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13 Feb 2006 : Column 1553W—continued
Marriages
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assumptions he has made (a) for the purposes of demographic modelling and (b) for other reasons about the number of marriages in the decade to 2016 between UK nationals and citizens of (i) Pakistan, (ii) India and (iii) Bangladesh where the latter seek settlement in the UK. [50246]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 13 February 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding the assumptions made (a) for the purposes of demographic modelling and (b) for other reasons about the number of marriages in the decade to 2016 between UK nationals and citizens of (i) Pakistan, (ii) India and (iii) Bangladesh where the latter seeks settlement in the UK. (50246)
The Government Actuary's Department has periodically produced projections of the future population of England & Wales by marital status. Responsibility for such projections has recently transferred to the Office for National Statistics. As part of this work, assumptions are made about future marriage rates. However, these assumptions are not broken down by nationality.
Money Laundering
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Financial Services Authority's press release of 8 March 2001, (1) if he will list the UK banks which laundered money for the former Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha; and how much money was handled by each bank; [50557]
(2) if he will undertake an inquiry to establish whether banks in (a) the UK and (b) Crown Dependencies offered their facilities to General Pinochet to evade taxes and launder money. [50569]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The handling of accounts linked to the late General Abacha or to General Pinochet by banks in the United Kingdom is a regulatory matter,
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responsibility for which lies with the Financial Services Authority, and the financial regulatory authorities on each Crown Dependency.
HM Treasury and the Governments of the Crown Dependencies are responsible for the overarching framework of legislation and guidance in relation to money laundering, which has been subject to a wide ranging modernisation programme to safeguard the integrity of the financial services sector.
Myeloma
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the life expectancy of a patient suffering from myeloma was in England in the last period for which figures are available. [49870]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 13 February 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what the life expectancy of a patient suffering from myeloma was in England in the last period for which figures are available. (49870)
Data on life expectancy for patients with specific types of cancer are not available. Available information relates to survival from diagnosis. Survival rates are calculated from the proportion of patients in each age group still alive at a given period after diagnosis.
The latest available survival rates for multiple myeloma 1 in England are for adult patients (aged 15–99 years) diagnosed during 1998–2001 and followed up to 31 December 2003. The five-year age-standardised 2 relative survival rates for patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma during 1998–2001 3 in England, was 25.6 per cent. for both male and female patients.
The survival statistics are available on the National Statistics website at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Productasp?vlnk=14007
2 As cancer survival varies with age at diagnosis, rates have been age standardised to control for changes in the age profile of cancer patients over time. 3 Complete five-year follow-up is currently only available for those diagnosed in 1998. For patients diagnosed in later years the most up-to-date estimates of shorter-term survival were used in this analysis of survival rates.
Parliamentary Questions
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parliamentary questions tabled in the last 12 months for answer by him on a named day (a) were transferred and (b) received a substantive answer (i) on the day named and (ii) after the day named. [49882]
John Healey: A parliamentary question is transferred when it is more appropriate for an answer to be given by a Department other than that to which it was originally tabled. Records are not kept of the number of questions transferred to and from the Treasury.
In the 2004–05 Session, Treasury Ministers answered 79 per cent. of named day questions substantively on the day nominated by questioners. The figure for the 2005–06 session to date is 70 per cent.
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David T.C. Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many ordinary written parliamentary questions tabled for answer by him in the last 12 months have been answered (a) within 14 days, (b) between 14 and 28 days, (c) between 28 days and two months and (d) in excess of two months after the date of tabling; and if he will make a statement. [49894]
John Healey: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, in the 2004–05 session, Treasury Ministers answered 84 per cent. of ordinary written questions within a working week of their having been tabled, as provided for in Erskine May" (Twenty-Third Edition, page 342). The corresponding figure for the 2005–06 session to date is 79 per cent.
Pool Re
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether buildings insurance provided through Pool Re covers radiological, biological and chemical terrorist attack where the building is subsequently uninhabitable due to contamination without significant structural damage. [51108]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Pool Re provides reinsurance cover for commercial property damage and consequent business interruption resulting from an act of terrorism on mainland Great Britain (excluding war and cyber terrorism risks).
Where purchased, insurance cover provided under the Pool Re scheme by its members (insurance firms) is subject to the terms and conditions which appear in the underlying policies issued by those members, which will contain no exclusions for chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear effects applying to the terrorism cover. This means that such policies will include cover for property damage relating to radiological, biological and chemical effects where the cause is an act of terrorism. The extent of the insured's cover will ultimately depend on the contract between the insurer and insured.
Post Office Card Account
Mr. Leech: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Manchester, Withington use a Post Office card account to access child benefit. [50373]
Dawn Primarolo: Approximately 920 recipients in Manchester, Withington used a Post Office card account to access child benefit in November 2005.
Qinetiq
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what professional advice his Department received about the offering of shares in Qinetiq to retail investors at flotation; when this advice was received; whether (a) officials and (b) Ministers challenged this advice; and if he will make a statement. [50931]
Mr. Des Browne:
The recommendation that the Qinetiq IPO should not include a retail offer was received by the MOD from its professional advisers and the final decision was taken in consultation with other Government Departments.
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Real Estate Investment Trusts
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact of the changes proposed in his pre-Budget statement in respect of real estate investment trusts upon (a) availability of housing for rent, (b) the amount and proportion of second and holiday homes, (c) the availability of housing in areas with a preponderance of second and holiday homes and (d) other aspects of the housing market. [50255]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Real estate investment trusts (UK-REITs) will provide a publicly quoted vehicle for investment in both commercial and residential property. As part of the Government's response to Kate Barker's Review of Housing Supply, one of the aims of introducing UK-REITs is to improve efficiency, affordability and professionalism in the private rented sector to the benefit of residential tenants. The Government will publish a final regulatory impact assessment alongside Finance Bill legislation.
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria will apply to the purchase of residential properties under his proposed changes to real estate investment trusts. [50256]
John Healey: As is set out in the draft legislation, published in December 2005 and updated in January 2006, real estate investment trusts (UK-REITs) will, among other rules, be required to be companies listed on a Recognised Stock Exchange, as defined for tax purposes, and to hold at least three properties, of which no one property can exceed 40 per cent. of the value of the total portfolio. These rules will apply to UK-REITs investing in commercial and/or residential property.
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