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2 Dec 2003 : Column 30W—continued

Contractors

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what pension arrangements he requires for employees of contractors offering outsourcing services to (a) his Department and (b) its agencies; whether he distinguishes between transferred employees and those directly recruited by the contractor; and whether any of these employees can join the Civil Service Pension scheme. [141157]

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury does not seek to establish the pension arrangements their contractors have with their staff. However, where it is deemed that the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations apply, there is a need for the contractor to provide an analogous pension scheme for staff transferred to them as a result of winning the contract.

Correspondence

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 17 July from the right hon. Member for Birkenhead to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in respect of a constituent, Mr. Peter Clark of Cleveland Street, Birkenhead. [141308]

Ruth Kelly: I am sorry for the delay in sending a substantive reply to my right hon. Friend's letter of 17 July to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. I can confirm that a reply has now been sent as follows:

Letter from Ruth Kelly to Mr. Frank Field dated 2 December 2003:

Further to my letter of 4 September, I am sorry not to have replied more quickly to your letter to Paul Boateng of 17 July on behalf of your constituent, Mr. Peter Clark of McIvers, Cleveland Street, Birkenhead.

You note that McIvers are liable to pay asbestosis claims as a result of the insolvency of Chester Street Insurance Holding Ltd., and that they will not receive support from the FSCS.

The government has worked hard with the insurance industry to end the uncertainty for victims of asbestosis, and their families, whose former employers had insured with Chester Street. Those arrangements were set out in Andrew Smith's statement on 10 May 2001.

For employers, under their rules the Financial Services Compensation Scheme may be able to offer compensation for employers' liability insurance claims incurred after 31 December 1971, when insurance became compulsory. But there is no eligibility for compensation to employers before that date. If a firm is still trading and has sufficient financial resources to satisfy a claim, the firm will be expected to meet the claim itself. I understand, from the FSCS, that there is no flexibility on this point. The FSCS rules are governed by the Policyholders Protection Act 1975.

I hope Mr. Clark will find this helpful.

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Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Northavon to the Paymaster General of 3 October, regarding child tax credit compensation payments. [141543]

Dawn Primarolo: I have already done so.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 27 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Ms N.Oakes. [141585]

Dawn Primarolo: I have done so.

Debt (Late Payments)

Brian Cotter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for statutory interest payments have been submitted to private companies under the terms of the Late Payment of Debt Act 1998; how many claims were met; and what the total value was of such payments in each year since the Act has been in operation. [141594]

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has not made any claims to private companies for statutory interest payments under the 1998 Act.

Dependent Children

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of families with (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more dependent children in (i) 1973, (ii) 1983, (iii) 1993 and (iv) the latest year for which figures are available. [141497]

Ruth Kelly: This matter falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 2 December 2003:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for estimates of the number of families with (a) one, (b) two, (c) three and (d) four or more dependent children in (i) 1973, (ii) 1983, (iii) 1993 and (iv) the latest year for which figures are available. I am replying in his absence. (141497)

Published volumes from the Censuses of 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 contain information on dependent children, and are the closest years to the periods you requested for which information is available. The information is derived from a 100 per cent count for 2001. For the 1971, 1981 and 1991 Censuses, responses to some questions which needed detailed coding and were, therefore, expensive to process were processed for only a 10% sample of forms. The samples were drawn randomly. Guidance given to users for 1971 and 1981 was to gross up the figures to 100% by multiplying the sample figures by 10. In 1991 guidance was different in that users were advised to estimate 100% figures by multiplying the sample count by a sampling factor, slightly over 10 to take account of the numbers of households imputed in the 100% figures but which were not included in the 10% sample. This grossing factor varied from area to area. For households in England and Wales it was 10.2.

It should also be noted that the definition of a dependent child has varied over censuses.

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2001 Census

England and Wales	Number
Families with one dependent child	2,715,241
Families with two dependent children	2,530,569
Families with three or more dependent children	1,130,891

Source:

Table S007 Census 2001 National Report for England and Wales

1991 Census

England and Wales	Number
Families with one dependent child	2,542,554
Families with two dependent children	2,437,045
Families with three or more dependent children	1,034,158

Source:

1991 Table 13 Census Household and Family Composition

1981 Census

England and Wales	Number
Families with one dependent child	2,560,060
Families with two dependent children	2,677,460
Families with three dependent children	852,720
Families with four or more dependent children	283,830

Source:

Table 23 Census 1981 Household and Family Composition

1971 Census

England and Wales	Number
Families with one dependent child	2,513,080
Families with two dependent children	2,328,370
Families with three dependent children	983,210
Families with four dependent children	356,500
Families with five or more dependent children	184,270

Source:

Table 35 Census 1971 Household Composition Tables Part III

Domestic Wine Production

Dr. Murrison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of fiscal measures to (a) stimulate and (b) support the domestic production of wine. [141065]

John Healey: The Government are mindful of the concerns and interests of UK wine producers. The UK wine industry has benefited from duty freezes in three out of the last six Budgets and increases only in line with inflation in the remainder of these.

We have not looked at fiscal measures for all UK wine producers but we have looked at the possibility of fiscal measures that would help small UK wineries to survive and grow. However, the European Directive on the structure of alcohol duties does provides for reduced rates targeted at small breweries which we have implemented in the UK, it does not provide for reduced rates targeted at small wineries.

Even if the UK were to press for the introduction of such a scheme, it is important to appreciate that less than 1 per cent. of the wine consumed in the UK is domestically produced. Under our European and world trade agreements we could not apply such a scheme to UK wine producers only and it is therefore likely that much of the wine that would qualify would come from overseas producers, with our own small wineries receiving comparatively very little of the benefit.

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ECOFIN

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the reasons were for voting against the first reading common position of the ECOFIN Council or the Investment Services Directive; and what his key objectives are for a compromise agreement. [141200]

Ruth Kelly: On 7 October, ECOFIN Council reached political agreement on a Common Position on the proposed Investment Services Directive, by qualified majority. The UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden and Finland voted against the text put forward by the Presidency.

The Government voted against the text proposed at ECOFIN because it contained unsatisfactory elements that the Government believed meant that it would fall short of its objective of promoting an efficient, effective and dynamic single market in investment services.

The Government was particularly disappointed by the outcome on the pre-trade transparency regime for investment firms that systematically internalise client orders. It believes that the regime proposed would be a step backward for some share-trading markets in the EU, including the UK, and would be a missed opportunity to increase competition and efficiency in many markets in the EU.

The Government will continue to press for changes to the Directive, especially through the second reading process in the European Parliament. In doing so, it will focus on achieving changes to the pre-trade transparency regime for investment firms that would be consistent with the European Parliament's first reading amendments.

At ECOFIN Council on 25 November, the Government secured agreement to a Declaration, to be adopted alongside the Council Common Position, which reiterates the Council's support for adoption of the Investment Services Directive by April 2004 and, more importantly, indicates a willingness on the part of the Council to consider amendments put forward by the European Parliament.

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