 specified sectors of:
- (a) Leisure: 34,200
- (b) Hospitality: 45,900
- Employment data are produced according to the internationally agreed Standard Industrial Classification (SJC92). The classes which best fit the categories for which data have been asked are:
- Leisure—Division 92 'Recreational, Cultural and Sporting Activities' but excluding Sporting Activities (92 less 92.6)
- Hospitality—Sector H. This includes all short-term accommodation, restaurants, pubs and other licensed premises and other catering (all of Division 55)
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed in the (a) sport, (b) leisure and (c) hospitality sectors. [117003]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Gardiner, dated 9 June 2003:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people are employed in the (a) Sports, (b) Leisure and (c) Hospitality sectors. (117003)
- The Annual Business Inquiry (ABI) gives an estimate of the number of employee jobs in Great Britain in December of each year.
- The latest year for which figures are available is 2001.
- For 2001 the ABI data shows the number of employee jobs in the 3 specified sectors of:
- (a) Sport: 335,600
- (b) Leisure : 436,000
- (c) Hospitality: 1,656,800
9 Jun 2003 : Column 599W
- Employment data are produced according to the internationally agreed Standard Industrial Classification (S1C92). The classes which best fit the categories for which data have been asked are:
- Sport—Sporting Activities (92.6), Manufacture of Sport goods (36.4), Sale of sports goods (52.48/5), Hire of Sports Goods (71.40/1) and Physical Well-being activities (93.04)
- Leisure—Division 92 'Recreational, Cultural and Sporting Activities' but excluding Sporting Activities (92 less 92.6)
- Hospitality—Sector H. This includes all short-term accommodation, restaurants, pubs and other licensed premises and other catering (all of Division 55)
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax revenues were generated by the leisure and hospitality sector in the UK in each of the last five years; and what percentage of total tax revenues this represents. [117002]
John Healey: It is estimated that in 2000–01 tax receipts from valued added tax, income tax and national insurance contributions collected under PAYE, business rates and corporation tax relating to the leisure and hospitality sector amounted to around £25 billion, just under 7 per cent. of total Government receipts. This includes all receipts from betting and alcohol duty. This is a broad and partial estimate as information is not available on all types of tax revenues from the sector and there are also issues of classification and definition of a business with more than one principal activity, with many encompassing a wide range of activities.
Microsoft
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Government Departments have signed contracts with Microsoft; how much each contract is worth; how long each contract agreement is for; how many of the contracts require the signing of a non-disclosure agreement regarding the source code of programmes installed; and how much it would cost to terminate each of the contracts before the completion date. [116657]
Mr. Boateng: Most Departments license some desktop software from Microsoft. In February 2002, the Office of Government Commerce entered into an agreement with Microsoft under which Microsoft software was offered to Government departments at discounts reflecting the overall level of Government purchasing. The details of individual contracts between Microsoft and departments are not held centrally. However the total value of spend by departments through the central GCAT contract amounted to £29.2 million in 2002–03.
Most purchasing of Microsoft software is by outright purchase of perpetual licenses, with payment sometimes phased over a three year period. Disclosure of Microsoft source code is not a standard feature of these agreements.
Suicides
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides of (a) 16-year olds, (b) 17-year olds and (c) 18-year olds there were in each year since 1997. [117577]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
9 Jun 2003 : Column 600W
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Paul Marsden, dated 9 June 2003:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning how many suicides have been recorded for (a) 16-year olds, (b) 17-year olds and (c) 18-year olds in each year since 1997. I am replying in his absence. (117577)
- The most recent available mortality data are for the calendar year 2001. Figures for each year from 1997 to 2001 are given in the following table:
| Number of deaths by individual year of age | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 16-year olds | 17-year olds | 18-year olds | |
| 1997 | 27 | 28 | 42 |
| 1998 | 19 | 41 | 46 |
| 1999 | 20 | 37 | 57 |
| 2000 | 10 | 43 | 48 |
| 2001 | 17 | 29 | 45 |
(1) The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (1CD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989 excluding E988.8 for the years 1997 to 2000, and, for the year 2001, the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (1CD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34 excluding Y33.9 where the Coroner's verdict was pending.
(2) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |