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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2389W—continued
Economic Cycle
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the change he announced to the Treasury Select Committee on 19 July on the start date for the economic cycle will require revision and alteration of documents and economic assessments previously published by his Department. [14632]
John Healey: The Government will next update their assessment of economic and fiscal developments and prospects in the autumn pre-Budget report, as usual, based on all relevant developments.
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he consulted the financial and business communities before announcing the revision to the start date for the economic cycle to the Treasury Select Committee on 19 July; and when the decision was made to change the start date for the economic cycle. [14633]
John Healey: As the Chancellor stated at the Treasury Select Committee on 19 July 2001
Following the significant updating by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on 30 June to GDP, it is right to update what has been a provisional judgement that the current economic cycle started in 1999–2000".
Analysis of evidence relevant to the dating of the cycle is set out in the paper Evidence on the UK economic cycle" published by the Treasury on 19 July.
Employment (Lanark and Hamilton, East)
Mr. Hood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what percentage of people in the Lanark and Hamilton, East constituency are classified as (a) professionals and (b) skilled workers; and if he will make a statement; [14063]
(2) what percentage of people in the Lanark and Hamilton, East constituency are employed in (a)service industries and (b) manufacturing industries; and if he will make a statement. [14064]
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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. Hood, dated 22 July 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Questions about employment in Lanark and Hamilton East Parliamentary constituency. (14063, 14064)
The attached table contains the information requested for all those in employment in the Lanark and Hamilton East constituency for the year to February 2004. This estimate is based on annual local area Labour Force Survey data which, as with any sample survey, is subject to sampling variability.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Professional occupations | 12 |
| Skilled workers | 12 |
Source:
Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Service industries | 73 |
| Manufacturing | 14 |
Source:
Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey.
Mr. Hood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the unemployment rate was in the Lanark and Hamilton, East constituency for each year from 2001 to 2005; and if he will make a statement. [14067]
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. Hood, dated 22 July 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (14067)
Due to the boundary changes introduced for the 2005 General Election there is a limited range of data available for Lanark and Hamilton East, and the other new UK Parliament Constituencies in Scotland.
The unemployment rate for the Lanark and Hamilton East constituency for the twelve months ending February 2004 was 6.2 per cent. Data for earlier periods are not available. This estimate is based on annual local area Labour Force Survey data which, as with any sample survey, is subject to sampling variability.
ONS also compiles statistics of those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for local areas. The new Scottish constituencies are built up from 2003 Census Area Statistics wards but claimant count data are available for this geography only from February 2004. The average number of Job Seeker's Allowance claimants as a proportion of the resident working age population for the eleven months ending December 2004 was 2.5 per cent. For the six months ending June 2005 the figure was 2.4 per cent.
The data are published on the Office for National Statistics Nomis(r) website at: www.nomisweb.co.uk
The unemployment rate is also published in Table 13(1) of the Labour Market Statistics First Release for Scotland.
Euro
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he next expects to publish an assessment of the five economic tests for UK membership of the euro. [14070]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Chancellor's statement to the House of Commons on 9 June 2003 set out a reform programme of concrete and practical steps to address policy requirements identified by the June assessment of the five economic tests. Budget 2005 noted that the Government did not propose a euro assessment be initiated at the time of the Budget and that the Treasury will again review the situation at Budget time next year as required by the Chancellor's June 2003 statement.
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants are employed in assessing performance against the five economic tests for UK membership of the euro. [14071]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Budget 2005 noted that the Government did not propose a euro assessment be initiated at this time. The Chancellor's statement to the House on 9 June 2003 on UK membership of the single currency set out a reform agenda of concrete and practical steps to address the policy requirements identified by the assessment of the five economic tests. A range of officials from across the Treasury contribute to this work.
European Parliament (Regulatory Costs)
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the regulatory costs that may be incurred as a consequence of the implementation of the European Commission's proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (COM 2003 427 final (22.7.2003)). [15686]
Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Constitutional Affairs has carried out a preliminary assessment of the regulatory costs of the draft regulation (referred to as Rome II'). This assessment indicates that the Regulation is unlikely to create significant regulatory costs but much will depend on its final form.
Family Tax Credit
Stephen Williams:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people had overpayments of family tax credits due to incorrect health or disability categorisation in the last year for which figures are available; [14475]
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(2) what the total cost of overpaid family tax credits, due to incorrect categorisation on grounds of health or disability was in the last year for which figures are available. [14476]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available.
Hiatt Handcuffs
Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 889W, on Hiatt handcuffs, whether the results of the customs investigation into large Hiatt handcuffs will be made public. [13678]
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2005, Official Report, column 889W, on Hiatt handcuffs, if he will place a copy of the results of the HM Revenue and Customs investigation into large Hiatt handcuffs in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [14351]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs submitted their report to the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office, which is wholly independent and reports to the Attorney General. HMRC will not be publishing their report of the investigations as to do so would breach their duty of confidentiality.
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