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11 Jan 2005 : Column 440W—continued
Ethnic Minorities
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the extent to which his Department's policies meet the needs of ethnic minorities. [205774]
Mr. Timms: The Treasury published a Race Equality Scheme in May 2002, in accordance with the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000. The current Race Equality Scheme is available on the Treasury's public website. My Department is in the process of updating the scheme, in accordance with the provisions of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act and a new scheme will be published by May this year.
EU Funding
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 9 December 2004, Official Report, column 653W, on EU funding, what the sum total is to date in real terms that has not been signed off by the Court of Auditors, broken down by year; and what the UK percentage share of the total EU budget was for each year. [207112]
Mr. Timms: It is important to note that the failure of any part of the Community Budget to gain a positive Statement of Assurance does not mean that the whole of that part of the budget was mis-spent. Rather, it means that the European Court of Auditors found errors in the sample audited in that year.
The figures for the years 1992 onwards (when the annual Statement of Assurance was introduced), showing the total for each year and the sum total to date, and the UK's percentage share, are as follows:
(5507190007) Taken from data published in Table 1A of respective European Community Finances White Papers, less administrative expenditure (also less pre-accession aid expenditure in 2002). Latest White Paper (Cm 6134) (ISBN 0–10–161342–3) was published on 22 April 2004 and the figures for the period 1999 to 2003 have been taken from this.
(5507190008) Calculated from data published in European Commission Reports on the Allocation of EU Operating Expenditure.
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Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2004, Official Report, columns 869–70W, on EU Funding, whether the list of (a) recipients, (b) awards and (c) projects funded under B3 budget lines is publicly available; what auditing takes place of those budget lines; and if he will undertake to deposit in the Library such listings across the B3 range where they are not publicly available. [207285]
Mr. Timms: Some B3 budget lines directly fund named organisations. For the majority of these lines, lists of recipients of funding, awards made and projects supported are not publicly available. Appropriations for each budget line are set out in the annual EC Budget which is deposited in the Library of the House.
The European Court of Auditors (ECA) audits the EC Budget on an annual basis, and the ECA may decide to issue a special report on particular activities—a list of these reports is published at the back of the ECA's latest annual report (which has been deposited). Recipients of EU funding will be subject to the accounting and reporting rules of the member state in which they are based and may be subject to individual audits.
EU Staff (Pensions)
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the UK Government position regarding accounting entry for Long Term Pensions Liabilities of European Union Staff (C294 volume 47, 30th November, page 65); and whether there is an agreement between member states assuming liability for this debt. [207263]
Mr. Timms: Like almost all member states, the EU has a funded pension system for its civil servants. Member states are required under the Treaty to contribute to the Community budget, which includes the part-funding of the pension scheme for civil servants of the European Community institutions. The accounting entry complies with the appropriate accounting standards.
European Commission Building (Abuja)
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of construction of the new European Commission building in Abuja; what the estimated total value is of real estate of Commission offices outside the EU; what the annual cost is of (a) staffing and (b) maintaining them; and how many people are employed in each office. [207130]
Mr. Timms:
The contract for constructing the new building in Abuja was just under £8.09 million. This was split between Germany, Netherlands, Italy and the Commission who will jointly occupy the building. The Commission part of the building was valued at £1.72 million. The common area was valued at £1.90 million. The contract was made in sterling and
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details of the tender were published in the supplement to the Official Journal (reference OJ S 237) on 8 December 2001.
The Government support co-location, with EU partners and others, where it offers a value for money solution.
The estimated market value of each building owned by the Commission is presented in the annual EC Budget which is deposited in the parliamentary Library.
Aggregated figures for the staffing and maintenance of the Commission's buildings are included in the general running costs of the Commission, and are also presented in the annual EC Budget. There is no break down by building.
European Community Institutions (Pension Liabilities)
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the levels of unfunded pension liabilities of the European Community institutions. [207129]
Mr. Timms: Like almost all member states, the EU has a funded pension system for its civil servants. The pension scheme for civil servants of the European Community institutions is funded partly by the officials themselves, who contribute to one third of the scheme's financing, with the balance funded by member states from the Community budget. The Government played an active role in the recent negotiations to reform the pension scheme. The reforms agreed by all member states will lead to substantial savings and reduced pension liabilities.
European Court of Justice (Fines)
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total fines that have been imposed by the European Court of Justice on each member state are since 1974; and how much has been (a) collected and (b) waived for each. [207132]
Mr. Timms: The power to fine member states was given to the European Court of Justice when the Treaty on European Union came into force (on 1 November 1993). Fines can either be in the form of a lump sum or a penalty payment (Article 228(2) EC).
The ECJ has only imposed fines on two occasions under Article 228(2) EC:
(i) Greece was ordered to pay a penalty payment of EUR 20,000 for each day of delay (from the date of service of the judgment), in implementing the measures necessary to ensure that waste was disposed of without endangering human health and without harming the environment, (Case C-387/97, Commission v. Greece).
(ii) The ECJ considered that Spain had not taken the measures necessary to ensure that the quality of inshore bathing water conformed to the Community's standards. It ordered Spain to pay to the Commission a penalty payment of EUR 624,150 per year and per 1 per cent. of bathing areas in Spanish inshore waters which had been found not to conform to the limit values laid down for the year in question (Case C-278/01, Commission v. Spain).
The collection of fines is a matter for the Commission and records are not held by the UK Government.
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Hourly Gross Earnings
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of (a) male, (b) female and (c) all full-time workers in (i) Scotland, (ii) each unitary local authority area in Scotland and (iii) Great Britain had hourly gross earnings (A) including and (B) excluding overtime of below (1) £7.58, (2) £5.68 and (3) £4.20 on the latest date for which figures are available. [207577]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Annabelle Ewing, dated 11 January 2005:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what proportion of (a) male, (b) female and (c) all full-time workers in (i) Scotland, (ii) each local unitary authority area in Scotland and (iii) Great Britain had gross hourly earnings (A) including and (B) excluding overtime of below (1) £7.58, (2) £5.68 and (3) £4.20 on the latest date for which figures are available. I am replying in his absence. (207577)
Average earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 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 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings tables. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings does not collect data on the self employed and people who do unpaid work.
I am placing in the House of Commons Library, tables showing the counts and proportion of full-time workers for Great Britain, Scotland and Scottish local authorities earning below the stated hourly pay levels.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, carried out in April of each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. It is a one per cent sample of all employees who are members of pay-as-you-earn schemes, but because of its sampling frame, it has difficulty capturing data on people with very low pay. It is therefore likely to under-represent relatively low paid staff earning below the tax threshold.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings publication criteria ensures that all estimates are undisclosive. A number of estimates have been removed from the published tables for these reasons.
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