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8 Mar 2006 : Column 1504W—continued
Water Supply (Kent)
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of water (a) provision and (b) usage in Kent for 2006 to 2017; and if she will make a statement. [55105]
Mr. Morley [holding answer 2 March 2006]: Kent is supplied by a number of water companies: Mid Kent Water; Thames Water; Folkestone and Dover Water Services; South East Water, and Southern Water Services.
In common with the other water companies in England and Wales, these companies maintain 25 year water resource plans which seek to reconcile supply with anticipated demand. These water resource plans are produced voluntarily every five years at present but will become a statutory requirement under the provisions of the Water Act 2003.
Water System (New Housing)
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the new (a) reservoirs, (b) treatment plants and (c) sewerage systems that might be needed to accommodate proposals for new house building up to 2016. [55456]
Mr. Morley
[holding answer 6 March 2006]: Water companies are already factoring new house building into their water resources plans, using projections from ODPM and local authorities. Ofwat has already assumed in its current price limits that almost 1 million new properties will be connected to the water and sewerage service by 2010.
8 Mar 2006 : Column 1505W
To fulfil their duty to maintain adequate supplies of water, several water companies propose to enlarge existing reservoirs (three in total) or construct new ones (five in total). These proposals are set out in the 25 year water resources plans they prepared in 2004. The Environment Agency has advised Ministers about the appropriateness of these proposals and other measures to ensure security of supply in its report Maintaining water supply", which was published in July 2004.
Planning for new sewerage systems should be carried out in close and transparent co-operation between planners and water and sewerage companies. The provision of water and sewerage services are key factors in ensuring the sustainability of new housing developments. New sewers are usually laid by developers or requisitioned from the water and sewerage companies.
TREASURY
Business Productivity (Coventry, South)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the productivity of business in Coventry South. [56763]
John Healey: Official productivity statistics are published at the national level and Government Office level. Therefore data on the productivity performance of business in the Coventry, South constituency is not available.
At the regional level, the West Midlands has improved relative to the UK average. Between 1996 and 2004, the region enjoyed the fastest increase in productivity of all the regions relative to the UK average.
Data on the Coventry, South constituency shows that since 1997, claimant count unemployment has fallen by over 35 per cent. long-term unemployment has fallen by 92 per cent. and long term youth unemployment has fallen by over 66 per cent. Available statistics on employment show that employment has risen by over 25 per cent. since 1999 in the Coventry, South constituency.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of staff employed by his Department are on temporary contracts. [56947]
John Healey: HM Treasury currently has 18 staff on temporary contracts. These staff are engaged from Agencies to fill short-term gaps in cases of sickness or unplanned leave taken by permanent staff.
Life Expectancy
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average life expectancy is for people in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. [56418]
John Healey:
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
8 Mar 2006 : Column 1506W
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 8 March 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question regarding the average life expectancy for people in (a) England; (b) Scotland; (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland. I am replying in her absence. (56418)
The table shows life expectancies at birth for males and females for the four countries requested. These are 'period' expectation of life figures, which are calculated from the mortality rates actually experienced in the years 2002 to 2004. They do not allow for possible changes in mortality in future years.
| Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
| England | 76.6 | 80.9 |
| Scotland | 73.8 | 79.1 |
| Wales | 76.0 | 80.4 |
| Northern Ireland | 75.8 | 80.6 |
Source:
Interim Life Tables 2002–04, http://www.gad.gov.uk/Life_Tables/Interim_life_tables.htm
'Cohort' life expectancy figures, which do allow for projected changes in mortality in later years, are available from the Government Actuary's Department's website at: http://www.gad.gov.uk/Life_Tables/Period_and_cohort_eol.htm
Office for National Statistics
Ms Abbott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether the relocation plans for the London site of the Office for National Statistics meet the requirements of the impact assessment conducted under the terms of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000; [56507]
(2) what funds have been allocated by the Department for (a) redundancy, (b) relocation, (c) recruitment, (d) training and (e) travel costs in connection with the relocation of Office for National Statistics London-based staff; [56508]
(3) whether options to retain skilled London-based staff were considered when deciding on the relocation of staff from the Office for National Statistics; [56509]
(4) how much the Office for National Statistics has spent on modernisation in the last five years; and what assessment has been made of the impact of such modernisation; [56510]
(5) what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the number of people it requires to deliver key outcomes in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007; and at what (i) grades, (ii) salary and (iii) sites. [56511]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Dennis Roberts, dated 8 March 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to respond to your recent Parliamentary Questions on the relocation and modernisation plans of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). I am replying in her absence (56507, 56508, 56509, 56510 and 56511).
(56507)—To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the relocation plans for the London site of the Office for National Statistics meet the requirements of the impact assessment conducted under the terms of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000.
ONS carried out a Race Equality Impact Assessment (REIA) on the proposed relocation prior to the final decision being taken. The Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) has confirmed that it welcomes the actions that have been taken by ONS with regard to
- the General Statutory Duty under s.71(1) of the Race relations Act 1976, as amended, in respect of employees who will relocate to Newport and Titchfield. CRE has asked ONS to consider whether there need to be further specific measures in place to support ethnic minority staff who choose not to relocate. ONS is currently consulting its Trade Unions and Diversity Groups on these issues.
(56508)—To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what funds have been allocated by the Department for (a) redundancy, (b) relocation, (c) recruitment, (d) training and (e) travel costs in relation to the relocation of Office for National Statistics London-based staff.
Appropriate funds are being held within ONS budgets for all of these purposes. These funds are not measured separately and are held within a number of operating budgets as part of the ONS spending baseline. However, ONS received agreement from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to provide up to £5 million of extra funding in each of the next two years to match funding already provided for by ONS. This was mainly provided in recognition of the fact that ONS needed to reduce staff numbers quicker than could be achieved through natural wastage in order to deliver the efficiency savings we have identified.
(56509)—To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether options to retain skilled London-based staff were considered when deciding on the relocation of staff from the Office for National Statistics.
ONS aims to meet targets for relocation in a way that protects our ability to deliver our business and achieves cost savings in order to fund future work. We are providing assistance to staff who wish to relocate. Where staff choose not to relocate we are helping them to move into other skilled roles, often elsewhere within ONS or within Government. Where specific skills are key to the continuity of ONS business, we aim to retain those skills in London until such time as we can replace them on our Newport or Titchfield sites.
(56510)—To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much the Office for National Statistics has spent on modernisation in the last five years; and what assessment has been made of the impact of such modernisation.
ONS has spend £54.5 million on the Statistical and Technical Modernisation Programme begun three years ago. The Programme has delivered a working prototype for a new statistical database, re-engineered methods and business processes for key statistical systems, new standardised tools and software and a modernised IT infrastructure.
(56511)—To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate the Office for National Statistics has made of the number of people it requires to deliver key outcomes in (a) 2006 and (b) 2007; and at what (i) grades, (ii) salary and (iii) sites.
As indicated in our Departmental Report 2005, the planned number of full time equivalent persons to be employed by ONS in future years is:
Machinery of government changes, since publication of the Departmental Report 2005, are expected to result in some small upward revisions to these figures.
| 1 April: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Site | 2006 | 2007 |
| London | 770 | 525–575 |
| Newport | 1,275 | 1,350–1,375 |
| Titchfield | 725 | 750–775 |
| Southport | 840 | 650–700 |
| Field(13) | 700 | 700 |
(13) Estimate.
All civil service and senior civil service grades will be represented at a range of salaries. Business areas are currently working out the detail in light of confirmed budget allocations and targets.
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