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National Census

Mrs. Fitzsimons: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people identified themselves as Kashmiri in the latest National Census; how many did so in Rochdale constituency; and how many public

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sector bodies have requested the identification in the Census of the numbers identifying themselves as Kashmiri. [157857]

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

Letter from Len Cook to Mrs. Lorna Fitzsimons, dated 9 March 2004:

As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people identified themselves as Kashmiri in the latest National Census; how many did so in Rochdale constituency; and how many public sector bodies have requested the identification in the Census of the numbers identifying themselves as Kashmiri. (157857)

People could identify themselves as Kashmiri in the 2001 Census by writing in that response against the ethnic group question on the Census form. The number of people who thus identified themselves as Kashmiri in England and Wales is 23,197 and in the Rochdale Parliamentary Constituency, 3,489.

Two public bodies have requested information on Kashmiris specifically.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will break down the latest census results by (a) ethnicity, (b) age, (c) gender and (d) religion for the (i) Chorley constituency and (ii) total population; and if he will make a statement on population growth in Chorley. [157974]

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. Lindsay Hoyle, dated 9 March 2004:

As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking for a breakdown of the latest census results by (a) ethnic origin, (b) age, (c) gender and (d) religion for the (i) Chorley constituency and (ii) total population, and a statement on population growth in Chorley. (157974)

The information requested for both the Chorley Parliamentary constituency and England and Wales as a whole is available on the CD accompanying the published Census 2001 Report for Parliamentary Constituencies. The information for England and Wales as a whole is also available in the published Census 2001 Key Statistics for local authorities in England and Wales printed volume. Both these published volumes are available in the House of Commons Library and also on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/cennews.aspat

The National Statistics website also includes profiles of each local authority area from the 2001 Census. Further detail on the population profile of Chorley local authority, including age and gender breakdowns, is available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/pyramids/pages/30ue.asp. A more general profile of the Chorley local authority area, including information on ethnicity and religion, is available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/profiles/30ue.asp.

With regard to the population growth of Chorley, please see the answer given in my previous answer (155307) giving mid-year population estimates for Chorley local authority, 1998–2002, the most recent years for which estimates are available. These showed that the population of Chorley has been growing in recent years.

National Statistics

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the death rates for end stage renal failure in (a) England and (b) other European countries; and if he will make a statement. [159783]

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Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Paul Burstow, dated 9 March 2004:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on death rates for end-stage renal failure in England and other European countries. (159783)

Death rates for end-stage renal failure are not available as it is caused by a number of different diseases, including diabetes and infections, that damage the kidneys. Deaths will therefore be certified as due to one of these causes, so it is not possible to obtain reliable data on mortality from end-stage renal failure from the routine death registration system.

Age-standardised death rates for chronic renal failure, mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, are however available. These were 19.4 and 8.9 per 100,000 people for males and females respectively in England and Wales in 2002 (the latest year for which figures are available). Comparable figures are not readily available for other European countries.

Information on survival rates for patients receiving renal replacement therapy is available from the Euronean Dialysis and Transplant Association (EDTA) Registry. Their website address is: http://www.era-edta.org/erafset.htm

Pre-tax Family Incomes

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many families have incomes before tax of between £5,060 and £5,200; [159767]

(2) how many families have joint incomes before tax of between £50,000 and £51,380; [159768]

(3) how many families have joint incomes before tax of between £13,480 and £13,600. [159769]

Dawn Primarolo: Sample sizes from household income surveys for families with children with incomes before tax in each band are too small to yield reliable results. The information cannot be estimated from administrative data until all families with children receiving the tax credits have reported their 2003–04 income

Rubies and Jadeite

Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of (a) rubies and (b) jadeite imported into the UK was in each of the past five years. [159883]

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise are responsible for the collection of data on imports. It is not possible to identify imports of rubies or jadeite, separately from other precious stones with which they are classified.

Scottish Transport Group Dissolution Order

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what payments have been received from the Scottish Executive with respect to the Scottish Transport Group Dissolution Order; and on what dates; [160088]

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(2) how much has been received to date by the Treasury with respect to the Scottish Transport Group pension fund. [160089]

Mr. Boateng: My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Scotland announced on 13 February 2002, Official Report, column 364W a reduction in the 2001–02 Scottish Departmental Expenditure Limit of £50 million following the Scottish Transport Group Dissolution Order.

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Secondments

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what secondments (a) PricewaterhouseCoopers, (b) Deloitte & Touche, (c) Ernst & Young and (d) KPMG have made to his Department since 2001; for what (i) periods and (ii) tasks the secondments were made; whether secondments of staff from his Department have been made to those firms; and for what (A) periods and (B) tasks. [156915]

Ruth Kelly: Since 2001, the Treasury has hosted the following secondments:

Organisation	Period	Directorate
PricewaterhouseCoopers	24 June 2003 to 24 October 2003	Financial Regulation and Industry Directorate
Deloitte & Touche	8 September 2003 to date	Public Services Directorate
Ernst & Young	1 April 2003 to date	Budget and Public Finances Directorate

Since 2001, the Treasury has seconded an official to KPMG from 8 September 2003 to date, to work in their Corporate Finance Department.

Sudden Deaths

Mr. Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action is being taken on (a) recording and (b) classifying sudden and unexpected death, where no cause of death can be detected at autopsy but where an underlying cardiac condition resulting in fatal cardiac arrhythmia is suspected. [159827]

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. John Baron, dated 9 March 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the action being taken on (a) recording and (b) classifying sudden and unexpected death, where no cause of death can be detected at autopsy but where an underlying cardiac condition resulting in fatal cardiac arrhythmia is suspected. (159827)

All deaths in England and Wales that are sudden and unexpected must be referred to the coroner for investigation. It is the responsibility of the coroner to undertake any necessary investigations to ascertain the cause of death and to record the findings.

When the death is registered, the Office for National Statistics codes the cause according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Currently the tenth revision of this classification is in use. If no precise cause is identified, but the certificate states that the death was sudden, it would be classified to R96, 'sudden death, cause unknown'. If a cardiac defect was identified on the certificate, the death would be classified under cardiovascular diseases, using the most precise and accurate code available for the identified condition.

Following publication in 2003 of the Third Report of the Shipman Inquiry and the Fundamental Review of Death Certification and the Coroner Service, the Government is committed to taking forward proposals for reform of the coroner and death certification service.

Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the amount of overpayments of (a) child tax credit and (b) working tax credit made owing to official error; and if he will make a statement. [158769]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 4 March 2004]: As set out in its Code of Practice 'What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?', the Inland Revenue will accept that an overpayment should not be recovered if it arose because of their mistake and the person could reasonably have thought their award was right. The total of overpayments during 2003–04 cannot be established until awards for that year are finalised. However, the Inland Revenue may accept during the year that the test of official error is satisfied and adjust payments accordingly. The overpayment will then be finally written off when the award is finalised.

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