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20 Oct 2003 : Column 392W—continued

Correspondence

Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Totnes of 15 July concerning Mr. Ron Warner of Stoke Fleming, South Devon, acknowledged on 17 July (ref:/31877/2003). [132593]

Dawn Primarolo: I replied to the hon. Member on 28 August.

Debt

Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of debt as a percentage of disposable income was (a) in general and (b) broken down by social class; and what the level of debt as a percentage of disposable income was in each of the last 10 years. [132453]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Michael Meacher, dated 20 October 2003:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question on the level of debt as a percentage of disposable income in each of the last 10 years. (132453)

The available information is shown in the table below. The data for debt (households' total financial liabilities) and disposable income (households' gross disposable income) used in the calculations are national accounts series for the combined household and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sectors. The accounts for the household and NPISH sectors are currently combined; separate estimates are not available.

Information broken down by social class is not available.

Household debt as a percentage of household disposable income

1993	106.5
1994	107.5
1995	106.6
1996	104.9
1997	104.8
1998	108.5
1999	111.7
2000	113.3
2001	116.8
2002	127.6

Equitable Life

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the timetable is for the completion and publication

20 Oct 2003 : Column 393W

of the Penrose Investigation into the origins of the problems surrounding Equitable Life; and if he will make a statement. [132872]

Ruth Kelly: The timetable for completing his report is a matter for Lord Penrose.

Lord Penrose's report will be published as soon as practicable after it is received.

Family Incomes

Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the net income

20 Oct 2003 : Column 394W

of a family with two dependent children aged 18 and 12 with a gross income of (a) £13,000 a year, (b) £13,500 a year, (c) £14,000 a year, (d) £14,500 a year, (e) £15,000 a year, (f) £15,500 a year and (g) £16,000 a year; and what assessment he has made of the sources of that net income. [132687]

Ruth Kelly: Given annual gross earnings, a single full-time earner family with two dependent children aged 12 and 18 in full time education would have an annual net household income in 2003–04 that is tabulated as follows:

£

Gross Earnings	Income Tax	National Insurance	Child Benefit	Working Tax Credit	Child Tax Credit	Total Tax Credits	Net Income
13,000	1,610	921	1,394	707	3,418	4,125	15,988
13,500	1,724	978	1,394	516	3,418	3,934	16,145
14,000	1,827	1,030	1,394	344	3,418	3,762	16,287
14,500	1,941	1,087	1,394	152	3,418	3,570	16,444
15,000	2,044	1,138	1,394	0	3,398	3,398	16,585
15,500	2,159	1,195	1,394	0	3,206	3,206	16,742
16,000	2,273	1,253	1,394	0	3,015	3,015	16,899

Industrial and Provident Societies

Linda Gilroy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many representations he has received from hon. Members regarding the audit and account provisions for industrial and provident societies. [133012]

Ruth Kelly: The Government has received a number of representations on this and other issues relating to industrial and provident societies. We are considering these as part of our ongoing work on the industrial and provident society sector.

Iraq

Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what financial provision he has so far made for the cost of the UK's contribution to (a) the conduct of active hostilities in Iraq earlier this year, (b) the provision of troops subsequently and (c) the financing of reconstruction in Iraq. [132778]

Mr. Boateng: As the Chancellor said in his 2003 Budget statement, "I can confirm that I have set aside £3 billion, in a special reserve available to the Ministry of Defence so that our troops continue to be properly equipped and given the resources that they deserve and have a right to expect." Official Report, 9 April 2003, column 271.

It is too early to provide total costs of the military campaign in Iraq. However, the Ministry of Defence estimate for the preparatory phase, up to the point military operations began, at around £700 million.

(c) In April 2003, the Department for International Development set aside £210 million for reconstruction and humanitarian work in Iraq. £154 million of this has been allocated to UN agencies, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement and NGOs. A further £60 million was set aside by the Chancellor in the Budget to support the work of the UN on the reconstruction and development of Iraq. DFID also provides 19 per cent. of European Community (EC) funding for Iraq. The total EC commitment to Iraq currently stands at £100 million.

Pensions

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer from which organisations he received representations on retirement pensions in the pre-budget consultation exercise last year, broken down by number of items received. [132660]

Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor receives representations from a wide range of organisations and interest groups on many topics which are relevant to retirement pensions. There is no central record of those making representations or of the number of items received from each of them.

Pool Re

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual premiums collected and payments made have been in each year since the establishment of Pool Re; and if he will make a statement. [132873]

Ruth Kelly: Pool Re was established in 1993. The information requested is as follows:

	Gross written premiums(£ million)	Paid claims
1993	222.1	47.6
1994	389.3	93.2
1995	195.8	86.4
1996	287.2	94.3
1997	318.8	124.9
1998	173.2	95.6
1999	50.8	42.4
2000	56.0	14.3
2001	70.8	3.0
2003	142.9	3.1
Total	1,906.9	604.8

20 Oct 2003 : Column 395W

Oil Revenue

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's revenue receipts have been on a monthly basis since January 2002 from (a) sales of petrol, (b) sales of petroleum products and (c) North Sea oil production; and if he will make a statement. [132878]

Mr. Boateng: Monthly data for all hydrocarbon oil duties and Petroleum Revenue tax receipts is available on the Customs and Excise and Inland Revenue respective websites (www.uktradeinfo.com and www. inlandrevenue.gov.uk). Information on revenue receipts from North Sea oil production is only available on an annual basis, again from the Inland Revenue website.

Tax Burden

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the projected change in the overall tax burden as a percentage of GDP for 2003–04. [132988]

Mr. Boateng: The projected change in net taxes and social security contributions as a percentage of GDP in 2003–04, as shown in Table C10 of Budget 2003, is due to a number of factors, including:

The return to trend of financial company profits from their current depressed levels;


Normal fiscal drag; and


Measures announced in Budget 2002.

Unemployment (Wirral, South)

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on levels of unemployment in Wirral, South since 1997. [132867]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Ben Chapman, dated 20 October 2003:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question regarding the levels of unemployment in Wirral South since 1997. (132867)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definition. However the survey sample size is too small to provide estimates for the Wirral South Parliamentary Constituency. ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including Parliamentary Constituencies.

In September 1997, the number of JSA claimants in the Wirral South Parliamentary Constituency stood at 1,776. The corresponding figure for September 2003, the latest date for which information is available, is 851.

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