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Jammu Kashmir
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what discussions he has had with the Jammu Kashmir Government concerning what financial or material assistance is needed following the recent severe weather there; [219762]
(2) what assistance his Department has offered to the Jammu Kashmir Government following the recent severe weather there. [219764]
Mr. Gareth Thomas: We have not received, nor do we expect to receive, a request from the Government of India (GoI) for assistance in responding to the recent severe weather in Jammu and Kashmir. All external assistance to India is co-ordinated by the GoI. The GoI has considerable experience and capacity in responding to natural disasters, and adheres to a clear policy not to request external humanitarian assistance in such circumstances.
Malawi
Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid Malawi will be given by his Department in 2005; and how much was given in 2004. [220345]
Hilary Benn: In the financial year 2005–06, DFID plans to provide £60 million of aid to Malawi through its bilateral country programme. The equivalent figure for the financial year 2004–05 is expected to be £55 million. In addition, Malawi will benefit from aid from multilateral and international organisations including the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations, which are in part financed by DFID, but for which figures are not yet available.
Middle East
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the proposed Middle East donors conference in June; and whether he plans to establish an international fund under the aegis of the UN to finance the cost of resettlement and compensation for Palestinian refugees, as proposed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Resolution 1156 [1998]. [220354]
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Hilary Benn: At the March 1 London Meeting on Supporting the Palestinian Authority (PA), the international community committed to holding a Consultative Group of international donors by the end of June. The UK looks forward to participating fully and pledging further support to the PA. As the prospects increase for a return to the Roadmap and a move towards final status negotiations, the international community will need to look afresh at plans to meet the costs of resettlement and compensation for refugees. A review of Resolution 1156 may be a good starting point.
Overseas Aid
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he takes to ensure that all aid from the UK, including that distributed via multilateral donors, is fully aligned with the priorities of recipient countries. [220772]
Hilary Benn: International commitments made at Monterrey (2002), Rome (2003) and the recent High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Paris require both bilateral and multilateral donors to use their assistance in support of countries' own priorities. DFID's country programmes are governed by Country Assistance Plans, which are agreed with partners and demonstrate how DFID will support their own poverty reduction plans. On 2 March, I published a new policy paper Partnerships for Poverty Reduction: Rethinking Conditionality", which emphasises our commitment to partner country leadership in setting their developing policies, and states that we will not seek to influence policy choices by use of aid conditions. DFID works closely with multilateral agencies, at both headquarters and country level, to ensure their procedures and practice promote alignment.
TREASURY
Census
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the number of individuals in Southend who did not complete 2001 Census returns; [220586]
(2) how many prosecutions there have been of individuals in Southend for non-completion of the 2001 Census. [220587]
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. David Amess, dated 9 March 2005:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions on non-completion of the 2001 Census in Southend. (220586 & 220587)
In answer to your first question; in Southend, 10,230 persons were added to the Census in order to account for the individuals who did not complete 2001 Census returns.
With regard to your second question, no individuals in Southend have been prosecuted for non-completion of the 2001 Census. The total number of prosecutions for non-completion of the 2001 Census in England and Wales was 39.
Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the statutory penalties are for refusing to complete a decennial population census form for England and Wales; and how many successful prosecutions there were for that offence in connection with the censuses for (a) 1981, (b) 1991 and (c) 2001; [220592]
(2) what the statutory penalties are for unlawfully disclosing personal information from closed decennial population censuses for England and Wales; and how many successful prosecutions there have been for that offence since 1990. [220593]
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 Taylor, dated 9 March 2005:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking (i) what the statutory penalties are for refusing to complete a decennial population census form for England and Wales; and how many successful prosecutions there were for that offence in connection with the censuses for (a) 1981, (b) 1991 and (c) 2001 and (ii) what the statutory penalties are for unlawfully disclosing personal information from closed decennial population censuses for England and Wales, and how many successful prosecutions there have been for that offence since 1990. (220592, 220593)
The penalty for failing to complete a census form is prescribed by Section 8(1) of the Census Act 1920 which states that on summary conviction a person shall be liable for a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
The maximum fine of level 3 on the standard scale under the Criminal Justice Act 1982 was £1,000 at the time of the 2001 Census.
The numbers of successful prosecutions for failing to complete a census form in England and Wales were 692 in 1981, 342 in 1991 and 38 in 2001.
The statutory penalty for unlawfully disclosing personal census information is prescribed by Section 8 (5) of the Census Act 1920 as amended by the Census (Confidentiality) Act 1991 which states that (a) on summary conviction a person shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not
- exceeding the statutory maximum or to both; (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both.
Centenarians
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged 100 years and over live in the UK. [220496]
Mr. Timms: Based on the latest estimates prepared for the interim 2003-based national population projections, there were approximately 8,400 people aged 100 years and over living in the United Kingdom in the middle of 2003.
Emigration
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people who emigrated from the UK in each year since 1990; what percentage of those people he estimates were between the ages of 18 and 30; and if he will make a statement. [220670]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Dr. Ashok Kumar, dated 9 March 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding the number of people emigrating from the United Kingdom since 1990, and the percentage of these who were aged between 18 and 30. (220670)
Estimates of emigration from the UK are shown in the attached table. The figures are based on the most comprehensive estimate of migration produced by the Office for National Statistics, Total International Migration (TIM).
TIM estimates are based on data from a number of sources. Some of the source data are grouped into the following broad age groups: under 15; 15–24; 25–44; 45–59/64; and 60/65 and over. As a result, we are only able to provide TIM estimates of emigration for the aforementioned age groups. Furthermore, TIM estimates produced using the current methodology are only available from 1991 onwards.
(1) Total International Migration (TIM) estimates for 1991–2002 are based mainly on data from the International Passenger Survey (IPS). These include adjustments for (1) those whose intended length of stay changes so that their migrant status changes; (2) asylum seekers and their dependants not identified by the IPS; and (3) flows between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
(2) The percentage column expresses the TIM emigration estimate for the specified age range as a proportion of the TIM emigration estimate for all ages.
Source:
ONS, Home Office, Irish Central Statistics Office
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