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SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Infant Deaths

Mr. Curry: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make a statement on the progress of the Attorney-General's review into infant deaths following the Cannings Judgment. [171552]

The Solicitor-General: I would refer the hon. Member to the Attorney-General's statement, 5 May 2004, Official Report, House of Lords, column WS55.

TREASURY

Cancer

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the change in the incidence of cancer in each region since the Chernobyl nuclear accident. [171927]

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. Patsy Calton, dated 12 May 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what assessment has made of the incidence of cancer in each region since the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

The Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred on 28th April 1986. The attached table gives the incidence of all cancers in England, from 1986 to 2000 (the most recent year for which data are available), by Government Office Region.

Changes over time in the number of cancers registered are affected by many factors unrelated to the Chernobyl accident. These include historic change in smoking patterns, increased testing and screening for specific cancers (e.g. prostate, breast, cervix), and improved ascertainment by regional cancer registries.

 
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Directly age-standardised⁽⁹⁾ rates per 100,000 population of newly diagnosed cases of all cancers⁽¹⁰⁾ to residents⁽¹¹⁾ of England, by Government Office Region, 1986–2000

	England	North East	North West	Yorkshire and the Humber	East Midlands
1986	321	345	335	332	313
1987	328	333	333	334	324
1988	337	344	338	341	324
1989	337	351	344	338	322
1990	339	360	346	343	318
1991	340	353	354	344	333
1992	349	351	360	354	347

	West Midlands	East of England	London	South East	South West
1986	326	321	308	312	305
1987	328	330	326	323	323
1988	347	338	339	329	334
1989	340	330	342	332	333
1990	345	327	340	336	337
1991	350	321	338	334	335
1992	356	326	347	346	355

	England	North East	North West	Yorkshire and the Humber	East Midlands
1993	348	360	354	352	350
1994	352	359	374	355	346
1995	353	349	379	354	337
1996	351	373	379	354	354
1997	359	373	368	364	344
1998	357	394	374	360	345
1999	360	395	373	356	353
2000	361	393	375	373	355

	West Midlands	East of England	London	South East	South West
1993	357	322	336	350	359
1994	346	328	342	352	358
1995	358	337	353	354	347
1996	356	331	341	342	339
1997	349	345	372	359	354
1998	364	335	361	347	351
1999	362	337	351	352	381
2000	361	338	355	355	365

⁽⁹⁾ Using the European standard population
⁽¹⁰⁾ All cancers defined as all malignant cancers excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (International Classification of Diseases Ninth revision (ICD-9) codes 140–208, excluding 173; ICD-10 codes C00-C97, excluding C44)
⁽¹¹⁾ Figures relate to cancers recorded by English cancer registries, where the patient was identified as usually resident in England
Source:
Office for National Statistics

Coalminers' Compensation Scheme

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the National Audit Office (a) has made and (b) has been asked to make of the loss to the taxpayer from double charging by solicitors under the coalminers' compensation scheme. [170742]

Nigel Griffiths: I am not aware that the National Audit Office (NAO) has made an assessment about solicitors double charging. The NAO sets its own priorities.
 
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Customs and Excise

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what use of ion scanners is made by HM Customs and Excise. [171619]

John Healey: HM Customs and Excise use ion scanners at all main ports and airports in the UK, primarily to detect traces of prohibited Class A drugs in baggage, freight and vehicles. They also use them to train Customs officers from international partner countries in the fight against the illicit drugs trade.

Departmental Expenditure (Entertainment)

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the amount spent by his Department on official entertainment in each year from 1996–97 to 2004–05. [169008]

Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to him and the hon. Member for North Wiltshire (Mr. Gray) on 24 March 2003, Official Report, columns 60–71W.

Expenditure on official entertainment for 2002–03 was £137,000. Figures exclude expenditure on major events such as G7 meetings of ECOFIN. 2003–04 figures will be available after finalisation of the annual resource accounts.

Financial Services and Markets Act

Ian Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has to review the conduct of the scheme operated under section 225 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000; [172195]

(2) if he will order the amendment of the Dispute Resolution section of the Financial Services Authority's Handbook of Rules and Guidance to improve the speed of consideration of determinations; [172196]

(3) when he expects the review of the Financial Ombudsman Service to report; [172197]

(4) if he will make a statement on the operation of the Independent Assessor of the Financial Ombudsman Service. [172198]

Ruth Kelly: The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent organisation. In November last year, I announced the two-year review of the operation of the Financial Services and Market Act 2000. As part of that review, I asked the Financial Services Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service to review the circumstances in which the Financial Services Authority takes regulatory action instead of individual cases being determined by the Ombudsman and to consider introducing a process by which firms may appeal against Ombudsman decisions. The Financial Services Authority and the Financial Ombudsman Service plan to publish a joint consultation paper by early June.

Responsibility for setting timescale targets for the resolution of complaints is a matter for the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Financial Ombudsman Service sets out for consultation annually a draft Plan and Budget of its overall financial and workload targets, including the number of cases it expects to receive and the number it intends to resolve, overall costs,
 
12 May 2004 : Column 356W
 
productivity rates, and average timescales within which it aims to resolve cases. Cases that are not resolved within 12 months are monitored by the Board of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The role of the Independent Assessor is to carry out a final review of the service provided by the Financial Ombudsman Service, in cases where the consumer remains dissatisfied with the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Independent Assessor can investigative the Ombudsman's process and the behaviour of its staff. Disagreements about the merits of decisions are expressly excluded from his jurisdiction but is authorised to make findings and recommendations for redress in cases where he believes it is justified.

Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of Iraq's external debt. [171983]

John Healey: The latest IMF estimate suggests Iraq's external debt is approximately US$120 billion.

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of Iraq's (a) gross national product and (b) income to the state in 2004–05. [171984]

John Healey: In April this year, the Coalition Provisional Authority forecast the Iraqi Government's total revenue for fiscal year 2004 at US$14.5 billion.

Figures for Iraq's Gross Domestic Product were published in October 2003 by the World Bank and United Nations in their Joint Iraq Needs Assessment. These very preliminary estimates showed GDP for 2004 to be in the range of $15–20 billion.

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