House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 27 May 2004 (pt 3)

27 May 2004 : Column 1726W—continued

Plastic Carrier Bags

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the merits of a tax on disposable plastic carrier bags. [175934]

John Healey: The Government currently have no plans to introduce a tax on plastic bags. In the UK plastic bags comprise less than 1 per cent. of the waste stream. Hence a tax on plastic bags, on its own, would be unlikely to have any significant impacts on volumes of waste. Further, the Government have a range of

27 May 2004 : Column 1727W

measures in place to tackle the problem of waste, including the landfill tax which goes some way to maintaining the principle that the polluter pays by internalising the cost of the damage to the environment caused by landfill and encouraging recycling.

An assessment of the Irish tax on plastic bags has been completed and I have placed a copy in the Library of the House.

Regulation

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether the impact assessments described in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January will be applied to existing EU legislation; and whether such legislation will be repealed if the costs are found not to justify the benefits; [176346]

(2) whether the impact assessments described in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January will include a requirement to estimate the (a) costs and (b) benefits of proposed new EU legislation; [176347]

(3) whether the simplification of the Community Acquis referred to in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January will involve (a) deregulation and (b) the removal of legal texts that are obsolete and outdated without changing their legal status; [176348]

(4) what the implementation timetable is for the (a) introduction of impacts assessments and (b) simplification of the Community Acquis referred to in the joint initiative on regulatory reform statement of 26 January. [176349]

Ruth Kelly: The Joint Initiative on Regulatory Reform was welcomed by the Spring European Council in March. Following on from this, the Competitiveness Council endorsed an initial work programme at its 17–18 May meeting, including improvements to impact assessment and review of existing legislation. The European Council has committed to return to the issue at its November meeting.

The EU's impact assessment process was introduced as part of its Better Regulation Action Plan and covers both costs and benefits of potential action. The joint initiative contains a number of measures designed to strengthen this analysis, relating to both costs and benefits. In particular, the joint initiative called for better assessment of the impact of proposals on EU competitiveness.

With regard to simplification of existing legislation, the joint initiative builds on the Commission's work under its Better Regulation Action Plan. The scope of this programme includes reform or removal of existing legislation which is in force, as well as of that which is obsolete or no longer in use.

The Government will continue to work with EU partners ahead of the November Council to take forward work in this area.

Retained Firefighters (Tax Relief)

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to give tax relief to businesses that employ retained firefighters. [176264]

27 May 2004 : Column 1728W

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keep all taxes under review and any changes will be announced as part of the normal Budget process.

Statutory Paternity Leave

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to help businesses administer the statutory paid paternity leave introduced on 6 April 2003; what targets have been set for this work; and what budget has been allocated. [176521]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue provide extensive assistance and support to employers operating the Statutory Paternity Pay scheme.

As well as paper guidance assistance is available for employers on the Revenue's internet site in a simple question and answer format.

The Revenue also send all employers a CD-ROM which contains guidance and other aids in easily navigable format.

The Revenue's, Business Support teams provide a free workshop for employers on SPP at locations across the UK. Assistance is also available on a one to one basis.

The Revenue's Employer's Helpline offers telephone assistance at hours to suit the employer.

The Inland Revenue are also working on the provision of an internet calculator for SPP.

The Inland Revenue do not set a budget or targets for assistance to employers which can be broken down between different employer obligations.

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2004, Official Report, column 150W, on statutory paternity pay, when the statistics will become available. [176441]

Dawn Primarolo: Employers will notify the Inland Revenue of the numbers of employees who have received SPP in their annual returns for the 2003–04 tax year. Those returns were due on 19 May 2004, they are received over several months and the Inland Revenue will not have completed processing them until later in the year. Employers are not required to notify us of all requests for SPP, only of payments made.

Tax Credits

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether migrants from the EU accession countries are entitled to (a) the child tax credit and (b) the working tax credit; and on what conditions. [172952]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the letter from my hon. Friend the Minister for Citizenship and Immigration sent to all Members of Parliament on 10 May 2004. A copy of the letter can be found in the Library of the House.

Unemployment (Manchester)

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth unemployment in Manchester, Central over the last seven years. [175715]

27 May 2004 : Column 1729W

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. Tony Lloyd, dated 27 May 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. I am replying in his absence. (175715)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation definitions. However, the LFS sample size is too small to give reliable estimates of unemployment in the Manchester Central Parliamentary Constituency.

ONS also compiles statistics on those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including parliamentary constituencies.

The table below gives the total number of people who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months and the number of people aged 18 to 24 who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months, for the Manchester Central constituency. The figures are annual averages for each year since 1997.

Number of people claiming JSA for over 12 months⁽²⁾

All ages Aged 18 to 24

1997 2,403 432

1998 1,691 285

1999 1,445 120

2000 1,199 49

2001 1,117 36

2002 992 49

2003 822 70

⁽²⁾ Computerised claims only.

27 May 2004 : Column 1730W

	All ages	Aged 18 to 24
1997	2,403	432
1998	1,691	285
1999	1,445	120
2000	1,199	49
2001	1,117	36
2002	992	49
2003	822	70

Youth Unemployment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many long-term youth unemployed there were in each year since 1979, broken down by constituency within each region. [175127]

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. Chris Ruane dated 27 May 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (175127)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) following International Labour Organisation

definitions.

Table 1 gives estimated of the numbers of people aged 16 to 24 who were unemployed for 12 months or longer in the twelve months periods ending in February of each year from 2000 to 2003. Comparable information is not available for earlier periods. The LFS sample size is too small to give reliable information for each Parliamentary Constituency. As with any statistical sample survey, estimates for the LFS are subject to sampling variability.

ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for local areas including Parliamentary Constituencies. Table 2 gives the number of people aged 18 to 24 years who had been claiming JSA for over 12 months, by Government Office Regions, for April each of year from 1986 to 2003. The data are not seasonally adjusted. Data at regional level are not available for earlier years.

This information is also available for Parliamentary Constituencies within each Government Office Region from the Nomis (r) database at the House of Commons Library.

Table 1: Number of people aged 16 to 24 years in long-term unemployment⁽³⁾ Government Office Regions, twelve months ending February each year from 2000 to 2003

Number

United Kingdom North East North West Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands West Midlands

2000 67 ⁽⁴⁾— 13 7 6 ⁽⁴⁾—

2001 66 6 9 5 ⁽⁴⁾— 7

2002 64 5 9 5 ⁽⁴⁾— 4

2003 61 4 9 5 ⁽⁴⁾— 4

Number

Eastern London South East South West Wales Scotland Northern Ireland

2000 ⁽⁴⁾— 9 ⁽⁴⁾— ⁽⁴⁾— ⁽⁴⁾— 9 ⁽⁴⁾—

2001 ⁽⁴⁾— 11 4 4 5 ⁽⁴⁾— ⁽⁴⁾—

2002 ⁽⁴⁾— 13 ⁽⁴⁾— ⁽⁴⁾— 3 6 ⁽⁴⁾—

2003 ⁽⁴⁾— 11 4 ⁽⁴⁾— 3 7 ⁽⁴⁾—

⁽³⁾   Refers to those who are unemployed over 12 months.
⁽⁴⁾   Sample size too small for reliable estimates.
Source:
ONS: Labour Force Survey.

Table 2: Number of people aged 18 to 24 years claiming⁽⁵⁾ Jobseeker's Allowance for more than 12 months GovernmentOffice Regions, April 2 of each year from 1986–2004

Number
North East North West Yorkshire and Humberside East Midlands West Midlands Eastern

1986 25,168 54,074 32,455 18,067 37,595 13,804

1987 18,972 45,551 28,843 15,411 31,626 11,046

1988 12,292 29,282 19,365 9,845 20,164 6,350

1989 8,758 20,495 12,191 5,978 12,002 2,822

1990 6,932 15,757 8,655 3,778 8,153 1,839

1991 6,858 17,020 9,630 5,270 9,329 3,389

1992 10,169 25,848 16,419 10,626 18,312 9,375

1993 11,602 29,651 19,854 13,914 24,469 14,352

1994 10,848 25,277 17,247 13,005 21,314 12,950

1995 9,562 20,093 14,319 10,002 16,295 9,592

1996 8,379 16,274 12,429 8,131 12,776 7,744

1997 5,947 11,815 8,743 5,262 8,621 5,199

1998 3,761 6,706 5,277 2,579 5,309 2,525

1999 926 2,100 1,138 886 2,172 698

2000 438 800 406 268 1,004 296

2001 285 531 295 220 602 198

2002 261 752 407 279 581 260

2003 221 847 349 293 436 312

2004 258 802 363 508 637 479

27 May 2004 : Column 1731W

Number

London South East South West Wales Scotland Northern Ireland

1986 33,871 17,572 14,147 19,250 37,216 ⁽⁷⁾—

1987 29,281 14,434 11,276 13,953 34,268 ⁽⁷⁾—

1988 20,753 8,022 6,506 8,686 24,414 ⁽⁷⁾—

1989 14,216 3,554 3,857 5,855 17,552 ⁽⁷⁾—

1990 8,691 2,319 2,470 3,833 13,683 ⁽⁷⁾—

1991 10,903 4,017 3,767 4,582 12,049 ⁽⁷⁾—

1992 23,225 12,362 10,071 8,399 15,709 ⁽⁷⁾—

1993 32,129 19,357 13,853 9,957 17,488 ⁽⁷⁾—

1994 30,582 17,269 11,783 9,042 15,024 ⁽⁷⁾—

1995 27,848 12,564 9,074 7,027 12,152 ⁽⁷⁾—

1996 24,657 10,002 7,623 6,246 9,815 5,636

1997 16,467 6,468 5,150 4,642 7,705 4,372

1998 8,707 2,743 2,201 2,570 4,251 3,193

1999 3,482 652 506 534 1,740 1,226

2000 1,251 285 165 209 414 725

2001 791 151 132 127 263 657

2002 1,065 202 191 155 251 559

2003 1,248 304 205 195 288 369

2004 1,410 497 265 191 338 338

⁽⁵⁾   Computerised claims only.
⁽⁶⁾   The data are not seasonally adjusted.
⁽⁷⁾   Data not available.
Source:
Jobcentre Plus administrative system.

Number
	United Kingdom	North East	North West	Yorkshire and Humberside	East Midlands	West Midlands
2000	67	⁽⁴⁾—	13	7	6	⁽⁴⁾—
2001	66	6	9	5	⁽⁴⁾—	7
2002	64	5	9	5	⁽⁴⁾—	4
2003	61	4	9	5	⁽⁴⁾—	4

	Eastern	London	South East	South West	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
2000	⁽⁴⁾—	9	⁽⁴⁾—	⁽⁴⁾—	⁽⁴⁾—	9	⁽⁴⁾—
2001	⁽⁴⁾—	11	4	4	5	⁽⁴⁾—	⁽⁴⁾—
2002	⁽⁴⁾—	13	⁽⁴⁾—	⁽⁴⁾—	3	6	⁽⁴⁾—
2003	⁽⁴⁾—	11	4	⁽⁴⁾—	3	7	⁽⁴⁾—

Number
	North East	North West	Yorkshire and Humberside	East Midlands	West Midlands	Eastern
1986	25,168	54,074	32,455	18,067	37,595	13,804
1987	18,972	45,551	28,843	15,411	31,626	11,046
1988	12,292	29,282	19,365	9,845	20,164	6,350
1989	8,758	20,495	12,191	5,978	12,002	2,822
1990	6,932	15,757	8,655	3,778	8,153	1,839
1991	6,858	17,020	9,630	5,270	9,329	3,389
1992	10,169	25,848	16,419	10,626	18,312	9,375
1993	11,602	29,651	19,854	13,914	24,469	14,352
1994	10,848	25,277	17,247	13,005	21,314	12,950
1995	9,562	20,093	14,319	10,002	16,295	9,592
1996	8,379	16,274	12,429	8,131	12,776	7,744
1997	5,947	11,815	8,743	5,262	8,621	5,199
1998	3,761	6,706	5,277	2,579	5,309	2,525
1999	926	2,100	1,138	886	2,172	698
2000	438	800	406	268	1,004	296
2001	285	531	295	220	602	198
2002	261	752	407	279	581	260
2003	221	847	349	293	436	312
2004	258	802	363	508	637	479

	London	South East	South West	Wales	Scotland	Northern Ireland
1986	33,871	17,572	14,147	19,250	37,216	⁽⁷⁾—
1987	29,281	14,434	11,276	13,953	34,268	⁽⁷⁾—
1988	20,753	8,022	6,506	8,686	24,414	⁽⁷⁾—
1989	14,216	3,554	3,857	5,855	17,552	⁽⁷⁾—
1990	8,691	2,319	2,470	3,833	13,683	⁽⁷⁾—
1991	10,903	4,017	3,767	4,582	12,049	⁽⁷⁾—
1992	23,225	12,362	10,071	8,399	15,709	⁽⁷⁾—
1993	32,129	19,357	13,853	9,957	17,488	⁽⁷⁾—
1994	30,582	17,269	11,783	9,042	15,024	⁽⁷⁾—
1995	27,848	12,564	9,074	7,027	12,152	⁽⁷⁾—
1996	24,657	10,002	7,623	6,246	9,815	5,636
1997	16,467	6,468	5,150	4,642	7,705	4,372
1998	8,707	2,743	2,201	2,570	4,251	3,193
1999	3,482	652	506	534	1,740	1,226
2000	1,251	285	165	209	414	725
2001	791	151	132	127	263	657
2002	1,065	202	191	155	251	559
2003	1,248	304	205	195	288	369
2004	1,410	497	265	191	338	338

Next Section

Index

Home Page