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18 Oct 2005 : Column 911W—continued

ECOFIN

Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment ECOFIN has made of the joint paper from the UK, Austrian and Finnish presidencies. [19360]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: The written memorandum published today (18 October) sets out detail of the ECOFIN discussion, including on this item.

Electorate Size

Tim Farron: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which English constituencies experienced the greatest decrease in electorate below the age of 25 years between 1997 and 2005 in (a) numerical and (b) percentage terms, listed in descending order. [19185]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Tim Farron, dated 18 October 2005:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning decreases in the electorate below the age of 25. (19185)

Only very limited age information is collected on electoral returns. Information is collected and collated on the number of attainers, i.e. those aged 16 and 17 who will be entitled to vote when they reach 18. Information is also collected on the elderly (because of exemption from jury duty), though these data are not collated centrally.

Therefore I am not able to supply the information you have requested.

Financial Services Authority

Gregory Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total amount of money spent on entertainment at the Financial Services Authority has been in each year since 1997. [19258]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: This is a matter for the FSA. Iunderstand that the Chairman will be writing to the hon. Member.

HM Revenue and Customs

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of staff turnover was in Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in each of the last two years in each region and country of the UK; and what the rates were for staff working on tax credits. [19269]

Dawn Primarolo: The rates of staff turnover within HMRC over the last two years are shown by government region in the following table. The rates for staff working in the Tax Credit Office are also shown, along with the geographical division of that office.
 
18 Oct 2005 : Column 912W
 

Percentage

Government Region	2004–05	2003–04
East	5.10	4.84
East Midlands	5.22	4.62
London	5.36	4.77
North East	6.53	4.72
Northern Ireland	2.89	2.69
North West	5.08	4.78
Scotland	8.31	6.47
South East	5.38	5.54
South West	5.54	5.72
Wales	4.71	4.57
West Midlands	6.70	6.46
Yorkshire and Humberside	4.91	4.36
Total	5.71	5.07

	Percentage
Tax Credit Office (NW)	5.21
Tax Credit Office (NI)	1.87
Tax Credit Office (NW)	5.05
Tax Credit Office (NI)	0.00

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of days were lost through sickness absence in Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in each of the last two years in each region and country of the UK; and what the percentage was for staff working on tax credits. [19270]

Dawn Primarolo: Cabinet Office produce annual statistics for all Government Departments based on regional data which can be accessed via the civil service website. Data for 2004 will be published later this year. I also refer to the reply I gave on 10 January 2005, PQ127W detailing the sickness absence figures for the seven years to 2003 in Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise.

The average number of working days lost in 2003 for staff working in the Tax Credit Office was 16.86.

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many incidents of violence against staff working in Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have been reported in each of the last two years in each region and country of the UK expressed as a ratio of whole time equivalent employees; and how many related to staff working on tax credits. [19272]

Dawn Primarolo: Combined figures have been collated for incidents of violence against staff for Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise departments in each of the last two years.

	Verbal/written threats	Physical attacks on staff
2003–04	715	73
2004–05	1,302	92
2005–06 (Q1)	340	21

Staff figures

Full-time equivalent staff in post at	Total departments
1 April 2003	98,130
1 April 2004	98,280
1 April 2005	97,074

 
18 Oct 2005 : Column 913W
 

Of the total number of threats and attacks on staff reported, the following numbers related to staff working on tax credits:

	Verbal and written threats and physical attacks on tax credits staff
2003–04	201
2004–05	577
2005–06 (Q1)	187

It is not possible to provide numbers of staff working solely on tax credits. Staff deal with tax credit issues in many operational areas (e.g. in Enquiry or Contact Centres) but may also deal with other types of work. Threats and attacks against such staff are included in the above figures.

Identity Card Scheme

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a budget overrun for the identity card scheme will be underwritten by his Department. [19190]

John Healey: The Government announced it would proceed with the ID cards scheme in November 2003. At the time it was agreed that all costs will be met from existing departmental budgets and charging. This remains the case, as the Home Secretary reiterated to the House on Thursday 13 October 2005.

Income-related Benefits

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost of estimating tax
 
18 Oct 2005 : Column 914W
 
liabilities for those over state pension age applying for income-related benefits. [18627]

Dawn Primarolo: No such estimate is available.

IT Projects (Gateway Reviews)

Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the Government's plan for publishing Gateway reviews on IT projects. [16973]

John Healey: The Government have no plans for publishing Gateway reviews on IT projects. However, it does not operate a blanket" exemption for Gateway information. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 each request for information is considered on a case-by-case basis and the public interest test is carefully considered in each case.

London (Population)

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the population of (a) London and (b) each London borough has been in each of the last 10 years. [19157]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Jon Cruddas, dated 18 October 2005:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the population in London and each London Boroughs over the last ten years. (19157)

Please find attached a table showing the estimated population for Greater London, each London Borough, and the City of London from 1995 to 2004.

Total population, London and each London borough, mid-1995 to mid-2004

	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
Greater London	6,913,100	6,974,400	7,014,800	7,065,500	7,153,900
City of London	5,500	5,600	5,700	5,700	6,600
Barking and Dagenham	157,400	157,300	158,300	161,000	162,400
Barnet	299,000	303,000	304,600	308,300	313,500
Bexley	218,500	217,700	215,700	216,300	217,500
Brent	248,400	252,000	255,300	259,900	260,300
Bromley	290,000	291,700	293,100	291,700	294,900
Camden	182,500	186,300	186,200	183,900	190,000
Croydon	326,800	329,400	330,900	333,000	332,100
Ealing	288,500	292,800	294,000	296,300	302,300
Enfield	262,800	265,000	268,400	268,900	272,700
Greenwich	209,300	209,800	211,200	212,300	212,200
Hackney	192,900	193,100	191,400	194,700	199,100
Hammersmith and Fulham	153,500	155,000	155,100	155,500	160,600
Haringey	208,900	211,600	215,100	216,600	218,600
Harrow	207,000	207,200	206,900	206,700	207,900
Havering	227,600	227,100	226,000	223,600	225,700
Hillingdon	240,100	242,000	242,900	243,600	145,100
Hounslow	203,700	206,000	210,100	212,400	214,300
Islington	173,000	174,700	175,700	177,900	175,700
Kensington and Chelsea	140,600	141,100	142,100	143,100	147,700
Kingston Upon Thames	137,800	139,200	141,300	143,800	146,000
Lambeth	257,200	259,700	259,900	263,800	266,800
Lewisham	240,400	243,100	243,900	247,200	250,300
Merton	177,700	180,600	181,700	182,400	185,100
Newham	228,000	229,900	231,000	235,000	240,500
Redbridge	228,700	232,800	235,000	236,000	238,100
Richmond Upon Thames	166,600	168,700	170,000	169,900	172,800
Southwark	236,900	236,600	239,000	242,200	247,900
Sutton	174,200	175,700	177,000	177,900	179,400
Tower Hamlets	175,200	180,300	184,800	187,900	193,500
Waltham Forest	220,400	220,000	219,800	222,300	221,100
Wandsworth	259,900	261,100	260,600	261,000	264,200
Westminster	174,200	178,500	181,800	184,700	189,200

 
18 Oct 2005 : Column 915W
 

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Greater London	7,236,700	7,322,400	7,371,200	7,387,900	7,429,200
City of London	7,000	7,400	7,700	8,000	8,600
Barking and Dagenham	163,900	165,700	165,900	165,900	164,600
Barnet	315,800	319,500	322,300	324,400	326,700
Bexley	218,700	218,800	218,600	219,100	219,500
Brent	264,900	269,600	269,700	267,800	267,700
Bromley	295,300	296,200	297,100	298,300	299,100
Camden	196,200	202,600	207,000	210,700	217,100
Croydon	334,200	335,100	335,900	336,700	340,200
Ealing	304,400	307,300	307,800	305,000	303,200
Enfield	275,100	277,300	280,000	280,300	280,000
Greenwich	214,400	217,500	221,100	223,700	225,700
Hackney	203,400	207,200	208,900	208,400	207,000
Hammersmith and Fulham	164,400	169,400	172,700	174,200	176,800
Haringey	219,800	221,300	224,300	224,700	224,300
Harrow	209,100	210,000	211,300	210,700	211,900
Havering	225,100	224,700	224,500	224,600	225,000
Hillingdon	245,900	245,600	246,800	247,600	248,700
Hounslow	214,700	216,000	215,400	212,900	212,300
Islington	177,900	179,400	180,200	180,100	179,900
Kensington and Chelsea	154,700	162,200	168,400	174,400	184,100
Kingston Upon Thames	147,300	149,000	150,100	150,400	151,800
Lambeth	270,000	273,400	271,100	268,500	268,100
Lewisham	252,100	254,300	251,900	248,300	247,000
Merton	188,200	191,100	191,700	191,400	192,300
Newham	245,500	249,400	251,800	250,600	247,700
Redbridge	239,900	241,900	242,400	245,100	247,300
Richmond Upon Thames	172,900	174,300	176,500	179,200	182,700
Southwark	252,700	256,700	255,400	253,800	254,700
Sutton	180,500	181,500	180,200	178,500	177,600
Tower Hamlets	197,100	201,100	204,600	206,600	209,300
Waltham Forest	221,300	222,000	221,900	221,600	221,800
Wandsworth	267,700	271,700	273,500	274,100	276,500
Westminster	196,500	203,300	214,400	222,000	230,000

Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 100 and may not add exactly due to rounding.

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