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18 May 2004 : Column 889W—continued
Oil Prices
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on the economy of an increase in the price of oil of $10 a barrel above base case assumptions lasting for a year with particular reference to (a) GDP growth, (b) export growth, (c) inflation, (d) unemployment and (e) the fiscal deficit. [174109]
Ruth Kelly: Such effects were discussed in Box A3 of pre-Budget report 2000 (page 153, Cm 4917).
Private Finance Initiative
Mr. Reed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects of (a) lowering the minimum threshold for private finance initiatives (PFI) projects below £20 million in the case of sport and leisure facilities and (b) increasing PFI credits to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in order to enable more PFI projects for sport and leisure facilities. [174053]
Mr. Boateng:
The Treasury is currently in consultation with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport regarding the allocation of PFI credits and
18 May 2004 : Column 890W
the establishment of an appropriate minimum threshold for PFI projects. Final decisions will be made as part of the Spending Review 2004 process.
Population Growth
Tony Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest projection of UK population growth up to 2050 is. [174350]
Ruth Kelly: The estimated population of the United Kingdom at the middle of 2002 (the latest date available) is 59.232 million. According to the Government Actuary's 2002-based projections, it is projected to increase to 65.454 million by 2050, an increase of 6.2 million (10.5 per cent).
Sealskin
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many instances of the (a) import and (b) export of (i) whitecoat and (ii) blueback sealskin and sealskin apparel, in contravention of the EU trade embargo have been discovered in each of the last three years in (A) the UK and (B) the remainder of the EU. [173213]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 4 May 2004, Official Report, column 484W.
HM Customs and Excise have not made any seizures relating to the import or export of whitecoat or blueback sealskin or apparel in contravention of EU Directive 83/129 in the last three years. Customs' central records do not include information about other member states' imports or exports.
Tax Credits
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many child and working tax credit appeals against awards have been (a) lodged and (b) heard; and how many of the appeals were found in (i) favour of the appellant and (ii) against the appellant in each of the last 12 months; [172949]
(2) what the average waiting time was from receipt of the appeal, for a child and working tax credit appeal to be heard, in each of the last 12 months. [172950]
Dawn Primarolo: Up to the end of April 2004 Inland Revenue submitted to the Appeals Service about 1,300 written appeals against tax credit decisions.
I understand from the Appeals Service that about 265 appeals had been heard by a tribunal by the end of March 2003. Others appeals were settled without a tribunal hearing, were withdrawn, struck out, not accepted as duly made or were outstanding.
The number of appeals heard by tribunals in each month to March 2004 are as follows:
(11) Rounded to the nearest 5 cases.
18 May 2004 : Column 891W
About 10 of these cases were found in favour of the appellant.
For cases going to tribunal hearing, the estimated average time between submission to the Appeals Service and the hearing is about 11 weeks.
Unemployment (Oldham, West and Royton)
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of unemployment was in Oldham and West Royton in each year since 1997. [170902]
Ruth Kelly: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave to him on 6 May 2004, Official Report, column 1737W.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Community Radio Stations
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reason community radio stations have to pay for music rights for both a radio and a restricted services licence. [171382]
Ms Hewitt: Copyright provides creators and producers of music and sound recordings with a range of rights to control exploitation of their material. This may include any communication to the public, such as in radio broadcasts delivered to any audience, either as a restricted service or otherwise; and by any technical means. The rights granted to copyright owners encourage and reward creativity and investment in the production of more copyright material for the benefit of us all. They are, moreover, necessary to comply with EC law, and are also generally required by international conventions under which UK copyright material is protected in other countries.
Advisers/Consultants
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years. [171875]
Ms Hewitt: The record expenditure for the Department, including the Small Business Service, on consultancy was as follows.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 55 |
| 2002–03 | 52 |
18 May 2004 : Column 892W
Due to a change in the Department's accounting system during 2003–04, consistent information for that year could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, as would information on our many NDPBs.
I have asked the Chief Executive of the Executive agencies to respond directly to the hon. Member.
Letter from Roger Heathcote to Bob Spink, dated 18 May 2004:
You asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how much her Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years. I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Employment Tribunals Service.
The Employment Tribunals Service has spent the following amounts on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 119,255 |
| 2002–03 | 457,757 |
| 2003–04 | 441,838 |
Letter from Claire Clancy to Bob Spink, dated 18 May 2004:
I am responding to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on behalf of Companies House, which is an Executive Agency of the DTI.
Expenditure on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years was as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 2,496,317 |
| 2002–03 | 3,700,207 |
| 2003–04 | 3,609,492 |
Letter from Desmond Flynn to Bob Spink, dated 18 May 2004:
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked me to reply directly on behalf of The Insolvency Service in respect to your question (2003/2900) asking how much money has been spent on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years.
The Insolvency Service Executive Agency of the Department of Trade and Industry spent the following amounts on external consultants and advisors in the last three years:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | Nil |
| 2002–03 | Nil |
| 2003–04 | 34 |
The £34,000 spent in 2003/04 was broken down to £18,000 on a Race Equality Impact Study and £16,000 on our Help Line.
Letter from Dr. J W Llewellyn to Bob Spink, dated 18 May 2004:
The Secretary of State for Trade & Industry has asked me to reply on behalf of the National Weights & Measures Laboratory (NWML) to your question regarding the total amounts spent on external Consultants and Advisers in each of the last three years.
Please see the total amount spent per year as listed below:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 80,290 |
| 2002–03 | 71,010 |
| 2003–04 | 68,119 |
Letter from Ron Marchant to Bob Spink, dated 18 May 2004:
I am replying to this parliamentary question, tabled on 6 May 2004, concerning how much the Department and its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on external consultants and advisers in each of the last three years.
The Patent Office response is:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 53,000 |
| 2002–03 | 69,000 |
| 2003–04 | 32,000 |
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