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8 Jul 2004 : Column 811W—continued

Departmental Staff

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many full-time equivalent staff there have been in (a) his Department and (b) agencies of the Department in each year since 1997. [181847]

Ruth Kelly: Data on staffing levels in the Chancellor's Departments and their agencies is collated by the Cabinet Office and published in "Civil Service Statistics". Copies are available in the Library, and at www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics. The 2003 edition will be published in summer 2004.

Departmental Water Use

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the non-office sites within his Department's estates which have been identified as being likely to provide opportunities for significant water savings. [181857]

Ruth Kelly: Virtually all of the Chancellor's Department's estate is office based. There are no non-office sites within the Chancellor's Departments that have been identified as being likely to provide opportunities for significant water savings.
 
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Economic Inactivity Rates

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the 50 local authority areas with the (a) lowest and (b) highest rates of economic inactivity among the working age population; and what those rates are. [182124]

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. David Willetts, dated 5 July 2004:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about economic inactivity. I am replying in his absence. (182124)

The following table gives lists the 50 local authorities in the United Kingdom with the highest and lowest economic inactivity rates (persons neither employed nor unemployed expressed as a percentage of the total population of working age), together with the rate for each of those authorities, The data are from the Labour Force Survey and are for the 12 month period ending February 2003, the latest date for which information is available.

As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to sampling variability.

Economic inactivity rates of working age population⁽²⁾Unitary/local authority area 12 month period endingFebruary 2003

		Percentage
50 highest economic inactivity rates
1	Newham	39.9
2	Tower Hamlets	39.2
3	Manchester	34.8
4	Wear Valley	34.8
5	Merthyr Tydfil	33.8
6	Liverpool	33.6
7	Durham	33.6
8	Neath Port Talbot	33.4
9	Knowsley	33.3
10	Hackney	33.2
11	Nottingham	33.2
12	Middlesbrough	32.9
13	Blaenau Gwent	32.1
14	Barrow-in-Furness	31.6
15	Glasgow City	31.5
16	Islington	31.2
17	Kensington and Chelsea	31.1
18	Westminster, City of	31.1
19	Ceredigion	31.1
20	Leicester City	30.5
21	Haringey	30.3
22	East Lindsey	30.3
23	Newcastle-upon-Tyne	30.2
24	Caerphilly	30.2
25	Easington	30.1
26	Brent	30.0
27	Carmarthenshire	29.7
28	Rhondda, Cynon, Taff	29.5
29	Great Yarmouth	29.4
30	Barnsley	29.4
31	Hartlepool	29.2
32	Blackburn with Darwen	29.0
33	Derwentside	20,0
34	Sedgefield	28.9
35	Thanet	28.8
36	Birmingham	28.8
37	Inverclyde	28.7
38	Greenwich	28.5
39	Anglesey	28.5
40	Southwark	28.3
41	Penwith	28.1
42	Pendle	28.1
43	Halton	28.0
44	Barking and Dagenham	27.9
45	Carlisle	27.8
46	Redcar and Cleveland	27.8
47	Wansbeck	27.7
48	Kingston upon Hull	27.6
49	Bradford	27.5
50	Clackmannanshire	27.5
50 lowest economic inactivity rates
1	Forest Heath	7.4
2	Orkney Islands	8.7
3	Runnymede	9.0
4	Cherwell	9.6
5	Tandridge	9.6
6	Eastleigh	10.3
7	Rushmoor	10.3
8	Salisbury	10.6
9	Hart	11,0
10	Vale of White Horse	11.1
11	Test Valley	11.3
12	Stevenage	11.3
13	Blaby	12.2
14	Bracknell Forest	12.6
15	East Hertfordshire	12.6
16	Reigate and Banstead	12.7
17	East Cambridgeshire	12.7
18	West Berkshire	13.0
19	Argyll and Bute	13.1
20	Milton Keynes	13.2
21	Harborough	13.2
22	Kettering	13.2
23	Macclesfield	13.2
24	Horsham	13.3
25	South Northamptonshire	13.3
26	Hambleton	13.3
27	South Staffordshire	13.4
28	Northampton	13.4
29	Mole Valley	13.7
30	South Somerset	13.7
31	Mid Bedfordshire	13.8
32	Crawley	13.8
33	Broadland	13.0
34	West Oxfordshire	13.9
35	Welwyn Hatfield	14.1
36	Melton	14.1
37	Highland	14.1
38	Stratford-on-Avon	14.3
39	Dacorum	14.4
40	Woking	14.4
41	Huntingdonshire	14.4
42	South Cambridgeshire	14.4
43	South Gloucestershire	14.4
44	North West Leicestershire	14.4
45	South Holland	14.4
46	Harrogate	14.4
47	South Bedfordshire	14.6
48	Eden	14.6
49	Mid Devon	14.7
50	Teignbridge	14.7

⁽²⁾ Men aged 16–64, women aged 16–59



 
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Education Finance

Mr. Rendel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has (a) had since 17 March and (b) scheduled before 31 July with the Department for Education and Skills regarding the 2005 to 2008 funding allocation for (i) early years education, (ii) schools, (iii) further education and (iv) higher education. [182933]

Mr. Boateng: Treasury Ministers have regular dialogue with their colleagues in other Departments during as well as outside of spending reviews about a wide range of issues, including those relating to funding. Spending totals for the Department for Education and Skills for the years 2005–06 to 2007–08 were published in Budget 2004 and DfES will set out further details of how it proposes to allocate its settlement in due course.

Equitable Life

Norman Lamb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if the Treasury will publish its submission to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration on Equitable Life. [180594]

Ruth Kelly: The submission was made at the request of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration for the purpose of informing her decision whether to undertake any further investigation into the regulation of Equitable Life. It is for her to determine whether and how it is published.

The Treasury believes that Exemption 10 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information applies as it would be premature for the Treasury to publish its submission in advance of the Ombudsman's decision.

GDP Deflator

Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend his Department's gross domestic product deflator series to cover financial years 2009–10 to 2012–13. [181772]

Ruth Kelly: As stated in Annex A, paragraph A.9, of the 2004 Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report (HC 301), the GDP deflator is assumed to increase at a rate of 2 per cent. a year from 2008–09 onwards.

Heavy Fuel Duty

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of the increase in heavy fuel duty on (a) power plants and (b) electricity costs in Northern Ireland; [182084]

(2) what plans he has to introduce a relief on heavy fuel duty for Northern Ireland. [182085]

John Healey: When setting duty rates, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer takes account of all relevant economic, environmental and social considerations.

We have no plans to introduce a relief on heavy fuel oil for Northern Ireland.
 
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Information/Support Services (Disabled People)

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received asking him to make funds available from the Government's cross-cutting review to set up (a) information databases and (b) support services for disabled people and carers. [182880]

Ruth Kelly: The Government are committed to improving the rights of, and opportunities for, disabled people and carers. Treasury Ministers receive a range of representations on issues concerning disabled people and carers.

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