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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reform statement of 26 January will be applied to existing EU legislation; and whether such legislation will be repealed if the costs are found not to justify the benefits; [176346]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reform statement of 26 January will involve (a) deregulation and (b) the removal of legal texts that are obsolete and outdated without changing their legal status; [176348]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]


 
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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 Colin Mowl to Mr. Tony Lloyd, dated 27 May 2004:


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

All agesAged 18 to 24
19972,403432
19981,691285
19991,445120
20001,19949
20011,11736
200299249
200382270


(2)   Computerised claims only.



 
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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:


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 KingdomNorth EastNorth WestYorkshire and HumbersideEast MidlandsWest Midlands
200067(4)1376(4)
200166695(4)7
200264595(4)4
200361495(4)4

Number

EasternLondonSouth EastSouth WestWalesScotlandNorthern Ireland
2000(4)9(4)(4)(4)9(4)
2001(4)11445(4)(4)
2002(4)13(4)(4)36(4)
2003(4)114(4)37(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 EastNorth WestYorkshire and HumbersideEast MidlandsWest MidlandsEastern
198625,16854,07432,45518,06737,59513,804
198718,97245,55128,84315,41131,62611,046
198812,29229,28219,3659,84520,1646,350
19898,75820,49512,1915,97812,0022,822
19906,93215,7578,6553,7788,1531,839
19916,85817,0209,6305,2709,3293,389
199210,16925,84816,41910,62618,3129,375
199311,60229,65119,85413,91424,46914,352
199410,84825,27717,24713,00521,31412,950
19959,56220,09314,31910,00216,2959,592
19968,37916,27412,4298,13112,7767,744
19975,94711,8158,7435,2628,6215,199
19983,7616,7065,2772,5795,3092,525
19999262,1001,1388862,172698
20004388004062681,004296
2001285531295220602198
2002261752407279581260
2003221847349293436312
2004258802363508637479

 
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Number

LondonSouth EastSouth WestWalesScotlandNorthern Ireland
198633,87117,57214,14719,25037,216(7)
198729,28114,43411,27613,95334,268(7)
198820,7538,0226,5068,68624,414(7)
198914,2163,5543,8575,85517,552(7)
19908,6912,3192,4703,83313,683(7)
199110,9034,0173,7674,58212,049(7)
199223,22512,36210,0718,39915,709(7)
199332,12919,35713,8539,95717,488(7)
199430,58217,26911,7839,04215,024(7)
199527,84812,5649,0747,02712,152(7)
199624,65710,0027,6236,2469,8155,636
199716,4676,4685,1504,6427,7054,372
19988,7072,7432,2012,5704,2513,193
19993,4826525065341,7401,226
20001,251285165209414725
2001791151132127263657
20021,065202191155251559
20031,248304205195288369
20041,410497265191338338


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




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