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26 Oct 2004 : Column 1098W—continued
National Debt
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the national debt (a) is and (b) was in 1997. [193812]
Mr. Boateng: Public sector net debt at the end of September 2004 stood at 33.6 per cent. of GDP, whereas at the end of September 1997 it stood at 43.5 per cent. of GDP.
Police Funding
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will ensure that adequate funds are made available to the Home Office to ensure that Northampton Police Authority receives the grant for the financial year 2005–06 that the national funding formula indicates it needs; [193760]
(2) if he will make an additional grant to all police authorities for the financial year 2005–06 similar to the additional grant given to all local authorities in December 2003. [193761]
Mr. Boateng: The 2002 spending review provided for record growth in spending on crime, justice and communities, from £16.5 billion in 2002–03 to £20.5 billion in 2005–06. The 2004 spending review builds on this progress by embedding the Government's success in delivery and further increasing spending in these areas by £3.5 billion by 2007–08, compared to 2004–05. The Home Secretary is due to announce policing allocations for 2005–06 shortly.
Single Parent Households
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many single parent households headed by (a) mothers and (b) fathers there are, broken down by ethnic group. [192638]
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. Keith Vaz, dated 26 October 2004:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many single parent households headed by (a) mothers and (b) fathers there are, broken down by ethnic group. 192638
Figures from the 2001 Census indicate that there were 2,297,153 lone parent households in England and Wales, of which 1,979,295 households were headed by a female Household Reference Person and 317,858 households were headed by a male Household Reference Person. Specially commissioned table C0344 has been run to provide the ethnic group of the Household Reference Person. This has been placed in the House of Commons Library and can also be accessed on the National Statistics website at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/op15.asp
STEPS Agreement
Denzil Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much was paid to external commercial, legal and financial advisers in respect of the STEPS agreement; [178102]
(2) how much was paid by the Department to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. in each year to April (a) 2002 (b) 2003 and (c) 2004. [178131]
Dawn Primarolo [pursuant to my answers, 15 June 2004, Official Report, c. 835W]: I very much regret that my earlier answers inadvertently contained information which has subsequently proved to be incorrect.
I am advised that costs in respect of external commercial, legal and financial advice were:
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| STEPS Project (pre-contract "go-live") | 7.5 |
| STEPS Contract | 1.3 |
Payments made to Mapeley STEPS Contractor Ltd. were as follows:
| Year to April | £ million |
|---|---|
| 2002 | 234.7 |
| 2003 | 305.9 |
| 2004 | 311.2 |
Tax Credits
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tax credit awards had been stopped as at 30 September due to claimants' failure to supply income data by the 30 September deadline; and if he will make a statement. [191781]
Dawn Primarolo: None had been stopped as at 30 September.
Tsar Appointments
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tsars have been appointed with responsibilities which cover part of the work of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [191915]
Unemployment (Greater London)
Tom Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of unemployment in the Greater London area is. [193796]
26 Oct 2004 : Column 1100W
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. Tom Cox, dated 26 October 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment in Greater London. (193796)
It is estimated that, for the three months ending in August 2004, the unemployment rate for people aged 16 and over resident in the Greater London area was 6.9 per cent. This estimate is seasonally adjusted.
This estimate from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
Unpaid Tax
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the total amount of unpaid tax, broken down by each available category, in each year from 1996–97 to 2004–05; and if he will make a statement. [192143]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is as follows:
I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave on 4 March 2003, Official Report, column 912W, and 1 April 2004, Official Report, column 1697W. The NAO report, "The Recovery of Debt by the Inland Revenue", was published in March 2004 and can be found online at: http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao reports/03–04/0304363.pdf
I refer the hon. Member to the HM Customs and Excise Annual Report and Accounts 2002–03, which was published in December 2003, and is available in the Library of the House.
Working Tax Credit
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people classed as disabled have claimed working tax credit in Coventry South. [192982]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Morley and Rothwell (Mr. Challen) on 19 October 2004, Official Report, column 589W.
WALES
Correspondence
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters he has received from hon. Members in the last four months; and if he will make a statement. [192216]
Mr. Hain: 26 letters were received from hon. Members from Wales from June to September 2004.
During that period the Wales Office also received 152 other letters and over 1,600 pieces of inter departmental correspondence.
26 Oct 2004 : Column 1101W
Ministerial Expenses
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much the Department spent on (a) maintenance, (b) renovation, (c) council tax and (d) running costs of residential properties used by Ministers and officials in each year since 1997. [191398]
Mr. Touhig: None. The Wales Office does not provide residential properties for the use of either Ministers or officials.
Tsar Appointments
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many tsars have been appointed with responsibilities which cover part of the work of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [191928]
LEADER OF THE HOUSE
Legislation
35. Simon Hughes: To ask the Leader of the House if he will carry out scrutiny of the number of offences (a) created and (b) repealed in the Government legislative programme in each session. [193521]
Mr. Woolas: My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so.
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