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6 Mar 2006 : Column 1099W—continued
EU Membership
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the (a) complete and (b) unfinished studies held within his Department analysing costs and benefits of EU membership. [53265]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The Treasury routinely considers the wide range of external studies that attempt to assess the economic implications of aspects of EU membership.
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The Government estimate that 3 million jobs in the UK are dependent on trade with the European Union. The Government's February 2005 publication Growth and Opportunity: Prioritising Economic Reform in Europe" highlighted the economic benefits of the single market, the costs of remaining barriers to enterprise, competition and trade in the EU, and the importance of economic reform to address these.
Financial Literacy
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what initiatives he is supporting to improve financial literacy. [55427]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government are committed to improving financial education, which is why the Chancellor announced in the 2005 pre-Budget report that financial capability would be embedded more explicitly in the schools curriculum by including it in the new functional mathematics component of GCSE mathematics. The Government are also taking steps to strengthen adult financial literacy. Building on the work of Skills for Life it will embed financial capability in functional maths aimed at adults and encourage local authorities to provide more financial education to parents through Sure Start Children's Centres and locally delivered family numeracy activities. In addition the Government will provide information on opportunities for financial education to applicants for Social Fund Budgeting Loans.
The Government are also very supportive of the FSA led National Strategy for Financial Capability which has identified seven key projects that are considered the most likely to result in a step change in financial capability. The FSA's Financial Capability survey, whose results are due to be published on 28 March, will be important both in defining the levels of financial capability within the general population and for measuring future progress of the strategy.
Growth Forecasts
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he is taking to improve the reliability of growth forecasts. [55152]
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to improve the reliability of forecasts of economic growth. [55950]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member for Wellingborough to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) on the 2 March 2006; Official Report, column 392.
Independent Schools
Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 1008W to the hon. Member for Buckingham, on independent schools, if he will make it his policy to collect the information in a way that will enable different organisations to be separately identified. [55691]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
To provide historical information in this format would involve a major and disproportionately costly review of tens of thousands of charity records. To do
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so in the future would involve significant compliance costs to charities and would increase the administrative cost of HMRC.
Insurance (Genetic Testing)
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to introduce legislation that would ban insurance firms from using predictive genetic test results to decide premiums; and if he will make a statement. [53037]
Jane Kennedy: I have been asked to reply.
The consultation and analysis done by the human genetics commission jointly with the genetics and insurance committee (GAIC) has been used to inform the development of the Government's and insurer's Concordat and Moratorium on Genetics and Insurance", published in March 2005. This document ensures that the use of genetic information by insurance companies will be transparent, fair, and subject to independent oversight. It sets out a range of protections against the use of genetic information by insurers and puts in place until November 2011 a voluntary agreement banning the use by insurers of the results from predictive genetic tests, including tests on breast cancer genes, in deciding the premiums of insurance policies.
During the moratorium no one will be required to disclose the results of a predictive genetic test unless it has been approved by the GAIC and is for insurance of more than £500,000 for life insurance or £300,000 for other health insurance. To date, the only test that has been approved by GAIC is for Huntington's disease for life insurance polices over £500,000, and no applications for any other tests will be submitted before 2008.
The current agreement with the insurance industry is flexible enough to respond to fast moving technological and clinical developments in genetic testing. The Government has made clear that any failure of the agreement will lead to the reconsideration of the need for statutory control. Copies of the Concordat are available in the Library and are also available on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/publications.
Landfill Tax
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider raising the landfill tax to encourage more local authorities to recycle commercial waste; and if he will make a statement. [56705]
John Healey: The Government announced in the pre-Budget report that the standard rate of landfill tax will increase by £3 per tonne to £21 per tonne in 2006–07.
This increase is consistent with the Government's commitment to increase the standard rate of landfill tax by at least £3 per tonne each year on the way to a rate of £35 per tonne.
Decisions on future rates of landfill tax will be taken as part of the normal Budget process.
6 Mar 2006 : Column 1102W
Lone Parents
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of lone parents are (a) in (i) full-time and (ii) part-time work and (b) not in employment; and if he will make a statement. [55821]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 6 March 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about lone parents. I am replying in her absence. (55821)
The attached table gives the number and percentage of lone parents with dependent children in full-time and part-time employment and of those not in employment, for the latest available period ending in November 2005.
Estimates are taken from the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
(4) Refers to people who are not married or cohabiting and have dependent children, who are defined as 0 to 15-year-olds, or 16 to 18-year-olds in full-time education.
(5) Includes those who did not state whether they worked full or part time.
(6) As a percentage of all lone parents.
Note:
Excludes lone parents of unknown economic activity
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey
Maternity Statistics
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many births there were to women resident in the Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (a) in maternity hospitals, (b) in midwife-led units, (c) at home and (d) at other locations in each year since 2000. [56404]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 6 March 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your request for the number of births to women resident in the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority at (a) individual maternity hospitals, (b) midwife-led units, (c) home and (d) other locations in each year since 2000. I am replying in her absence. (56404)
The latest available figures are for 2004. The table below relates to babies born in England and Wales to women usually resident in the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority area at the time of the birth. Figures are presented for categories (a) and (b) combined, (c) and (d). Information is not available centrally on which of these institutions are mid-wife led units.
Hospitals where more than 30 live births took place over the period 2000 to 2004 have been shown individually; the remaining ones have been aggregated in the 'Other hospitals' sub-total.
- Births in the 'Elsewhere' category are mainly those occurring on the way to hospital or at a private residence which is not that of the mother.
(7) There were 115 hospitals/units in the 'Other' category where there was at least one birth in the period 2000 to 2004.
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