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23 Feb 2004 : Column 118W—continued
London City Bonds
Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the London City Bond bonded warehouse cases. [155354]
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John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Mr. Hawkins) on 12 February 2004, Official Report, columns 1552–53W.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the registered customs informants used since 1994 in the London City Bond cases. [155355]
John Healey: Consistent with long standing convention, it is not Customs policy to disclose publicly the identity of registered informants, except where necessary as part of the legal process.
Mr. Ed Balls
Mr. Kenneth Clarke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he authorised the giving of a speech by his principal special adviser, Mr. Ed Balls, in Leeds on 3 February which included comments on the policy behind setting the level of interest rates; and whether the authorisation of such a speech on the day before a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England complies with the Government's policy on the independence of the Bank and the proper conduct of monetary policy. [153775]
Ruth Kelly [holding answer 9 February 2004]: The Chief Economic Adviser's speech reiterated the Government's long-standing position on monetary policy as set out most recently by the Chancellor in his 18 June 2003 speech to the Mansion House and is consistent with the Bank of England Act 1998.
Oil/Gas Sector
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were employed in the oil and gas sector in Scotland in each of the last five years. [155472]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Peter Duncan, dated 23 February 2004:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about jobs in the oil and gas sector in Scotland. (155472)
- The table below shows the number of people in Scotland working in industries whose primary activities were described as:
- extraction of crude petroleum/natural gas
- service activities in oil and gas extraction
- manufacture of refined petroleum products
- manufacture/distribution of gas.
- Figures are provided for the years 1998 to 2002, the last five years for which data are available, and are obtained from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).
| Number of people (Thousand) | |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 26.6 |
| 1999 | 24.5 |
| 2000 | 21.6 |
| 2001 | 23.6 |
| 2002 | 22.9 |
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Private Health Care
Mr. Dobson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is regarding whether a taxpayer's contribution towards the cost of private health care should be taxable. [155106]
Dawn Primarolo: I assume my right hon. Friend is referring to the provision of tax relief for these contributions. It is not the Government's policy that tax relief for private health care costs should be introduced. The Government's belief is that the best way to fund the nation's health needs is directly through the NHS from public expenditure, and not by subsidising those people who, for whatever reason, choose to make alternative arrangements.
Recruitment Advertising
Pete Wishart: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's expenditure on recruitment advertising was in each of the last three years, broken down by publication; and what proportion of such expenditure was (a) to advertise vacant posts and (b) in the form of other general recruitment advertising. [155533]
Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Miss Kirkbride) on 14 January 2004, Official Report, columns 812–15W.
Seaside Towns
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of people in each ward in each principal seaside town in England and Wales had a limiting long-standing illness on the latest date for which figures are available, listed in descending order with Welsh seaside town clusters disaggregated; and if he will make a statement. [154950]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 23 February 2004:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning limiting long-standing illness in seaside towns. (154950)
- The latest source of information on this topic is the 2001 Census of Population and Housing. Data on the number of people with a limiting long-term illness in England and Wales was released in Table KS08 of the Census Key Statistics. The table showing information for wards in England and Wales can be viewed from the National Statistics web site at: http://neighbourhood. statistics.gov.uk/Downloads.asp?nsid=false&CE=True&SE= True&T=D&dsid=2919
- I am placing in the House of Commons Library a table that shows the figures for all wards which are situated on the coast, and ordered by the percentage of people with a limiting long-term illness. There is no definitive list of principal seaside towns so this table includes those wards in England and Wales which have a boundary on the coast.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the economic inactivity rate in the UK was in the latest month for which figures are available; what percentage of the population of each ward in each principal seaside town in England and Wales was economically inactive in the latest month for which
23 Feb 2004 : Column 121W
figures are available, listed in descending order, with figures for Welsh seaside town clusters disaggregated; and if he will make a statement. [154965]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Chris Ruane, dated 23 February 2004:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on what the economic inactivity rate in the UK was in the latest month for which figures are available; what percentage of the population of each ward in each principal seaside town in England and Wales was economically inactive in the latest month for which figures are available, listed in descending order, with figures for Welsh seaside town clusters disaggregated. (154965)
- The economic inactivity rate in the UK for people for the period October–December 2003, the latest date for which information is available, was 21.5 per cent. The data are seasonally adjusted and relate to all people aged between 16 and normal retirement age (64 for men, 59 for women).
- The most recent data on economic inactivity rates by ward are taken from the 2001 Census. They are based on the number of people aged between 16 and 74 who were retired, students, looking after home or family, permanently sick or disabled, or otherwise economically inactive at April 2001 as a proportion of all people aged 16–74 at that date. The average rate of economic inactivity at April 2001 for England and Wales as a whole was 33.5 per cent. on this basis. This figure is not on a comparable basis with that quoted above because the census based measure includes more retired people.
- Data on the number of people who were economically inactive in England and Wales was released in Table KS09a of the Census Key Statistics. The table showing information for wards in England and Wales can be viewed from the National Statistics web site at http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/Downloads. asp?nsid=false&CE=True&SE=True&T=D&dsid=2891
- I am placing in the House of Commons Library a table, which shows the figures for all wards which are situated on the coast, and ordered by the unemployment rate as measured by the 2001 Census.
Spirit Duty
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a decision on the introduction of strip stamps on bottles of spirits before the Comptroller and Auditor General completes his review of the level of spirit duty fraud. [155913]
Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the remit is of the National Audit Office investigation into Customs and Excise estimates of duty diversion on spirits; what the timescale of the inquiry to report is; and whether the Treasury will implement its plans on strip stamps before the NAO conclusions are published. [155842]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentlemen to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland on 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1554W. The Chancellor announced in the Pre-Budget Report that the Government intends to introduce tax stamps for spirits as part of a reinforced strategy, to tackle alcohol fraud. However, the Government has also invited the industry to put forward alternative proposals equally effective in tackling fraud. Detailed discussions with the industry on this issue are continuing.
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