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TREASURY

Citizens Advice Bureaux

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether citizens advice bureaux will be eligible for assistance from the new Financial Inclusion Fund towards their money advice services. [218988]

Mr. Timms: Yes. Further details on the breakdown of the fund, including eligibility criteria will be announced in due course.

Correspondence

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter of the right hon. Member for Birkenhead of 4 February regarding the tax credits of his constituent Mr. Williams. [219385]

Dawn Primarolo: I understand that the Inland Revenue has replied to the right hon. Member.

They aim to reply to 80 per cent. of correspondence within 15 working days and 95 per cent. within 40 working days.

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letter of the right hon. Member for Birkenhead of 9 February regarding the tax credits of his constituent Mrs. Smith. [219386]

Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue have told me that they will be replying to the right hon. Member very shortly.

They aim to reply to 80 per cent. of correspondence within 15 working days, and 95 per cent, within 40 working days.

Employment (Hartlepool)

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of the workforce in Hartlepool was
 
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employed in (a) the public sector, (b) the manufacturing industry, (c) the service sector and (d) farming and agriculture in (i) 1997 and (ii) the last year for which figures are available; [218806]

(2) how many people were in employment in Hartlepool in each year since 1992. [218503]

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. Iain Wright, dated 2 March 2005:


Table 1: Number of employed people resident in Hartlepool parliamentary constituency

12 months ending FebruaryNumber
199528,000
199634,000
199737,000
199835,000
199934,000
200032,000
200135,000
200236,000
200334,000
200435,000




Note:
LFS estimates are subject to sampling variability. Changes from year to year in particular should be treated with caution.
Source:
Labour Force Survey





Table 2: Employees in the public sector resident in Hartlepool as a proportion of all in employment

12 month period ending FebruaryPercentage
1999(4)24.5
200223.7
200425.5


(4) LFS estimates are not available for 1997.
Note:
LFS estimates are subject to sampling variability. Changes from year to year in particular should be treated with caution.
Source:
Labour Force Survey




 
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Table 3: Employee jobs(5) in Hartlepool in selected industries as percentages of all employment

Percentage
ManufacturingTotal servicesAgriculture and fishing2, 3
199723.363.30.1
200218.273.7*


(5) Excludes self-employed jobs.
(6) These figures are aggregates from which agriculture class 0100 (1992 SIC) have been excluded.
(7) Estimates for agriculture and fishing for 2002 are not given to conform with the 1947 Statistics of Trade Act, preventing release of data that may disclose companies.
Source:
2002; Annual Business Inquiry, 1997; Annual Employment Survey (re-scaled).



Energy Products Directive

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission research on the earning levels of owners of private leisure craft who have benefited from rebated diesel under the Energy Products Directive. [218954]

John Healey: This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

EU Committees

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many times during the (a) Italian and (b) Irish presidency of the EU the Customs Co-operation Committee-EEC Cyprus met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement; [218851]

(2) how many times during the (a) Italian and (b) Irish presidency of the EU the Customs Co-operation Committee-EEC Malta met; when and where these meetings took place; what UK Government expert was present; and if he will make a statement. [218852]

Dawn Primarolo: This committee is the responsibility of the European Commission. No UK Government expert was present.

Health Expenditure

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the per capita spending on health in each year since 1997 was in (a) England, (b) the North East and (c) Hartlepool. [218801]

Mr. Boateng: Expenditure based on individual constituencies is not available. The closest match for Hartlepool is Tees health authority area, and its successor County Durham and Tees Valley strategic health authority. Public expenditure per capita on health in these areas, in the North East and in England is shown in the following table.
£

EnglandNorth EastTees health authorityCounty Durham and Tees valley strategic health authority
1997–98710586556n/a
1998–99750635623n/a
1999–00820749771n/a
2000–01890796824n/a
2001–02990879858n/a
2002–031,120995n/a991
2003–041,2801,081n/a1,075




Notes:
1. Public spending on health per capita in England will always appear higher because many areas of health expenditure are funded centrally and are not factored into local health authority spending. These include medical research, the funding of Special Health Authorities, NDPBs and some central budgets.
2. Expenditure per capita for health authorities and the North East is taken from audited health authority summarisation forms and primary care trust summarisation schedules that are prepared on a resource basis and therefore differ from cash allocations in the year. Weighted capitation figures are used to determine expenditure per capita—these are population figures that are weighted to reflect differing needs. Figures are given in cash terms.
3. Figures for 1997–98 to 2001–02 have been prepared using gross expenditure figures. Figures for 2002–03 and 2003–04 have been adjusted to eliminate expenditure that would be double counted where an authority acts as a lead in commissioning healthcare or other services.





 
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Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will match the United States' commitment to top up the Paris Club deal in respect of Iraq's debt by a bilateral agreement taking the debt write-off to 100 per cent.; and if he will make a statement. [208732]

Mr. Timms: The UK has been at the forefront of efforts to help rehabilitate Iraq's economy. The UK fully supported a generous debt treatment for Iraq at the Paris club meeting of 21 November at which it was agreed to write off 80 per cent. of Iraq's debt in order to provide a robust exit from debt unsustainability. Under the Paris Club deal, no payments are due from Iraq to Paris Club creditors until 2008. In addition to supporting the IMF and World Bank in providing assistance, the UK has pledged £544 million in direct aid over three years to March 2006, of which over £331 million has been committed. These funds are bringing immediate benefits to the Iraqi people. We continue to keep options to support Iraq's economy under review.


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