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Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of unlicensed taxis operating in (a) England and (b) Leeds North West. [43376]
Ms Buck: We have made no estimate of the extent of unlicensed taxi operation either in England as a whole or in particular local areas. However, relevant data is held by the Court Proceedings Database of the Office for Criminal Justice Reform.
Taxis in England must be licensed by the relevant local authority under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. Individuals who attempt to provide a taxi service without being properly licensed normally do so by contravening section 45 of the 1847 Act by illegally plying for hire or section 167 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 by touting.
The Court Proceedings Database shows the numbers of offenders found guilty of offences under the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 (wider than just illegal plying for hire) and s167 of the 1994 Act are as follows; these data are provided on the principal offence basis.
In 2004, 215 people were found guilty of offences under sections4068 of the 1847 Act in England; 16 people were found guilty of these offences in the West Yorkshire Police Force Area.
In 2004, 311 people were found guilty of offences under s167 of the 1994 Act in England; none of these offences were in the West Yorkshire Police Force Area.
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what basis he deems it necessary for private motor vehicles to be tested annually once they are over three-years-old; if he will assess the merits of extending the period between tests beyond 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [41979]
Dr. Ladyman [holding answer 16 January 2006]: The primary purpose of the MOT test is to help safeguard against unroadworthy vehicles being used on the road. The average failure rate at annual test is, and has been for many years, around 30 per cent. for cars (equating to 6,752,700 cars), 35 per cent. for light goods (about 173,250 light goods vehicles between 3 and 3.5 tonnes) and 20 per cent. for motorcycles (about 149,000 motorcycles). The failure rate for cars undergoing their first MOT since their initial registration is around 16 per cent. (and equates to 375,000 vehicles). This reflects mainly items prone to wearing such as brake pads and tyres, which high mileage drivers who fail to check their vehicles regularly can easily overlook.
The current frequency of the test represents a reasonable balance between the cost to the motoring public and the risk to road safety of allowing defective vehicles to go undetected. However Ministers keep this under review.
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the premises occupied by his Department is fitted with audible fire alarms. [42869]
Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost of the inclusion of carers allowance recipients in the tax credit system. [41227]
Dawn Primarolo: Carer's allowance recipients are not excluded from the tax credits system. Carer's allowance recipients who meet the appropriate qualifying conditions are eligible for child tax credit and working tax credit. Information on the current cost of paying tax credits to carer's allowance recipients is not available because we do not separately collect information on tax credits paid to recipients of carer's allowance.
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times HM Revenue and Customs audited the accounts of charitable organisations in each of the last five years. [43669]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of audits and enquiries in relation to Gift Aid tax repayment claims and charity tax returns is shown in the table as follows. Information is only available from 200102.
Number of audits/inquiries | |
---|---|
200102 | (16)828 |
200203 | 813 |
200304 | 884 |
200405 | 908 |
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many firms have claimed a tax exemption on the first £50 a week of child care costs since the introduction of the exemption. [43766]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not currently available; Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs are currently assessing and monitoring the impact of the tax and national insurance contributions exemptions for employer supported child care.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Child Trust Fund vouchers have been issued to families in Tamworth constituency to date. [43460]
Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 1 December 2005, Official Report, column 658W, to the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire, North (Jim Sheridan).
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff (a) from the Valuation Office Agency, (b) HM Revenue and Customs and (c) his Department will attend the (i) Mass Appraisal Valuation Symposium in Vancouver on 67 February, (ii) Integrating GIS and CAMA Conference in Orlando, Florida on 19 to 22 February and (iii) International Property Tax Institute International Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in August; and what the total estimated cost to the public purse will be of attendance at each of the events. [42841]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is as follows:
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff employed by his Department live in Castle Point. [42821]
John Healey:
None of the staff of the Treasury are known to live in Castle Point.
19 Jan 2006 : Column 1487W
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were economically inactive in each London borough in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [42948]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 January 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning economic inactivity. (42948)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of inactivity for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
The attached table shows the numbers of inactive people of working age, resident in each London Borough, for the 12 month periods ending February 2001 to February 2004 from the annual local area LFS, and for the 12 months ending March 2005 from the APS. The table also shows the number of inactive people as a percentage of the total working age population resident in each Borough.
These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people were classed as economically inactive in Tamworth constituency in each of the last 10 years as (a) a percentage of the population of working age and (b) as a total; and if he will make a statement. [43472]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 January 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question concerning economic inactivity. (43472)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of inactivity for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
The attached table shows the number of economically inactive people of working age resident in the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency, for the 12 month periods ending February 1997 to February 2004 from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending March 2005 from the APS .The table also shows inactivity rates, as a percentage of the resident population of working age.
These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
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