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16 Nov 2004 : Column 1267W—continued
European Union
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the research undertaken by his officials on the cost-benefit analysis of European Union membership; in which sections of his Department the officials concerned work; and if he will make a statement. [197918]
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Mr. Timms: There is a broad consensus among academics that UK membership of the European Union promotes growth, competitiveness and employment through the operation of the internal market. The Government continually consider the direct and indirect costs and benefits of specific legislative proposals, in the context of European policy development.
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his colleagues in the European Union concerning the future of the UK rebate. [197794]
Mr. Timms: Discussion of EU economic and financial matters, including the EU Budget, formally occurs at ECOFIN meetings. The first discussion on the Commission's own resources report and proposals for revising the Own Resources Decision will be discussed at the ECOFIN meeting of Tuesday 16 November. The Government's position on this has already been made clear in the Explanatory Memorandum presented to the House on the Commission's proposals.
Financial Services Authority
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the discharge by the Financial Services Authority of its statutory objective of promoting financial literacy. [198183]
Mr. Timms: The FSA has been undertaking work to promote public understanding of the financial system since its inception and a number of resources have been developed and distributed, to contribute to this statutory objective.
Building on this, in November 2003 the FSA set up the Financial Capability Steering Group to oversee the development and implementation of a national strategy to improve financial capability. The Minister for Pensions and I are members of that group, along with representatives from the financial services industry, the consumer, voluntary and education sectors, employers and the media. The strategy is being taken forward through a series of seven priority projects, each of which is supported by a Working Group. To date, proposals for pilot work have been brought forward by three groups (Schools, Workplace and Borrowing), three are to make proposals to the Steering Group next month (Families, Young Adults and Retirement) and the final group (Generic Advice) will submit proposals early in 2005.
Fuel Duty
Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much unrebated fuel duty was paid on fuel sold in each of the islands within the United Kingdom during the latest year for which figures are available. [198767]
John Healey:
Hydrocarbon oils duty revenue figures are published by HM Customs and Excise in the Hydrocarbon Oils Bulletin, a copy of which can be found on the UK Trade Information website www.uktradeinfo.com. Figures are collected for the UK as a whole and are not available by region.
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Guaranteed Minimum Pension
Mr. Luff: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the costs of indexing a guaranteed minimum pension for public sector schemes to the National Insurance Fund. [197998]
Mr. Timms: None—the National Insurance Fund has no liability for indexing Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMPs).
Incomes
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) women and (b) men are in the top five per cent. of income earners in the UK. [196017]
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. Keith Vaz, dated 16 November 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) women and (b) men are currently in the top five per cent of income earners in the UK. I am replying in his absence. (196017)
Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay whose pay was unaffected by absence during the pay period, by their place of work. This is the standard definition used for ASHE tables. The ASHE does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
There are 822,000 people in the top five per cent of gross weekly earners, of which 689,000 are males and 133,000 are females. The 95th percentile of gross weekly earnings in 2004 is £1060.7.
IT consultants (Southend)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 2 November 2004, Official Report, column 153W, on Customs and Excise, how long the contracts in place for IT consultants contracted to work for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at Alexander House, Southend-on-Sea are; how much the IT consultants are paid; and if he will make a statement. [196919]
Dawn Primarolo: The average length of contract for IT consultants currently contracted to work for Her Majesty's Customs and Excise at Alexander House, Southend-on-Sea is four months. The average daily rate for these consultants is £551.
Life Expectancy (Pendle)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the life expectancy (a) was in (i) 1987 and (ii) 1997 and (b) is of (A) men and (B) women in Pendle. [197757]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 16 November 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the life expectancy (a) was in (i) 1987 and
- (ii) 1997 and (b) is of (A) men and (B) women in Pendle. I am replying in his absence. (197757)
Figures for life expectancy at birth for the United Kingdom and its constituent countries are published annually by the Government Actuary's Department. Figures for life expectancy at birth for English local authorities are published annually by ONS. Both sets of figures are based on three-year rolling averages and are calculated separately for males and females. The most recent available figures are for 2001–2003. Figures covering the years requested are given in the attached table.
(7) Including non-residents.
2 Usual residents of this area.
Lisbon Strategy
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the UK's progress in the implementation of the Lisbon Strategy. [197760]
Mr. Timms: The Government are committed to economic reform at home and in Europe, and my recent answers on 4 October 2004, Official Report, columns 1790–1791W) and on 21 October 2004 Official Report, columns 884–885W, summarised the measures the Government are taking to increase employment and productivity in Europe. These issues were also debated on the Floor of the House on 13 September 2004.
As set out during that debate, the UK Government remains a strong advocate of economic reform in Europe, and continues to work closely with other Member States and the European Commission to promote structural reform, including by taking forward the January 2004 Four Presidencies initiative on regulatory reform and the principal recommendations contained in the spring 2004 joint statements with France and Germany on promoting enterprise and innovation.
The Government produces a report each year summarising the progress made in reforming product and capital markets over the preceding 12 months, as part of the "Cardiff" process. Copies of the latest UK report "Report on Progress on Reform of Product and Capital Markets: United Kingdom 2003–04" were deposited in the Libraries of both Houses on 18 October this year.
The Government also produce an annual Progress Report on the UK's economic reform priorities, which sets out the measures and reforms the Government believe are required to deliver greater economic prosperity across Europe and deliver the aims of the Lisbon agenda. The latest version of this document is also available in the House Libraries.
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