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7 Feb 2006 : Column 1119W—continued
Iraq
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's most recent estimate is of the cost to the Exchequer of combat operations in Iraq in each month since the start of the conflict; and if he will make a statement. [48739]
Mr. Des Browne: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 26 January 2006, Official Report, columns 2260–61W.
Job Statistics (Tamworth)
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) private sector jobs in (i) manufacturing
7 Feb 2006 : Column 1120W
and (ii) the service sector and (b) public sector jobs therewere in Tamworth constituency in each year since 1997. [48661]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 7 February 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about private and public sector employment in Tamworth. I am replying in her absence. (48661)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for the United Kingdom of public sector employment from a quarterly survey of public sector organisations. However, estimates at local area level are not available.
Information at local area level is only available from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS)/Annual Population Survey (APS) of individual people in households. However, in this source, the categorisation of employment in the public or private sector depends upon the responses from the individuals interviewed. As reported by ONS in October 2005 in the publication Public Sector Employment Trends" some individuals tend to misreport private sector employment as being in the public sector hence leading to overestimates of the share of public sector employment.
With this reservation about the data quality, the attached table shows the number of persons in private sector and public sector employment, for people resident in the Tamworth Parliamentary Constituency as shown by the annual local area LFS for the 12 month periods ending February 1999 to February 2004, and from the APS for the 12 months ending December 2004. Estimates are not available for 1997.
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.
(24) Public/private sector split based on responses from individuals responding to the annual local area Labour Force Survey. This generally results in overestimates of public sector employment.
(25) Other industries are Agriculture, Fishing, Energy and Water and Construction.
Note:
Estimates are subject to sampling variability. Changes from year to year should be treated with particular caution.
Source:
Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey.
National Census
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints have been made about the last national census; how many of those complaints have been upheld; and what action has been taken to address them. [48883]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 7 February 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about how many complaints have been made about the 2001 Census, how many of those have been upheld and what action has been taken to address them. I am replying in her absence. (48883)
In responding to your question we haw interpreted complaints to mean all correspondence that has been received expressing concern either about the 2001 Census population estimates for England and Wales or the 2001 Mid Year Population Estimates (MYEs) for England and Wales which are based upon the 2001 Census. We have not included issues or complaints raised in the run up to the 2001 Census on questionnaire content and other logistical matters in carrying out a Census.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has received letters of concern regarding 48, out of the total of 376, Local Authorities in England and Wales.
Following the 2001 Census ONS undertook an extensive programme of work to establish the reasons for the difference between the 2001 Census and the MYEs at both a national and local level. This research included a series of Local Authority studies carried out in 2004 which were designed to improve the MYEs in the areas that proved hardest to count in the 2001 Census in England and Wales. The results of these studies showed that
- better estimates of the population could be made in 15 areas and an adjustment was made to the MYEs in these areas. For the great majority of areas the 2001 Census based population estimate remains the best estimate of the population. A full report on these Local Authority Studies can be found at:
Of the 48 Local Authorities where concern was expressed about the 2001 Census, there were 10 cases-where an adjustment was made to the 2001 based MYEs.
In addition to the 2004 Local Authority Studies, ONS is now investing substantially in a project to Improve Migration and Population Statistics (IMPS). Further information on this project can be found at: www.statistics.gov.uk/IMPS .
The key aim of this project is to reduce the size of the difference between population estimates and mid-year estimates for 2011 when the next Census is undertaken and to better understand any difference that does remain.
The IMPS project is allowing ONS to investigate possible ways to improve the accuracy of the population estimates and to establish where it is possible to introduce changes to data sources and methods that will improve the quality of the statistics. This work includes an evaluation of administrative data sources that might inform the population estimates process and further case studies with a small number of Local Authorities.
Public Sector Accounts
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will list the changes made to the definitions of capitalspending in the Public Sector Accounts since May 2001. [47521]
Mr. Des Browne: There have been none.
Royal Mint
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff the Royal Mint employs in (a) London, (b) each region of England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland; how much the Royal Mint paid (i) in rates and (ii) in other accommodation costs in each location in 2004–05; what the total administration costs were in each location in 2004–05; and how much funding the Royal Mint received from the Government for 2005–06. [48835]
John Healey: In 2004–05, the Royal Mint employed, on average, 991 staff. Until August 2004, one employee was located in London. Since then, all members of staff have been employed in Wales.
The Royal Mint paid £452,000 in rates to the local Council. The total of accommodation costs and administrative costs in 2004–05 (excluding costs directly attributable to factory activities but including rates) is captured as Common Costs in the Annual Report which are equal to £7.145 million. Due to commercial sensitivity, the Royal Mint cannot provide a more detailed breakdown.
The Royal Mint has not received any funding from Government in this financial year (2005–06).
Small Business Relief Scheme
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses have applied for the small business relief scheme in each of the last five years; how many were eligible in each year; and how many of those were successful in each year. [49697]
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John Healey: The small business rate relief scheme came into effect from 1 April 2005. Applications for small business rate relief may be made up to six months after the end of the financial year to which the application relates, or six months from notification of an alteration to a rateable value that makes the hereditament eligible for relief. Information is not held centrally on the number of businesses that applied for and were granted relief in 2005–06.
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