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20 Dec 2005 : Column 2791W—continued
Unscrupulous Lending
Ed Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken to protect vulnerable groups in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield district and (c) Normanton from unscrupulous and unfair lenders. [37850]
Mr. Sutcliffe:
The Consumer Credit Bill will improve the regulation and monitoring of consumer credit businesses and extend protections, rights and means of redress for consumers against unscrupulous lenders across the UK.
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The DTI has also commissioned research into the scope and extent of illegal money lending in the UK and is considering how to build on the lessons learnt from the pilot scheme on enforcement against illegal money lenders.
A £36 million development fund is also being set aside for third sector lenders as an alternative source of credit for those most at risk. This will help credit unions grow so that they can offer a more widely available alternative to unscrupulous lenders.
Finally, the Financial Inclusion Fund includes £45 million to increase face-face debt advice capacity, with particular regard to the needs of financially excluded consumers.
WTO Ministerial Meeting
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the European Commission's negotiations on (a) the World Trade Organisation's agreement on trade in services and (b) non-agricultural market access prior to the forthcoming WTO Ministerial meeting in Hong Kong. [37499]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Member to the statement to the House made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry today.
Zirconium Silicate (Iran)
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2005, Official Report, column 1677W, on zirconium silicate (Iran), what the process is by which potential exports of zirconium silicate are identified for the case-by-case consideration referred to; and who is responsible for identifying whether the material in question is to be used in connection with a weapons of mass destruction programme. [38446]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 19 December 2005]: The Export Control Organisation (ECO) in DTI determines whether the goods are on the Control Lists and if not, whether an export licence may still be required under the WMD end-use control (depending on the end-user). ECO is ultimately responsible for this judgment, but will usually seek advice from relevant other Government Departments. If the goods are assessed as licensable, a judgment will then be made about whether a licence should be granted.
TREASURY
Asset Register
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department has given to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on the production of a publicly available asset register. [38129]
John Healey:
Section 23.3 of Government Accounting 2000" www.government-accounting.gov.uk provides Departments, including the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, with guidance for maintaining asset registers. Government Accounting 2000 does not mention
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whether Departments should make asset registers publicly available, and it is for each Department to decide.
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance his Department has given to other Government Departments on acceptable time limits for the production of asset registers at the end of each financial year; and if he will make a statement. [38130]
John Healey: Section 23.3 of Government Accounting 2000" www.government-accounting.gov.uk provides Departments with guidance for maintaining asset registers. Departments are expected to maintain and update asset registers continuously. Government Accounting 2000 does not set any specific time limit for the production of asset registers at the end of each financial year.
Cancer/Heart Disease Deaths
Mr. Jenkins: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what the death rate was for (a) cancer and (b) heart disease in (i) the West Midlands, (ii) Staffordshire, and (iii) Tamworth constituency in the last period for which figures are available. [37824]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, dated 20 December 2005:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the death rate was for (a) cancer and (b)heart disease in (i) the West Midlands, (ii) Staffordshire, and (iii) Tamworth constituency in the last period for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (37824)
The latest year for which figures are available is 2004 and these are given in the table below. As population estimates are not available for parliamentary constituencies, figures are provided for the two local authorities, Tamworth and Lichfield, which constitute the constituency requested.
(18)Rates per 100,000 population standardised to the European Standard Population.
(19)The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10).
The codes used are listed:
Cancer (malignant neoplasms)—ICD-10 C00-C97
Coronary heart disease—ICD-10 120–125
Deaths were selected using the original underlying cause.
(20)The current county of Staffordshire. This excludes Stoke-on-Trent which became a unitary authority in 1997.
(21)Usual residents of these areas.
(22)Deaths registered in 2004.
Common Agricultural Policy Document
Mr. Jack:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Department began production of the document 'Vision for a Changed CAP'; which sections of his Department were involved in this work; what the
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names of the lead officials who contributed to its production are; and from whom outside Government views were sought. [38760]
John Healey: The paper 'A Vision for the Common Agricultural Policy' was a joint publication by HM Treasury and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. CAP reform has been under continual consideration by the Government for many years, with documents published and views from a wide range of stakeholders considered at many stages; the paper draws on that work. The paper presents for debate a vision for what a sustainable model of European agriculture might look like in the future and the Government looks forward to engaging in a wide and constructive discussion.
The teams in HM Treasury which were principally involved in this work were the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Team in the Public Services Directorate and the EU Policy Team and the International Poverty Reduction Team in the Macroeconomic Policy and International Finance Directorate. The Civil Service yearbook contains details of lead officials.
Compensation Settlements
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether compensation settlements made with companies working for his Department are tax deductible. [37145]
Dawn Primarolo: A compensation payment made by a company for the purposes of its trade which is not for infraction of law or by way of a penalty will generally be tax deductible provided that it is not capital in nature.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many secondees there have been to his Department from consultancy firms, including the BigFour accountancy firms, in each of the last three years; and what areas of the Department they have worked in. [37356]
John Healey: The number of secondees to HM Treasury from consultancy firms in each of the last three years is as follows:
| Secondees | |
|---|---|
| 2003 | 4 |
| 2004 | 5 |
| 2005 | 5 |
Seven have been employed in the Finance, Regulation and Industry Directorate; six in the Budget and Public Finance Directorate; and one in the Government financial Management Directorate.
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