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Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 25 June 2003
TRANSPORT
Motorways
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will make a statement on his assessment of the merits of widening motorways; [121022]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the environmental impacts of increased road building in the midlands. [121023]
Mr. Jamieson: The merits and impacts of individual proposals, including motorway widening, are assessed as part of the appraisal and decision taking process. The appraisal covers the expected impact on road safety, journey time and reliability, regeneration, accessibility, integration and the environment. Among the environmental impacts measured in the appraisal are the effects on the scheme on noise, local air quality, greenhouse gases, biodiversity, heritage, landscape and townscape. Full details are provided in the Department's Guidance on the Methodology for Multi-Modal Studies, available on the Department's website.
Vehicle Excise Duty
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many instances there were of vehicle excise duty evasion in (a) England and (b) London broken down by local authority, in each year since 1997. [121523]
Mr. Jamieson: The estimated number of vehicles evading Vehicle Excise Duty in each year since 1997 in (a) England and (b) London is as follows:
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 1,424.1 | 1,472.7 | 1,336.3 | 1,403.1 | 1,481.4 | 1,559.6 |
| London | 178.8 | 184.6 | 161.8 | 171.0 | 179.1 | 187.2 |
A breakdown of evasion by local authority area could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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CABINET OFFICE
Civil Service
Tony Wright: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office from which employment sectors outside appointments to the senior civil service were recruited in the last two years. [116829]
Mr. Alexander: Information is published annually by the Office of the Civil Service Commissioners. Their breakdown of appointments to the senior civil service through open competition is as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2000–01 | |
| Civil service | 77 |
| Other public sector | 98 |
| Private sector | 27 |
| 2001–02 | |
| Civil service | 77 |
| Other public sector | 86 |
| Private sector | 37 |
| 2002–03 | |
| Civil service | 42 |
| Other public sector | 47 |
| Private sector | 56 |
| Voluntary sector | 1 |
Since 16 July 2002 the commissioners have only collected information on open competitions for SCS top management posts as Departments were given authority to run their own open competitions for former grade 5 posts. Prior to this date they collected information on all SCS posts that were put out to open competition. For consistency this answer refers to the commissioners figures.
Ministerial Visits
Vera Baird: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will list the Cabinet Office Ministers' UK visits broken down by region for May 2002 to May 2003. [120244]
Mr. Alexander: Details of UK visits undertaken by me and Lord Macdonald of Tradeston, between May 2002 and May 2003 are set out in the table.
Visits within England are broken down by Government office administrative region. Internal meetings held at locations outside London are not included.
| Minister | Date | Engagement | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald | 12 July 2002 | Hermitage education lecture, Durham | North-east |
| Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald | 5 August 2002 | Duchy of Lancaster reception, Preston | North-west |
| Minister of State, Cabinet Office, Douglas Alexander | 9 September 2002 | Visit to Yorkshire Forward and launch of Yorkshire Grocers' website | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald | 10 September 2002 | Commonwealth Association of Public Administration event: "Getting Service Delivery Right", Glasgow | Scotland |
| Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald | 26 November 2002 | Visit to Emergency Planning College, Easingwold | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald | 29 November 2002 | Visit to Brighton College and Brighton and Hove Council | South-east |
| Minister for the Cabinet Office, Lord Macdonald | 6 December 2002 | Government Procurement Service Conference, Brighton | South-east |
| Minister of State, Cabinet Office, Douglas Alexander | 13 March 2003 | Speech on devolution, Oxford | South-east |
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TREASURY
Drug Seizures
Mrs Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the quantity of (a) heroin, (b) cocaine and (c) cannabis that escaped detection while being imported into the UK. [121680]
John Healey: The National Criminal Intelligence Service's published Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2002 estimates that around 30 tonnes of heroin and 40 tonnes of cocaine are smuggled annually into the UK. There is no estimate for cannabis.
Unpaid Carers
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many unpaid carers there are in (a) England, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Cambridgeshire and (e) Essex; and what percentage of unpaid carers are working over 50 hours per week. [120417]
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. David Ruffley, dated 25 June 2003:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many unpaid carers there are in (a) England, (b) Suffolk, (c) Norfolk, (d) Cambridgeshire and (e) Essex; and what percentage of unpaid carers are working over 50 hours per week.
- The number of people providing unpaid care and percentage of people who provide unpaid care for 50 or more hours a week as recorded in the 2001 Census is shown in Table KS08 of the 2001 Census Report on Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales, which was published on 13 February. A copy of this report was placed in the House of Commons library and is also available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Expodata/Spreadsheets/D6565.xls (Table KS08 Health and Provision of unpaid care).
- I have extracted the following figures from the published table.
| Number of people who provide unpaid care | Percentage of people who provide unpaid care, who do so for 50 or more hours a week | |
|---|---|---|
| (a) England | 4,877,060 | 20.48 |
| (b) Suffolk | 66,486 | 18.92 |
| (c) Norfolk | 81,653 | 20.62 |
| (d) Cambridgeshire | 50,673 | 17.01 |
| (e) Essex | 129,236 | 18.71 |
Source:2001 Census Report on Key Statistics for Local Authorities in England and Wales, Table KS08, ONS
Aviation Fuel
Geraint Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how much the Treasury would receive per year if aviation fuel was taxed at the same rate as fuel used by the private motorist; and how much income was received from passenger taxes in 2002–03. [121614]
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John Healey: Levying duty on commercial aviation turbine fuel in the UK at the same duty rate as that charged on ultra low sulphur petrol which is currently 45.82 pence per litre, would have raised approximately £6.3 billion in 2002–03, assuming no impact on demand or supply.
The revenue raised by the Exchequer from the Air Passenger Duty in 2002–03, as published in this year's Financial Statement and Budget Report (HC 500), is estimated to be £0.8 billion.
Credit Unions
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action he is taking to promote and develop the use of credit unions; and if he will make a statement. [121632]
Mr. Boateng: The Government support credit unions, and the role they play in providing access to affordable credit and alleviating financial exclusion. We are keen to create an environment in which the movement can grow and prosper. For example, we have undertaken a programme of legislative reform to help improve the operational flexibility of credit unions and increase the number of services they can offer their members.
We are continuing to work with the sector to see how we can support and encourage its future development.
Energy Efficiency Investment
Alan Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on delay in the instigation of the second phase of the consultation exercise on fiscal instruments to promote investment in energy efficiency. [121058]
John Healey: The Government consulted on the case for using economic instruments to improve household energy efficiency during 2002 and a summary of responses was published on the Treasury website in January 2003.
As announced in Budget 2003, having fully considered the responses the Government intend to undertake further detailed consultation on specific measures to encourage household energy efficiency shortly.
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