| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Nov 2005 : Column 1514W—continued
Statistics of Trade Act
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) how many (a) males and (b) females have been (i) charged and (ii) convicted in England and Wales of offences under section 4 of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 in each year since 1984; [28271]
(2) if he will make a statement on the operation of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947. [28272]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. David Amess, dated 17 November 2005:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking how many (a) males and (b) females have been (i) charged and (ii) convicted in England and Wales of offences under section 4 of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 in each year since 1984 (28271), and if I will make a statement on the operation of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947. (28272).
To address your first question, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) carries out its functions under the provision of the Statistics of Trade Act 1947. Penalties are provided under section 4, that can be imposed by a Magistrates' Court in the event of failure to comply with our legal request. This response relates to summons and convictions relating to surveys conducted by ONS under the 1947 Act, and excludes any other government departments. Our understanding is that we are the main users of the 1947 Act, and to our knowledge few other government departments impose
- penalties under section 4, Legal action is taken against businesses who fail to comply rather than individuals and so therefore a gender breakdown is not appropriate.
The attached table shows the figures for the period requested. I have provided the information on the basis of the number in receipt of a summons and those that then go on to be convicted. The difference is those that have been withdrawn due to their willingness to comply. Only those who remain unwilling to comply will be heard in the Magistrates' Court and ultimately convicted.
To address your second question; again, I must make it clear that the policy only relates to ONS' operation of the 1947 Act. ONS has signed up to an 'enforcement concordat' which is regulated by the Cabinet Office. Under this agreement ONS have given an undertaking to 'carry out our duties in a fair, equitable and consistent manner'.
We recognise that most businesses want to comply with the law. We will, therefore take care to help businesses and others meet their legal obligations without unnecessary expense, while taking firm action, including prosecution where appropriate, against those who flout the law.
All businesses are provided with information regarding their statutory obligation to complete ONS questionnaires and they are advised on the consequences of non-compliance. We believe in, prevention being better than the cure and our role in enforcing compliance actively involves working with businesses, especially small and medium sized businesses, to advise on, and assist with compliance. We will discuss general issues, specific compliance failures or problems, with anyone experiencing difficulties, and continue to offer assistance after the receipt of the summons in order to gain compliance and prevent prosecution.
Note:
From 1993 onwards, reveals the policy adopted is that every effort is made to gain compliance, prosecution is only used as a last resort.
Two Roof Strategy
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the progress of his Department's two roof strategy. [28276]
Alan Johnson:
The two roof programme is a ground breaking change programme to rationalise its central London estate and transform the way we use our workspace. This core element of the DTI's Efficiency Programme offers a new and radical approach to workspace utilisation and will allow the Department to
17 Nov 2005 : Column 1516W
reduce its accommodation by approximately 30 per cent. Starting in 1 Victoria Street, the accommodation is being remodelled as part of a wider change programme to support team based desking in a flexible, open plan working environment on the basis of providing on average eight desks for every 10 people to be accommodated. This has enabled us to increase the capacity of our main HQ building from 1,680 under the original, traditional approach to approximately 2,400 now and to release other buildings on the estate for reuse or disposal. This change programme will now be applied to the rest of our London accommodation.
TREASURY
Corporation Tax
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much corporation tax was raised from businesses in Wales in each year since 1997. [29746]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is not available to estimate the amount of corporation tax raised from businesses in Wales in each year since 1997.
Economic Productivity
Peter Law: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the relationship between primary energy use and economic productivity. [29005]
John Healey: ONS figures show that energy consumption in the UK, as measured by the consumption of primary fuels or equivalents, has risen by 8 per cent. since 1990. Over the same time period, Gross Domestic Product has increased by more than 36 per cent. in real terms, and the UK's productivity performance continues to improve.
While oil prices have increased lately, it should be noted that actual productivity (trend output per hour worked) is estimated to have grown by 2.35 per cent. over the recent past (1997H1–2005Q1)-higher than growth of 2.03 per cent. over the previous economic cycle (1986Q2–1997H1).
Hospital Births (Southampton)
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many babies have been born in each hospital operated by Southampton University Hospitals Trust in each of the last five years. [29189]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Sandra Gidley, dated 17 November 2005:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your request for the number of babies born in each hospital operated by Southampton University Hospitals Trust in each of the last five years. (29189)
The table below shows the number of live births occurring in the requested hospitals and birth centres.
* Includes Broadlands Birth Centre which is co-located with Princess Anne hospital and cannot be separately identified.
Illegal Drugs (Staffordshire)
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths in Staffordshire were caused by illegal drugs in each year since 1997. [29384]
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. Brian Jenkins, dated 17 November 2005:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths in Staffordshire have been caused by illegal drugs since 1997. (29384)
Figures readily available from death certification relate deaths due to drug poisoning, not the total number that were attributable to drug use. These figures are produced from a special database which contains deaths where the underlying cause was drug poisoning. Deaths that may be caused indirectly by drug use, for example HIV infection or road traffic accidents, are not included. Death registration data are not the best source of information on these indirect" deaths, because information on the role of drug use in the death may not be provided on the death certificate.
The most recent year for which figures are available is 2003. The table below shows deaths certified as due to drug poisoning and involving drugs controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act for each year from 1997 to 2003.
(41) Defined using the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision for 2001–2003: F11-F16, F18-F19, X40-X44, X60-X64, Y10-Y14, X85 and the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision for 1997–2000: 292, 304, 305.2–305.9, E850-E858, E950.0-E950.5, E962.0 and E980.0-E980.5.
(42) Usual residents of the county of Staffordshire, excluding the Unitary Authority of Stoke on Trent.
(43) Data are for deaths occurring in each calendar year.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |