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17 Nov 2004 : Column 1516W—continued
Unemployment
Paul Farrelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the unemployment rate in Newcastle-under-Lyme was in each year since 1997; [198533]
(2) how many unemployed people there have been in Newcastle-under-Lyme in each year since 1997. [198582]
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. Paul Farrelly, dated 17 November 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about unemployment in the Newcastle-under-Lyme Parliamentary Constituency since 1997. (198533, 198582)
Table 1 provides the information requested in the Newcastle-under-Lyme Parliamentary Constituency for the twelve-month periods ending in February each year from 1997 to 2004.
These estimates from the Labour Force Survey are, as with any sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
The Office for National Statistics also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for local areas including parliamentary constituencies. Table 2 gives the annual average number of people resident in the Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency claiming Jobseeker's Allowance benefits for each year from 1997 to 2003, together with the proportion of the resident working age population this represents.
| Level (000s) | Rate (percentage)(26) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 2 | 5.7 |
| 1998 | 3 | 6.2 |
| 1999 | 2 | 5.5 |
| 2000 | 2 | 4.8 |
| 2001 | 2 | 4.2 |
| 2002 | 1 | 2.2 |
| 2003 | 1 | 2.2 |
(26) Unemployed people as percentage of economically active population (i.e. employed plus unemployed).
Note:
Estimates are based on small sample sizes and are therefore subject to a higher than usual degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution and, in particular, changes from year to year should not be used in isolation from the figures for a run of years.
(27) Claimant count figures as the percentage of the resident population.
Source:
Jobcentre Plus administrative system
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Yasser Arafat
Michael Fabricant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department will identify whether bank and other accounts held by the late Yasser Arafat in the United Kingdom are holding overseas aid money; and if he will make a statement. [199033]
Mr. Timms: The late Yasser Arafat's banking arrangements are a matter between his executors and his bankers who would be expected to comply with all legal requirements to ensure proper receipt and administration of any public money.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Charging Initiative
Mr. Allen: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will make it her policy to encourage local Crown Prosecution Service prosecutors to meet local police officers informally to improve the working of the charging initiative. [196231]
The Solicitor-General: The policy of the charging scheme is early consultation between police officers and duty prosecutors, encouraging a prosecution team approach towards the common goal of bringing offenders to justice.
Information about local performance and effectiveness is available from the central ACPO/Crown Prosecution service team, and is shared with the local Crown Prosecution Service and police teams. This information is then jointly discussed so that lessons can be learned and issues and training needs identified. This process of constant review enables the local prosecution team to consider together whether changes need to be made to their local systems and arrangements.
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Franked Envelopes
Mr. Allen: To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if she will take steps to arrange for second class franked parliamentary envelopes in formats other than window envelopes to be made available to hon. Members. [197846]
Dame Marion Roe: Second class post-paid envelopes were introduced in 1998, in addition to the first class post-paid envelopes available to Members, following a decision of the Administration Committee. I have asked the Serjeant at Arms to contact the hon. Member on the specific issue of the format of envelopes.
HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION
House of Commons Library
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission how many staff were employed in the Library (a) in 1974, (b) in 2000 and (c) at the latest date for which figures are available. [198879]
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Sir Archy Kirkwood: Numbers of staff employed in the Department of the Library have been as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1979(28) | 2,390 |
| 2000 | (30)200.5 |
| 2004 | (31)219 |
(28) No published data is available before this date. The figure is taken from the first Annual Report of the Commission.
2 Excludes 28 staff in the Vote and Sales Office, which has since transferred to the Department of the Clerk of the House.
(29) Complement.
(30) Average full-time equivalent.
Official Report
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Roxburgh and Berwickshire, representing the House of Commons Commission (1) how many hardback copies of the Official Report have been (a) produced and (b) distributed to hon. Members in each year since 1980; [197868]
(2) how many hardback copies of the Official Report have been returned by hon. Members to the House authorities for disposal in each year since 1980; and what percentage of these have been disposed of by (a) burial in landfill site, (b) incineration and (c) recycling; [197869]
(3) what the total cost per day is of producing hardback copies of the Official Report, broken down by cost (a) per copy, (b) per hundred, (c) per thousand and (d) in total; [197870]
(4) where hardback copies of the House of Commons Official Report are produced; what method is used for their transportation from the publisher to the parliamentary estate; and how many deliveries this necessitates per (a) month and (b) year. [197871]
Sir Archy Kirkwood: Bound volume text of the Official Report is the corrected text of debates (including Westminster Hall debates), Ministerial Statements and Written Answers produced for record purposes. Each issue now covers three sitting weeks. Hon. Members who have asked to receive them continue to do so for the duration of their membership of the House or until they request that supply should cease.
Information about production and distribution is not available for the period, or in the form, requested. The following data about production quantities, which include copies produced for sale, have been extracted from the printer's records.
| Period | Number of copies per issue |
|---|---|
| 1996 to June 1999 | 785 |
| July 1999 to October 2000 | 680 |
| November 2000 to April 2002 | 650 |
| May 2002 to November 2002 | 600 |
| December 2002 to present | 540 |
In financial year 2003–04, 249 copies of each issue were distributed to hon. Members.
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The House of Commons Commission is only responsible for meeting the cost of producing up to 350 bound volume copies for use by hon. Members and House Departments. For the last complete financial year, 2003–04, the total spent on printing and binding bound volume copies (18 issues) was approximately £895,000. This is equivalent to approximately £50,000 per issue, and £140 per copy. Internal staff and other costs are not associated with individual documents and are not included.
Bound volume copies of the Official Report are printed at the Parliamentary press in Southwark, case bound by the printer's sub-contractors in Stevenage and returned by road transport to the distributor's warehouse in Nine Elms. Copies are subsequently despatched by Royal Mail or courier to individual recipients except for a small number of copies carried directly to the Parliamentary Estate by the distributor's routine daily delivery van service.
The House of Commons Commission has no responsibility for disposal of bound volume copies of the Official Report, which belong to hon. Members to whom they have been supplied.
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