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Cancer

John Mann: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the survival rates were for each form of cancer in (a) 1997 and (b) the last year for which figures are available. [211105]

Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Mann, dated 26 January 2005:

As National Statistician., I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what the survival rates were for each form of cancer in (a) 1997 and (b) the last year for which figures arc available. (211105)

Survival rates arc not separately available by individual year of diagnosis. The latest available one and five year survival rates for the 20 most common cancers in England and Wales are for adult patients (aged 15–99 years) diagnosed during 1996–99 and followed up to 31 December 2001. These figures were published on the National Statistics website on 9 March 2004, and are available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7899

Child Trust Funds

Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of children in Burnley are eligible for the Child Trust Fund. [210968]

Mr. Timms: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Martin Linton) on 30 November 2004, Official Report, columns 87–88W. All children born and living in the UK since 1 September 2002 whose families receive child benefit will be eligible for the Child Trust Fund.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of children in Hendon who qualify for payments under the Child Trust Fund (a) at £250 and (b) at £500; and if he will make a statement. [210877]

Mr. Timms: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Martin Linton) on 30 November 2004, Official Report, columns 87–88W. All children born and living in the UK since 1 September 2002 whose families receive child benefit will be eligible for the Child Trust Fund.

Departmental Policies (Preseli Pembrokeshire)

Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency, the effects on Preseli Pembrokeshire of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [211326]

 
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Mr. Timms: Since our election in 1997, the Government have put in place a radical programme of both macro-economic and micro-economic reform to improve the economic performance of all parts of the UK. There is significant evidence that these policies have already yielded considerable benefits for the Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency. For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 55 per cent., long-term unemployment has fallen by 87 per cent. and long-term youth unemployment has been eliminated, having fallen from 125 in May 1997 to 0 in December 2004.

The Neighbourhood Statistics Service provides a wide range of statistical information at Parliamentary constituency level, taken from the 2001 Census and other sources. This service is available on the National Statistics website at http://neighbourhood.statistics. gov.uk./.

ECOFIN

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the outcome was of the ECOFIN Council held on 18 January; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if he will make a statement. [210621]

Mr. Moore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his European Union counterparts on reforming the Growth and Stability Pact; and if he will make a statement. [210793]

Mr. Gordon Brown: I attended ECOFIN in Brussels on 18 January 2005.

The Presidency briefly introduced its work programme, emphasising its three priorities: Lisbon Mid-Term Review, Reform of the Stability and Growth Pact and negotiation of the Financial Perspectives 2007–13. The Commission welcomed the work programme.

Further to discussions between Foreign Ministers at the extraordinary meeting of the General Affairs Council on 7 January, ECOFIN discussed the economic consequences of the South-Asian Tsunami. The Commission noted that the macroeconomic consequences of the Tsunami are likely to be contained, although with significant differences across affected countries. Worst hit in macroeconomic terms are likely to be the Maldives and Sri Lanka. EU financial support could be up to 1.5 billion euros, which will include 100 million euros in humanitarian aid, 350 million euros in reconstruction aid and a proposed EIB loan facility of up to 1 billion euros guaranteed by the EC budget. The size and structure of the facility have yet to be decided and will be dependent on the outcome of the needs assessment being carried out by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. The UK emphasised the challenge of long-term reconstruction, and stressed the importance of completing the needs assessment before deciding the terms of the EIB package. The Presidency said they would return to this at the February ECOFIN.

ECOFIN noted Presidency conclusions for France and Germany. The Council reviewed measures taken by Greece to correct its excessive deficit. Greece pointed to continued reforms on both the expenditure and revenues sides of the budget. The Commission noted that despite this corrective action by the Greek
 
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government, this was still insufficient for Greece to correct its excessive deficit in 2005. The Council conclusions were approved without discussion, and the 104(8) decision, that Greece has not taken effective action to correct its excessive deficit in line with its convergence programme, was adopted.

The Commission noted that Hungary has exceeded its deficit target for 2004 by 1 percentage point, and that the same outcome was likely for 2005. It recommended that Hungary, in line with article 104(8), had not taken effective action to correct its excessive deficit in line with its convergence programme. Council conclusions and an article 104(8) decision with respect to Hungary were adopted without further discussion.

As regards the excessive deficit procedures against the new member states, the Commission confirmed that the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Cyprus and Malta were in line with the targets set by their convergences programmes. Council opinions on the stability programmes of Austria, Luxembourg, Sweden and Netherlands and on the convergence programme of the Czech Republic were adopted without discussion.

Discussion of Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) reform options took place, on both the preventative and the corrective arm of the SGP. The UK highlighted that proper account needed to be taken of the economic cycle, of debt sustainability and of public investment.

The Council endorsed the Annual Report on Structural reforms 2005, prepared by the Economic Policy Committee (EPC), which focussed on employment and growth as a core priority. The Council agreed to forward it as a contribution by the Council to the Spring 2005 European Council.

Freedom of Information

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what categories of information are available under Freedom of Information legislation that have not been provided in written parliamentary answers by his Department in the last three years. [207817]

Mr. Timms: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-secretary of State, Department of Constitutional Affairs (Mr. Leslie) on 24 January 2005, Official Report, column 140W.

Iraq

Derek Conway: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated total cost to date is of UK operations and assistance in Iraq. [210406]

Mr. Boateng: In Budget 2003 the Chancellor set aside £3 billion as a Special Reserve to cover the cost of military operations in Iraq. £1 billion was drawn down by the Ministry of Defence in the Spring Supplementary Estimate for 2002–03.

In the 2003 pre-Budget report, the Government carried forward the £2 billion unallocated special reserve into 2003–04 and added a further £500 million in 2003–04. £300 million was also added in 2004–05 as a prudent allowance against continuing commitments in Iraq and elsewhere in the war against terrorism. A
 
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further £520 million for the Special Reserve in 2004–05 was announced by the Chancellor in the 2004 pre-Budget report.

The Ministry of Defence drew down £1,539 million in the 2003–04 Winter and Spring Supplementary Estimates for the costs of military operations in Iraq.

At the Madrid Donors' Conference in October 2003, the Government announced a total UK pledge of £544 million towards the reconstruction effort in Iraq up to March 2006. Of this, the Department for International Development has committed over £331 million for humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Iraq since the conflict.

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