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14 Sept 2004 : Column 1513W—continued
Tax Credits
Mr. George Osborne:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) 2003–04 and (b) the current financial year to date have been overpaid tax credits; what proportion of the cases of overpayment
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were due to error by the Inland Revenue; and in what proportion of the cases the Inland Revenue has attempted to recover overpayments. [188243]
Dawn Primarolo: The total number of (a) 2003–04 and (b) current financial year awards that are overpaid will be available only when all the awards for the years in question are finalised.
Unoccupied Young People
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in the Tamworth constituency aged between 16 and 24 years were both economically inactive and not in further or higher education (a) in 1997 and (b) in the latest year available. [188096]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Brian Jenkins, dated 14 September 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about economic inactivity in the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency. I am replying in his absence. (188096)
Estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the twelve months periods ending February 2003 show that there were over 12 thousand residents aged 16–24 in private households in the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency. Of these, around 10 thousand were not in full-time education and of that figure, fewer than 2 thousand were economically inactive.
The corresponding figures for the 12 months ending February 1997 showed that out of a total of just under 11 thousand 16–24 year olds, nearly 9 thousand were not in full-time education and, of these, less than 2 thousand were economically inactive.
These estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in the Bridgwater constituency aged between 16 and 24 years are both economically inactive and not in further or higher education. [186501]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Ian Liddell-Grainger, dated 14 September 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about economic inactivity. (186501)
Estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the twelve months ending May 2003 show that there were 9,000 residents in private households aged 16 to 24 in the Bridgwater Parliamentary Constituency. Of these, 6,000 were not in full-time education and, among those, fewer than 1,000 were economically inactive.
These estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Worker:Pensioner Ratio
Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the ratio of workers to pensioners in the (a) United Kingdom, (b) each region of England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales. [188129]
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Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Denzil Davies, dated 14 September 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the ratio of workers to pensioners in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) each region of England, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales. I am replying in his absence. (188129)
The attached table gives the estimated ratios of people in employment to the population estimates above pension age by gender and region for the three months ending August 2003.
These ratios have been calculated by dividing the estimated employed population aged 16 and over, obtained from the ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS), by the estimated populations of men aged 65 and over and of women aged 60 and over.
| Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.9 |
| North East | 2.2 | 3.2 | 1.6 |
| North West (inc Merseyside) | 2.4 | 3.6 | 1.8 |
| Yorkshire and Humberside | 2.5 | 3.7 | 1.8 |
| East Midlands | 2.5 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| West Midlands | 2.5 | 3.6 | 1.8 |
| Eastern | 2.5 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| London | 3.3 | 5.1 | 2.3 |
| South-East | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.9 |
| South West | 2.2 | 3.2 | 1.7 |
| Wales | 2.2 | 3.2 | 1.7 |
| Scotland | 2.5 | 3.8 | 1.8 |
| Northern Ireland | 2.7 | 4.3 | 1.8 |
| United Kingdom | 2.5 | 3.7 | 1.8 |
(10) Pension age is defined as women aged 60 plus and men aged 65 plus. Ratio was calculated as people in employment divided by number of people above pension age.
Source:
ONS—Labour Force Survey
ONS—Population Estimates
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
AIDS/HIV
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to ensure that AIDS/HIV prevention is given a high priority during the UK presidency of the (a) G8 and (b) EU. [187465]
Mr. Gareth Thomas:
The Government's strategy on AIDS "Taking Action: The UK's strategy for tackling HIV and AIDS in the developing world", published in July, signals that HIV and AIDS, with a special focus on Africa, will be a centrepiece for our Presidencies of both the G8 and of the EU in 2005. DFID is currently developing ideas about how best to use our G8 and EU Presidencies to promote accelerated international action on HIV and AIDS.
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DFID is working closely with the other countries that hold the EU Presidency during this period (including Ireland, who hosted an important meeting on new HIV prevention technologies during their Presidency) and the European Commission to ensure that the European contribution to preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS is as effective as possible.
Chechnya
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much (a) financial and (b) humanitarian assistance Russia has received from the UK in relation to the recent terrorist atrocities in Beslan. [188296]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: Following a crisis, DFID assesses whether needs can be met within a country before deciding to respond. To date there has been no specific funding request to DFID relating to the terrible events in Beslan, largely because needs seem to have been adequately met by resources within the country. Indeed, agencies such as the World Food Programme, the World Health Organisation, the United Nations Children Fund and the Red Cross who responded to needs in Beslan, have recently received support from DFID for their programme in the region.
DFID has a long-standing programme of humanitarian assistance in the North Caucasus. Last year DFID channelled approximately £3.5 million largely through United Nations agencies and the International Confederation of the Red Cross to meet immediate humanitarian and protection needs.
Burma
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions he has had with the International Labour Organisation about breaches of its standards by the Government of Burma. [188339]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: The UK plays an active part in the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and fully supports its efforts to end the use of forced labour in Burma. DFID's embassy in Rangoon maintains regular contact with the ILO liaison office there. The EU has repeatedly condemned Burma's lack of progress on forced labour, most recently on 5 June, at the International Labour Conference in Geneva. The EU issued a statement at the ILO's Governing Body in March. The ILO will consider what progress Burma has made at its Governing Body meeting in November.
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