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12 Jul 2005 : Column 901W—continued
Substance Abuse (Scotland)
Mr. Hood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths occurred in Scotland as a result of (a) heroin and methadone abuse and (b) alcohol abuse in each year from 2001 to 2004; and if he will make a statement. [11493]
John Healey: This is a devolved matter and the responsibility of the Scottish Executive. My hon. Friend could pursue the matter with the Chief Executive of the General Register Office for Scotland.
Tax Credits
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will commission research into the effects of making tax credit awards for fixed periods; and if he will make a statement. [8563]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government carefully examined the issue of how tax credits could respond to changes in families' income and circumstances, and consulted on it when designing the child and working tax credits. A consultation document, 'New Tax Credits Supporting families, making work pay and tackling poverty', was published in July 2001.
In the light of that consultation exercise, the April 2002 publication The Child and Working Tax Credits: The Modernisation of Britain's Tax and Benefit System Number Ten" set out how the system would work.
The Government decided that tax credits should be designed to tailor support to families' specific circumstances, and to respond to their changing needs, providing most support when their need is greatest.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff work on the Inland Revenue tax credits complaints helpline; what the average number of calls (a) received and (b) answered was on each day in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [9841]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 6 July 2005, Official Report, columns 436–37W.
Testicular Cancer
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the incidence of testicular cancer per 1,000 men has been in (a) England, (b) the county of Bedfordshire and (c) Mid-Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency in each year since 1990. [10907]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mrs. Nadine Dorries, dated 12 July 2005:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what the incidence of testicular cancer per 1,000 men has been in (a) England, (b) the County of Bedfordshire and (c) Mid-Bedfordshire Parliamentary Constituency in each year since 1990.1 am replying in his absence. (10907)
The most recent available figures for the incidence of testicular cancer are for the year 2002. Age-standardised incidence rates (directly standardised to the European standard population) for England in each year since 1990 are given in the attached table. The rates have been provided per 100,000 men to assist the interpretation of the trends.
In each of the years since 1990 there were fewer than 20 cases of testicular cancer in the current county of Bedfordshire, too few to reliably calculate annual age-standardised incidence rates. For the period 1990–2002 the age-standardised incidence rate for this county was 6.2 per 100,000 men.
(12) Age-standardised rates per 100,000 population are directly standardised to the European standard population. In detailed analyses of trends in incidence and mortality over time for a particular cancer, ONS use age-standardised rates. These control for differences in the size and age structure of the population and allow unbiased comparison of rates over time.
(13) From 1990 to 1994, International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 186; from 1995 to 2002, International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code C62.
Source:
Office for National Statistics
Unleaded Petrol
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will reduce the tax on unleaded petrol. [10886]
John Healey: The Government recently announced that it will not go ahead with the planned inflation increase of fuel duties on 1 September—including for rebated oils, biofuels and road fuel gases—and will review the position again at the time of the pre-Budget report.
HOME OFFICE
Airsoft Games
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from participants in airsoft games about the impact of Government legislation on the sport. [10169]
Hazel Blears:
We have received and are considering representations from a range of individuals and organisations about the effect the Violent Crime Reduction Bill will have on airsoft games. Only realistic
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imitation firearms will be caught by the proposed ban on manufacture, import or sale and owners of existing guns will be able to retain and use them.
Airwave
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the performance of the police airwave system during the floods earlier this year in Carlisle. [11576]
Hazel Blears: No such assessment has been made because Airwave is not yet in operational use in Cumbria.
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the current status of the police airwave programme is (a) operational and (b) ready for service. [11582]
Hazel Blears: Airwave is available to all 51 forces in England, Wales and Scotland. Airwave is in operational use (in full or in part) in 48 forces.
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) performance targets have been set and (b) performance-related payments have been made to O2 Airwave in connection with the contract to provide the Tetra telecommunications network. [11592]
Hazel Blears:
There are a range of performance targets set out in the contract with O2 covering matters such as service availability and resolution of faults. There are no performance-related payments for exceeding these targets. There are, however, penalties for failing to meet them.
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ASBOs
Mr. Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding is expected to be allocated for anti-social behaviour orders in 2005. [10165]
Hazel Blears: We do not allocate any funding for antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs). There are currently six local agencies who can apply for ASBOs and it is the responsibility of these agencies to meet any associated costs.
Assaults (Race/Religion)
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what estimate he has made of the number of members of the (a) Jewish, (b) Muslim, (c) Hindu, (d) Sikh and (e) Christian faiths who were found guilty of assaults in which race or religion was assessed as a factor in each of the last three years for which figures are available; [8057]
(2) how many people of (a) white European, (b) white British, (c) African-Caribbean and (d) Gypsy Traveller extraction were convicted of assaults in which race or religion was assessed as a factor in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [8060]
Paul Goggins: It is not possible from the statistics collected on the Home Office Court Proceedings Database to identify different religious groups, as this data is not collected centrally. Nor is there currently robust data available on the ethnicity of people convicted of assaults, in which race or religion was assessed as a factor. Available information on the number of offenders found guilty of racial assaults, religious assaults and racial or religious assaults, England and Wales, 2001–03 is contained in the following table. Data for 2004 statistics will be available in the autumn.
n/a = not available.
(14) These data are on a principal offence basis.
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