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11 May 2004 : Column 276W—continued
Employment
Mr. Borrow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the (a) change and (b) percentage change was in the number of full-time permanent jobs in South Ribble from 1997 to 31 December 2003; [172151]
(2) how many new jobs have been created in South Ribble since 1997. [172152]
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. Borrow, dated 11 May 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about full-time jobs and jobs created in South Ribble. (172151,172152)
While statistics of jobs created are not available explicitly, statistics from surveys enable comparisons to be made of net changes in numbers of jobs from year to year.
The attached table shows the information requested, relating to all jobs and full-time jobs in South Ribble Parliamentary Constituency for 1997 and 2002, the latest year for which information is available.
Information is not available about whether the jobs were permanent.
| Full-time | Total | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of employees | ||
| 1997 | 19,700 | 26,600 |
| 2002 | 22,100 | 30,800 |
| Change from 1997 to 2002 | ||
| Absolute | 2,400 | 4,200 |
| Percentage | 12.5 | 15.9 |
(25) Employee jobs only, not self-employed jobs.
Source:
1997; Annual Employment Survey, rescaled 2002; Annual Business Inquiry (ABI).
11 May 2004 : Column 277W
EU Insurance Mediation Directive
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the timetable is for the introduction of the EU Insurance Mediation Directive; and what consultation he has had with the insurance industry on its potential impact; [171417]
(2) what the definition is of the term insurance business as used on page five of the Financial Services Authority booklet entitled High street firms: application pack for mortgage and general insurance businesses, with regard to the introduction of the EU Insurance Mediation Directive; [171418]
(3) what measures he is putting in place to protect (a) smaller companies and (b) individual brokers in the lead up to the introduction of the EU Insurance Mediation Directive, with specific reference to costs; [171428]
(4) what the rationale is for the introduction of the EU Insurance Mediation Directive; and how consumer choice will be guaranteed under its provisions; [171429]
(5) what alternatives for a suitable regulatory body for the monitoring of the EU Insurance Mediation Directive were considered before the Financial Services Authority was appointed to this role. [171430]
Ruth Kelly: The IMD is being implemented across the EU and will come into force in the UK on 14 January 2005. The Government has consulted widely on the regulatory regime, publishing a public consultation document including draft regulations and a draft regulatory impact assessment in October 2002. Officials attended a wide range of meetings, working groups and conferences to consult on implementation. The FSA has carried out extensive public consultation on its rules.
In implementing the Directive the Government and the FSA have worked closely with the industry to design a regulatory regime that takes account of market practice, and does not load the industry and ultimately the consumer with unnecessary costs. Both the Government and the FSA have been concerned to minimise the impact on smaller firms and sole traders. The Government also largely implemented the exclusions permitted in the Directive for travel insurance sold as part of a package, and for extended warranties.
Application fees have been set by the FSA according to the volume of business that a firm undertakes, so are cheapest for the smaller firms. The FSA have developed an approach to authorisation that is as streamlined and straightforward as possible. In terms of the wider costs to firms, the FSA have published detailed cost benefit analyses, based on surveys of firms' costs and asked for comment. Where these have revealed that the costs are thought to be disproportionate and/or under-estimated, the FSA have responded in their final decisions. The UK has the largest insurance industry in Europe. Implementing the IMD is a key step in completing the single market in financial services, and will enhance consumer protection in an important sector of financial business. The UK market for selling insurance is competitive with many players giving customers wide choice, and this will continue in the new regime. Already thousands of firms have applied to the FSA for authorisation for the new regime.
11 May 2004 : Column 278W
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 set up the FSA as the single regulatory body for a range of financial services, including the regulation of insurance. The Government therefore decided the FSA, as the single financial services regulator, was the most appropriate body to regulate insurance mediation. For many firms this will simplify and streamline regulation compared to the alternative of a separate regulator for insurance mediation. Intermediaries selling a range of other financial services products, such as pensions, mortgages, or investments, as well as general insurance, will come under the FSA as a single regulator, minimising compliance costs.
The Directive requires the regulation of a range of insurance mediation activities. The activities to be regulated are introducing, proposing or carrying out other work preparatory to the conclusion of contracts of insurance; concluding contracts of insurance; and assisting in both the administration and performance of such contracts, in particular in the event of a claim. The Directive applies to such activities in relation to contracts of insurance. The FSA application pack notes that shortened terms have been used in the pack in four instances. One of them is "insurance business" and refers to "insurance mediation activity in respect of non-investment insurance contracts." Further details of the FSA's regulatory regime can be found on their website at www.fsa.gov.uk
Euro Preparations
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on which dates the (a) Standing Committee on Euro Preparations, (b) Scottish Euro Preparations Committee, (c) Wales Euro Preparations Committee and (d) Northern Ireland Euro Preparations Committee met; if he will publish the minutes of the meetings; and what the cost to public funds has been of euro preparations. [171578]
Ruth Kelly: The Chancellor's Standing Committee on Euro Preparations last met on 23 October 2003. Minutes of all Standing Committee meetings are available on the Treasury's euro website, www.euro.gov.uk. An update on the work of the Scottish, Wales and Northern Ireland Euro Preparations Committees, including the timing of recent and forthcoming meetings, was published in Chapters of the spring report on euro preparations, on 29 April 2004. Minutes of the meetings are available at www.dfpni.gov.uk (Northern Ireland), www.wales.gov.uk (Wales) and www.scottishsecretary.gov.uk (Scotland). Details of expenditure on changeover planning were included in the third outline National Changeover Plan, published on 9 June 2003. Copies of the document are in the Library of the House.
Gender Pay Gap
Mr. Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the pay gap between men and women employed by his Department and its agencies in (a) Southampton, (b) Eastleigh, (c) Winchester and (d) Romsey. [171631]
Ruth Kelly:
HM Treasury and its agencies do not have any staff employed in the locations mentioned.
11 May 2004 : Column 279W
Mr. Denham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the average earnings of (a) men and (b) women in Hampshire. [171634]
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 Denham, dated 11 May 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of the average earnings of (a) men and (b) women in Hampshire. (171634)
Average earnings are estimated from the 2003 New Earnings Survey (NES) and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for NES tables. The NES does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
The 2003 NES estimates that the total average weekly earnings of full-time adult employees in Hampshire were £549,10 for males and £399.50 for females. Please note that these estimates relate to the administrative county of Hampshire, which excludes the unitary authorities of Portsmouth and Southampton.
More detailed information on earnings in each of these areas is available in the published tables from the 2003 NES. The relevant estimates can be found in table A22.5 for males and A23.4 for females, and are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme labour/NES2003 Analyses By Region/NES2003 Analyses By Region.pdf
The NES, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in Great Britain. It is a 1 per cent. sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) schemes, but because of its sampling frame, it has difficulty capturing data on people with very low pay. It is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold.
The New Earnings Survey publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive and of reliable quality. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
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