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4 May 2004 : Column 1480W—continued

Computer Equipment

Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Preston have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment. [169674]

Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Wigan have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment. [169357]

Ruth Kelly: The information requested is not available.

Customs Point, Coquelles

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent in each of the last three years on the manned customs point that is staffed by the UK at Coquelles in France. [169967]

John Healey: The Law Enforcement arm of HM Customs and Excise is a flexible and intelligence-led organisation which regularly reviews its resource deployments against their latest assessment of risks. Information about the deployment of Customs staff at
 
4 May 2004 : Column 1481W
 
specific locations is not available; exemption 4(b) (Law enforcement and legal proceedings) of the Open Government Code applies.

Economic Growth

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the British economy grew on average per annum (a) in total and (b) per capita in the period (i) 1992 to 1997 and (ii) 1997 to 2003. [170100]

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

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. David Willetts, dated 4 May 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much the British economy grew on average per annum (a) in total and (b) per capita in the period (i) 1992 to 1997 and (ii) 1997 to 2003. I am replying in his absence. (170100)

The UK economy grew by an average of 3.1% per annum between 1992 and 1997 and by an average of 2.6% per annum between 1997 and 2003.

On a per capita basis the UK economy grew by an average of 2.9% per annum between 1992 and 1997 and by an average of 2.3% per annum between 1997 and 2003.

Environmental Campaigns

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding he has allocated to Government departments to promote environmental campaigns in each of the last 10 years. [169770]

John Healey: Departmental Expenditure Limits are set through the bi-annual spending review process. Within these limits Government Departments are responsible for allocating funding to their full range of activities, including environmental campaigns where appropriate.

Housing (First-time Buyers)

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce additional fiscal measures to help first time buyers purchase their homes; and if he will make a statement. [169903]

Ruth Kelly: The Government keep all taxes under review and announcements of fiscal measures are a matter for the pre-Budget report and Budget.

The Government are committed to addressing the instability and major problems of housing affordability that has characterised the housing market over past decades. The Government have announced they intend to implement a programme of change to the planning system and to the delivery of development so as to improve affordability and lock in macroeconomic stability, as recommended in the Barker Review of Housing Supply, a copy of which can be found in the Library of the House.

Influenza

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people died of influenza-related illnesses in each of the last 20 years. [169326]

 
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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 Mr. David Willetts, dated 4 May 2004:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people died of influenza-related illnesses in each of the last 20 years (169326).

The latest year for which data are available is 2002. The number of deaths certified as due to influenza ¹ are given in the table below, for the calendar years 1983 to 2002. Previous analysisa,b has shown that deaths certified as due to influenza under-estimate the increase in mortality associated with influenza outbreaks and epidemics.

Calendar year	Number of deaths
1983	796
1984	346
1985	662
1986	587
1987	190
1988	285
1989	2,114
1990	791
1991	248
1992	262
1993	439
1994	62
1995	251
1996	179
1997	347
1998	129
1999	585
2000	509
2001	38
2002	38

⁽³⁸⁾ The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 487 for the years 1983 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes J10-J11 for 2001 and 2002.
a Curwen M, Dunnell K, Ashley J. Hidden influenza deaths: 1989–90. Population Trends 61 (1990), 31–33.
b Ashley J, Smith T, Dunnell K. Deaths in Great Britain associated with the influenza epidemic of 1989–90.
'Population Trends' 65 (1991), 16–20.

Office for National Statistics

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the proposed move of the Office for National Statistics office in Titchfield to Southampton, considered in submissions for the 2002 Comprehensive Spending Review, was not implemented. [164753]

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

Letter from Peter Walton to Mr. Mark Hoban, dated 4 May 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for what reasons the proposed move of the Office for National Statistics office in Titchfield to Southampton, considered in submissions for the 2002 Comprehensive Spending Review, was not implemented. I am replying in his absence. (164753)

This proposal to relocate from Titchfield was not implemented because the ONS statistical modernisation programme was given highest priority for the available resources at the time of this Spending Review.

 
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Public Liability Insurance

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average cost of public liability insurance was in each year since 1997. [169899]

Ruth Kelly: The Treasury does not collect regular information on average UK public liability insurance premium costs.

Retail Prices Index

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect of applying hedonics methodology to the Retail Prices Index; what plans he has to make further such adjustments; and if he will make a statement. [170101]

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

Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. David Willetts, dated 4 May 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the effect of applying hedonics methodology to the retail prices index and what plans there are to make further such adjustments. I am replying in his absence. (170101)

Technical issues such as hedonic methodology fall within the remit of the National Statistician. Our estimate is that the change to hedonic methods has had a minimal effect on the Retail Prices Index (RPI) with less than a 0.05 percentage point reduction on the annual rate of change.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has examined the possible use of hedonic methods for a number of items in the RPI, but has made the decision to implement the method only in those cases where it represents a significant improvement in methodology. This was the case for personal computers and digital cameras, where hedonic methodology has been implemented. However, for other goods, such as televisions, DVD players, still cameras and washing machines, the method has not shown conclusively to be an improvement and so has not been implemented.

In the future, ONS will continue to examine the use of hedonic methods on a case by case basis and intend to investigate their use for laptop computers and digital camcorders. We are not planning a blanket implementation of hedonic methods, but intend to use them only where they are proven to give a real improvement in methodology. This is likely to be mainly for high technology, fast-developing goods newly entering the RPI basket. Such goods are the most common subjects of hedonic methods in the consumer price indices of other developed countries.

Further details can be found in Adrian Ball's article 'The Introduction of Hedonic Regression Techniques for the quality adjustment of computing equipment in the Producer Prices Index (PPI) and Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP)', Economic Trends, vol No. 592, or by accessing the National Statistics website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/article.asp?ID=290&Pos=&ColRank=2&Rank=208

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