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16 Dec 2004 : Column 1232W—continued
Government Staffing
23. Mr. Peter Atkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the change in levels of central Government staffing between 1997 and 2004. [205233]
Mr. Boateng: Data concerning civil service numbers between 1997 and 2004 has been published in "Civil Service Statistics". Current information can be found on the Cabinet Office's website.
Tax Changes
24. Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many direct taxes have been introduced since 1997; and how many times existing direct taxes have been raised. [205234]
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Dawn Primarolo: All changes to taxation since 1997 are set out in the relevant Financial Statement and Budget Reports, which are available in the Library of the House.
Child Care (Tax Relief)
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will estimate the cost of providing tax relief to employees who receive financial support from their employers to buy childcare services; and if he will make a statement. [204850]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 14 December 2004]: I refer the hon. Member to page 6 of the "Economic and Fiscal Strategy Report" and "Financial Statement and Budget Report 2004 1 " [HC 301].
Correspondence
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letters dated 22 July and 18 November from the hon. Member for Hull, North concerning correspondence from the Vice Chancellor of the University of Hull about the VAT partial exemption method. [204866]
Dawn Primarolo: My hon. Friend will receive a reply to his letters within the next week.
The letter will contain an explanation for the delay in providing a response.
EU Funding
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what EU funding supports the Local Government International Bureau; whether such public funds were used for its advertising in the House Magazine on 15 November; what his policy is on this use of public funds for this purpose; and if he will make a statement. [204066]
Mr. Raynsford: I have been asked to reply.
The Local Government International Bureau (LGIB)—the European and international arm of the Local Government Association—receives no funding from the European Union for its ordinary activities, including the placing of the advertisement in the House Magazine on 15 November. The overall aim of the LGIB is to promote high quality democratic local government and its interests within Europe and internationally—an aim which the Government supports.
Gross Domestic Produce (Wandsworth)
Tom Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gross domestic product of the London borough of Wandsworth has been in each of the last three years. [205913]
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 Len Cook to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 16 December 2004:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about GDP for the London Borough of Wandsworth in each of the last three years (205913).
The London Borough of Wandsworth is in the Inner London West (NUTS3 area), which is currently the lowest geographic level at which Gross Value Added 1 (GVA) is published. The latest published information is for 2001.
The estimates in the table below are based on the regional Gross Value Added 1 (GVA) estimates published in December 2003. These are available on the National Statistics website at: htlp://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournalGVA_NUTS3_Methods_and_Background.pdf
Year | Gross value added (GVA)(10) for Inner London West (NUTS3 area) at current basic prices 1995 to 2001 (£ million) |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 42,560 |
| 1996 | 45,804 |
| 1997 | 50,146 |
| 1998 | 54,903 |
| 1999 | 58,319 |
| 2000 | 61,681 |
| 2001 | 65,426 |
(10) Information presented here is Gross Value Added (GVA) which is Gross Domestic Product (GDP) less taxes (plus subsidies) on products.
Inland Revenue and Customs
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with regard to the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise, how many claims to tax have been (a) reduced and (b) cancelled in the last tax year; and what the sums involved were. [204676]
Dawn Primarolo: Neither the Inland Revenue nor HM Customs & Excise keep this information in this form. It could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Older Pensioners
John Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the effect of the measures contained in the pre-Budget report on older pensioners. [205231]
Mr. Timms: The Government recognises that older pensioners have been living on fixed incomes for longer and are therefore more likely to have a lower income than younger pensioners.
Older pensioners will benefit from the pension credit, which this year guarantees a minimum income of £105 a week, free television licences and a winter fuel payment of £300. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor announced in this year's Pre Budget Report that the pension credit will be uprated in line with earnings and that we will be paying a further £50 payment to households with someone over age 70 alongside the
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winter fuel payment in 2005–06 to help with council tax and other living expenses. As a result of all this Government's measures the poorest third of pensioners will be £36 a week better off.
Regeneration Projects
Paul Farrelly To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funds he is making available for regeneration projects in England. [205232]
Mr. Boateng: This year, the Government has made available more than £1.5 billion for regeneration through programmes such as Neighbourhood Renewal, Housing Market Renewal and English Partnerships. In addition, a significant proportion of the £1.85 billion allocated to the Regional Development Agencies will be spent on regeneration as one of their core functions. Between 2005–06 and 2007–08, the Government intends on current plans to allocate more than £4.6 billion for regeneration, plus a proportion of the £6.7 billion allocated to RDAs, alongside £730 million through the European Regional Development Fund.
Retirement
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people retired in each year group in the last year for which figures are available. [204909]
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. David Drew, dated 16 December 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about retired people. I am replying in his absence. (204909)
The available information, shown in the attached table, is based on those people who described themselves as retired in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and who a year earlier were in employment. The table relates to people interviewed in the LFS during the three months ending in May 2004. The figures are shown for age groups defined by age at the time of LFS interview. Information about exact age at retirement is not available.
The estimates for the Labour Force Survey are, as with any statistical sample survey, subject to sampling variability.
(11) People who retired during the past year are defined as those who described themselves as retired in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and were employed one year earlier. Age is defined as age at interview in the LFS.
(12) Estimates not shown as they are potentially disclosive.
Note:
Some of these estimates are based on very small sample sizes and are subject to a higher degree of sampling variability. They should therefore be treated with caution.
Source:
ONS, Labour Force Survey
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