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Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 15 December 2004

TREASURY

Accounting Officers

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions since 1 June he has been informed of a Minister issuing a direction to an accounting officer as set out in paragraphs 14 to 17 of the Treasury document, The Responsibilities of an Accounting Officer; on which grounds the note of dissent was issued; and if he will make a statement. [204782]

Mr. Timms: The Treasury has not been informed of any directions issued by Ministers to Accounting Officers under this guidance since the reply given to the hon. Member by my predecessor on 8 July 2004, Official Report, column 810W.

Cricket

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 29 November 2004, Official Report, column 16W, on the International Cricket Conference Headquarters, from which International Sports Federations he has received representations on taxation issues affecting their proposed headquarter locations. [203729]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 9 December 2004]: The Government have received a representation from the UK Sports Council. The Government welcome any further representations there may be on taxation issues.

Departmental Files

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the policy of the Department to retain for the benefit of future (a) historians and (b) applicants under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 the same (i) complete categories of files, (ii) numbers of files and (iii) representative examples of files from categories of files destroyed as had been preserved prior to the passage of that Act. [203319]

Mr. Timms: In accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 S.3, the selection of records of enduring historical value for permanent preservation at The National Archives (TNA) will continue to take place in HM Treasury under the guidance and supervision of TNA staff. The Department will also comply with the Code of Practice on Records Management, issued by the Lord Chancellor under S.46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which underlines the importance of having clear selection policies and disposal schedules in place.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many departmental files have been destroyed in each of the past five years. [203320]


 
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Mr. Timms: Records are appraised 29 years after the oldest paper on the file. In accordance with The National Archives' guidance, the Treasury has destroyed the following number of files in each of the last five years.
File yearDestroy
19701,615
19711,609
19721,962
19731,650
1974(1)1,747


(1) Provisional.


Entertainment Costs

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been spent on entertainment by his Department in each year since 1997, broken down by (a) food, (b) alcohol, (c) staff and (d) accommodation. [204357]

Mr. Timms: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 12 May 2004, Official Report, column 355W. Expenditure on official entertainment for 2003–04 was £116,000. Further analysis could be provided only at disproportionate cost. All expenditure on official entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".

European Union

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list activities in which his Department has been involved to promote the benefits of the Government's policy towards the European Union; what the costs were; what partner organisations were involved; and if he will make a statement. [204225]

Mr. Timms: The Government work with a wide range of partners to develop and communicate their policy towards the European Union, including the CBI, Chambers of Commerce, trade unions and more, including other EU member states and EU institutions. Costs of these activities are covered from departmental budgets, as set out in annual departmental reports.

GDP (Pendle)

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the per capita GDP was for the Pendle local authority area in each year since 1995. [205007]

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. Gordon Prentice, dated 15 December 2004:


 
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Table A

Gross value added (GVA)(2) per head for Lancashire County Council (NUTS3 area) at current basic prices 1995 to 2001
19959,791
199610,141
199710,527
199810,996
199911,496
200012,034
200112,534


(2) Information presented here is Gross Value Added (GVA) which is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products.



 
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Industrial Redundancies

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many redundancies per 1,000 workers are estimated from the Labour Force Survey to have been experienced in each industrial sector since 1997. [204612]

Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 15 December 2004:


Redundancies rates—United Kingdom—not seasonally adjusted Rates per 1,000 employees(3)

3 months endingAgriculture, fishing, energy and water (A-C, E)Manufacturing (D)Construction (F)Distribution, hotels and restaurants
(G, H)
May 199711.010.820.57.5
August 199710.910.417.16.6
November 19976.88.816.85.7
February 199815.510.712.89.2
May 199813.312.19.37.1
August 199811.412.116.77.4
November 199811.414.015.05.4
February 199914.116.623.87.9
May 199912.116.320.25.8
August 199914.614.115.57.3
November 199910.310.613.06.7
February 200013.314.716.28.2
May 200011.916.211.57.5
August 20007.411.114.37.6
November 20008.911.711.07.2
February 200115.614.110.96.3
May 20018.613.211.97.2
August 20015.416.18.36.1
November 20017.116.310.95.8
February 20027.116.515.86.8
May 200210.116.910.06.1
August 200211.114.610.75.5
November 200215.511.910.36.6
February 20039.316.112.25.6
May 20038.113.712.75.9
August 20035.914.79.25.0
November 20035.411.411.66.0
February 20049.411.112.75.4
May 20049.712.19.45.0
August 20044.012.19.45.2

3 months endingTransport and communications (I)Banking, finance and insurance
(J-K)
Public administration, education and Health (L-N)Total services
(G-Q)
May 19979.06.62.85.5
August 19975.07.72.75.2
November 19977.86.02.14.5
February 19985.87.21.65.6
May 19989.17.51.95.6
August 19987.75.62.24.9
November 19988.18.42.45.0
February 19997.58.11.45.5
May 19998.77.21.54.7
August 19996.15.31.74.5
November 19996.99.12.45.5
February 20006.08.51.35.5
May 20008.17.01.04.8
August 20006.87.51.24.7
November 20008.86.71.95.1
February 20017.06.81.44.5
May 20017.27.41.45.0
August 20019.59.51.35.2
November 20016.011.51.85.5
February 200213.410.41.66.3
May 200214.49.51.65.9
August 20029.38.71.95.1
November 20029.68.41.55.2
February 20038.510.81.25.2
May 20036.47.71.34.4
August 20037.88.51.44.4
November 20036.17.91.74.6
February 20046.57.00.94.0
May 20048.47.31.04.3
August 20048.06.81.54.1


(3) The redundancy rate is based on the ratio of the redundancy level for the given quarter to the number of employees in the previous quarter, multiplied by 1,000
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey





 
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