| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
4 Feb 2005 : Column 1178W—continued
Trident
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Government's plans are for (a) renewing and (b) replacing the Trident weapons system; when these plans were last reviewed; how often these plans have been reviewed since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [214242]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 December 2004, Official Report, column 692W.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) missiles and (b) warheads are deployed on Trident submarines; what the approximate yield of the nuclear warheads deployed is; and if he will make a statement. [214376]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 February 2004, Official Report, column 752W.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the role of the Trident programme in combating international terrorism; when this assessment was last (a) reviewed and (b) changed; and if he will make a statement. [214378]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 30 January 2004, Official Report, column 577W.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Contracts
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the policy followed by his Department for the award of contracts of a value less than £100,000. [214230]
4 Feb 2005 : Column 1179W
Hilary Benn: All DFID contracts must be let by trained staff. Contracts of less than £100,000 in value are not formally required to follow the competition process set by the public procurement regulations. DFID does run competition for this business, particularly in overseas markets, where this represents value for money. Where competition would involve a disproportionate cost for lower-value contracts trained staff have authority to negotiate directly with suppliers. DFID also makes increasing use of competitively-tendered central purchasing arrangements and framework agreements for low-value contacts.
Development Science
Mr. McWalter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress is being made in the establishment of an advisory development science research board; and what mechanisms it will use to solicit representation. [212259]
Hilary Benn: I am setting up a small working group as suggested by the Science and Technology Committee to assess what objectives an "advisory Development Sciences Research Board" might fulfil, what form it might take and what additional funds would be appropriate. Professor Gordon Conway, DFID Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Sir David King, Government Chief Scientific Adviser, and Professor Sir Keith O'Nions, Director General Research Councils, are meeting in the next few weeks to take this forward.
Eritrea
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department is taking with multilateral institutions in Eritrea to combat religious persecution of Christians. [213697]
Hilary Benn: The UK raises the issue of religious freedom with the Eritrean Government regularly. Our chargé d'affaires in Asmara last raised the issue on 18 January and my hon. Friend the Minister for Africa (Mr. Mullin), raised it with President Isaias during his visit to Eritrea in January last year. DFID will continue to make clear our concern.
TREASURY
2001 Census
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the last day for returning the 2001 census form was; how many such forms were issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS); how many were returned to the ONS; and if he will make a statement. [213192]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Mr. Len Cook to Mr. David Amess, dated 4 February 2005:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the last day for returning Census forms was, how many such forms were issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and how many were returned to the ONS. (213192)
Forms had to be received on or before 06 July 2001 to be included in the regular processing system. For forms received after this date special measures were taken to ensure that they were included in the Census archive and that account was taken of them in the final results.
In the three weeks prior to Census day (29 April 2001) Census forms were delivered to 21.7 million occupied households in England and Wales. Approximately 20.4 million of these forms were returned. Where forms were not returned the enumerator submitted a two page "dummy" form containing summary information. This information, together with findings from a large follow-up survey (the Census Coverage Survey), enabled adjustments to be made so as to account for the 1.3 million occupied households that did not return a Census form in the final results.
Enumerators also identified and issued forms to approximately 0.9 million vacant households and second homes. Furthermore approximately 1.0 million individual forms were delivered and returned by people residing in communal establishments such as care homes, prisons and halls of residence. In total, over 24 million forms were issued.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions were made for non-completion of the 2001 Census form, broken down by constituency. [213166]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 1 February 2005]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. David Amess, dated 4 February 2005:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many prosecutions were made for non-completion of the Census form, broken down by constituency. (213166)
The total number of prosecutions for non-compliance in England and Wales was 39. These are broken down by Parliamentary constituency in the attached table.
4 Feb 2005 : Column 1181W
Departmental Policies (Burnley)
Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will set out, with statistical information relating as directly as possible to the Burnley constituency, the effects on Burnley of his Department's policies and actions since 2 May 1997. [214702]
Mr. Timms: The Government have put in place a broad programme of both macroeconomic and microeconomic reform since our election in 1997 designed to better the economic performance of all parts of the UK. Since these policies were implemented the economic performance of the Burnley constituency has improved considerably. For example, since May 1997, claimant unemployment has fallen by 46 per cent. and both long-term unemployment and long-term youth unemployment have fallen by over three quarters.
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./.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |