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13 Dec 2004 : Column 868W—continued
Engagements
Norman Lamb: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list his official engagements over the past six months; who was present at each meeting; what the (a) date and (b) location was of each meeting; what issues were discussed; and what plans he has to establish a public register of such information. [202391]
Mr. Gordon Brown: Ministers meet many individuals and organisations and attend many functions relating to Government business and as part of the process of policy development. To provide the detailed information requested would incur disproportionate cost. The daily on the record briefing by the Prime Minister's Official Spokesman regularly provides details of Minister's public engagements.
EU Accounting Practices
Mr. Brady:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials in
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his Department have had with Marta Andreasen on accounting practices in the EU during the last year. [204165]
EU Funding
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of EU funding to the European Parties Elections and Referendums Network was in the last year for which figures are available. [204068]
Mr. Timms:
The European Parties Elections and Referendums Network is coordinated by the University of Sussex's European Institute which has been designated a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. Budget line 15 02 01 01 provides support for Jean Monnet Centres for Excellence—among other
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activities—and had total outturn of €3.1 million (£2.2 million 1 ) in 2003. We do not have a breakdown of funding by recipient.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will place in the Library a list of UK-based NGOs which received funding from the European Union in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) project and (b) budget line used; [204070]
(2) if he will list UK think tanks which received support from the European Union budget in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by (a) location and (b) funding received; and if he will make a statement. [204075]
Mr. Timms: The European Union directly supports the running costs of NGOs and think tanks through a number of budget lines. The outturns for these budget lines in 2003 is given in the following table (we do not have a breakdown by recipient or project).
(19) Converted at the average annual rate for 2003 of £1 = €1.4320
UK-based think tanks and NGOs are eligible for funding from all of the budget lines above. Organisations seeking funding from these budget lines submit their bids directly to the Commission and are not required to send copies to member state governments.
NGOs may also apply for grants from other EU expenditure programmes to undertake specific projects. Bids for EU grants are submitted directly to the Commission and there is no requirement that copies of the bids are sent to member state governments.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a break down of expenditure incurred in the last EU financial year available for budget lines (a) 3701 and (b) 3710; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on continued funding of these lines. [204074]
Mr. Timms: In 2003 the outturn for budget line 3701 was €37.7 million (£26.3 million 1 ). No payments were made under budget line 3710 in 2003. Both lines are contained in the European Parliament's administration budget and set on an annual basis by the European Parliament itself.
Productivity
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with (a) the Office for National Statistics and (b) the Department of Trade and Industry in relation to the calculation of the Treasury's measurement of an underlying trend rate of productivity growth on an output per hour worked basis. [204409]
Mr. Timms: In assessing the underlying trend rate of productivity growth, on an output per hour worked basis, the Treasury uses data sourced from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on real non-oil output (Gross Value Added) and total actual weekly hours worked (from the Labour Force Survey). The Treasury shares a joint Public Service Agreement Target with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on increasing the productivity of the economy. So Treasury officials have regular discussions with ONS officials on data issues and with DTI officials on measuring progress on the joint target. The latest numbers are available in Table A2 of the 2004 pre-Budget report (p. 169).
Retirement Age
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many single (a) women and (b) men will reach the age of 60 years between 26 September and 25 December. [204054]
Mr. Timms:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
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Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 13 December 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the number of single women and single men who will reach the age of 60 between 26 September and 25 December. I am replying in his absence. (204054)
It is estimated that there will be 25 thousand 'single' women and 19 thousand 'single' men who will reach the age of 60 between these dates in 2004 in Great Britain. For these purposes we have interpreted 'single' to mean not-married. This includes people whose legal marital status is single (never married), widowed, and divorced.
These figures are estimates. They are based on the latest available, 2003 based national population projections for 2004 produced by the Government Actuary's Department, and allowing for an estimate of the expected number of deaths. The pattern of births in 1944/1945 has been used to give an estimate for the dates shown. Finally, the 2003 marital status estimates have been used to give an estimate of the number who are 'single' i.e. not-married.
Tax Credits
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of overpayment for child and working tax credit there have been in Coventry. [203584]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Members for Northavon (Mr. Webb) and Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 15 November 2004, Official Report, columns 946–48W.
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimates he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of those eligible who do not claim the child care element of the working tax credit; what average amount they are estimated to lose; and what the estimated saving to the Exchequer of failure to claim was in the last period for which figures are available. [204167]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Mrs. Brooke) on 9 June 2004, Official Report, column 473W.
At July 2004, 340,000 families were benefiting from the child care element of the working tax credit, nearly 90 per cent. higher than the number benefiting under the working families' and disabled person's tax credits and seven times the number benefiting under family credit.
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