| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
27 Jun 2005 : Column 1291W—continued
Contracts (Value Audits)
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what monitoring his Department undertakes on the value for public money of contracts that are entered into by its agencies. [6432]
John Healey: The professional Procurement Team of HM Revenue and Customs responsible for Treasury procurement, advise, oversee and in many cases procure the goods and services required by the Debt Management Office.
OGCbuying.solutions negotiate framework agreements and managed services agreements with private sector suppliers for specific goods and services.
These agreements deliver procurement savings by, among other things, aggregating demand and standardising customer requirements to take advantages of economies of scale; establishing long-term and partnership relationships with suppliers that remove supply side risk of the unknown and the associated cost on of that risk and by providing the public sector with ease of access to a broad range of requirements, on a one-stop-shop basis.
Customs and Excise Fraud (Staff)
Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received regarding concerns about fraud by staff working for HM Customs and Excise in the past 20 years. [6628]
Dawn Primarolo: Since October 2000, representations and allegations of fraud or impropriety against officers of HM Customs and Excise have been referred to the Internal Investigation Division (IID). The IID has responsibility for dealing with criminal and disciplinary investigations in partnership with other law enforcement staff and the police. Prior to October 2000 such matters were referred to either internal investigators, external investigators or senior Departmental managers.
Departmental Estate
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) the office space in central London owned or rented on behalf of his Department, (b) the amount of space in each of the locations per full-time equivalent member of staff and (c) the occupancy rates of each; and if he will make a statement. [7131]
John Healey: HM Treasury occupies 1 Horse Guards road which has a net usable area of 22,215 square metres. This represents approximately 18 square metres per full-time equivalent member of staff. The building is permanently occupied during normal working hours.
Electrocution Fatalities
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were killed by accidental electrocution in each year since 1994. [6574]
John Healey:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
27 Jun 2005 : Column 1292W
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Nick Gibb, dated 27 June 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many people were killed by accidental electrocution in each year since 1994. (6574)
The most recently available information is for deaths in 2003. Figures for deaths due to accidents caused by exposure to electric current are shown in the table below for each year from 1994 to 2003.
| Number of deaths | |
|---|---|
| 1994 | 37 |
| 1995 | 42 |
| 1996 | 36 |
| 1997 | 39 |
| 1998 | 37 |
| 1999 | 50 |
| 2000 | 41 |
| 2001 | 34 |
| 2002 | 24 |
| 2003 | 25 |
(10)Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code E925 for the years 1994 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes W85-W87 from 2001 onwards.
(11)Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.
HM Revenue and Customs
Lady Hermon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reason the fraud hotline to the Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs does not extend to Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [7146]
Dawn Primarolo: The fraud hotline (0800 788 887) can be accessed throughout the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland. I understand that calls are in fact received from Northern Ireland.
Mr. Gale: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will request the resignation of the chairman of HMRevenue and Customs following the publication of the Adjudicator's Annual report. [7286]
Dawn Primarolo: No. As I said in my written statement of 26 May I have agreed with the chairman of HMRC six measures to improve the administration of tax credits. HMRC are now working to deliver these measures.
Hot Weather Fatalities
Steve Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many excess deaths were ascribed to hot weather in each year since 1980, broken down by age. [6565]
John Healey:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
27 Jun 2005 : Column 1293W
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 27 June 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many excess deaths were ascribed to hot weather in each year since 1980, broken down by age. (6565)
Death rates in England and Wales vary seasonally, being lower in summer than in the winter months. However, analyses of urban populations indicates that all-cause mortality rises during heatwaves. In most summers, temperatures do not get high enough to raise mortality from the usual seasonal low. The main exceptions in recent years were 1995 and 2003. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has carried out special analysis into excess deaths during the 1995 and 2003 heatwaves. The analysis of the 1995 heatwave, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health" in February 1998, found that there were an estimated 619 extra deaths in England and Wales between 30 July and 3 August compared to the expected number of deaths based on the 31-day moving average for that period. The analysis found that excess deaths were apparent in all age-groups. The analysis of the 2003 heatwave, published in Health Statistics Quarterly 25" in February 2005, found that there were 2,091 excess deaths in England between 4 and 13 August compared to the average for the same period in the previous five years. The analysis found that the elderly (aged 75 and over) were most affected by the heatwave.
Indirect Tax Losses
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the illicit market share for (a) cigarettes, (b) spirits and (c) oils in each of the last five years for which information is available; and if he will make a statement. [7102]
John Healey: Estimates of the illicit market share for the latest four years for which data are available for spirits, cigarettes and oils are given, respectively, in tables 3.3, 3.9 and 3.14 of the Measuring and Tackling Indirect Tax Losses" document published by HM Customs and Excise alongside the pre-Budget report in December 2004. This is available from the House of Commons Library.
Earlier years estimates for cigarettes and oils can be found in chapter 4 of the Measuring and Tackling Indirect Tax Losses" document published in December 2003. There are no comparable estimates for spirits prior to 1999–2000 due to improvements in data and methodology.
27 Jun 2005 : Column 1294W
Methadone Deaths
Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths in the UK were wholly or partly attributed to methadone in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [6964]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Fabian Hamilton, dated 27 June 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths in the UK were wholly or partly attributed to methadone in the last 12months for which figures are available. (6964).
Available figures relate to the number of deaths from drug-related poisoning where methadone was mentioned on the death certificate. The most recently available information for all the countries of the United Kingdom is for deaths in 2003. It is not possible to identify from death certificates which substance was the primary cause when more than one was involved. Figures related to the number of deaths where methadone was mentioned on the death certificate, either alone or with other substances, are shown in the table below.
| Number of deaths | |
|---|---|
| Methadone: | |
| Mentioned alone(14) | 83 |
| Total mentions | 264 |
(12)Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes F11-F16, F18-F19, X40-X44, X60-X64, X85 and Y10-Y14.
(13)Data are for deaths occurring in the calendar year for England and Wales, and for deaths registered in the calendar year for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
(14)Methadone is the only drug mentioned on the death certificate.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |