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10 Mar 2006 : Column 1801W—continued

TREASURY

Departmental Telephone Numbers

Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many call centres were run by his Department and its agencies in (a) 2003–04, (b) 2004–05 and (c) 2005–06 to date; and how many and what proportion of calls (i) were handled by an adviser, (ii) were received but abandoned and (iii) received an engaged tone in each year; [23294]
 
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(2) when he expects to answer question reference 23294 tabled by the hon. Member for Yeovil. [33747]

Dawn Primarolo: I very much regret that I have not been able to let the hon. Gentleman have an earlier reply.

The number of contact centres operated by HM Revenue and Customs and the two predecessor departments (Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise) in each relevant year are shown in the following table:

	HM Customs and Excise	Inland Revenue	HM Revenue and Customs
2003–04 (as at 5 April 2004)	6	21	None
2004–05 (as at 5 April 2005)	6	22	None
2005–06 (as at 1 March 2006)	None	None	28

Within the limitations of underlying data systems, HM Revenue and Customs best available estimates of call volumes for each relevant year are shown in the following table:
All figures in millions rounded to nearest 100 thousand

	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06 (to 31 December 2006)
Calls handled(4)	35.3	48.7	42
Calls received but abandoned(5)	6.1	2.7	3.3
Calls encountering an engaged tone(6)	25.4	31	63

⁽⁴⁾ Where the caller spoke to an adviser.
⁽⁵⁾ Where the caller selected an option from the call steering menu and was put in a queue to speak to an adviser but the call was terminated before the caller spoke to an adviser.
⁽⁶⁾ Call attempts where the caller was played an engaged tone.

Correspondence

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Financial Secretary will reply to the letter of 23 December 2005 from the hon. Member for North-West Leicestershire on the classification and use of reprocessed fuel oils. [57538]

John Healey: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Economic Secretary will reply to the letter of 15 December 2005 from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (PO Ref: 5/00563/2005). [57639]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: I have replied to the hon. Member and very much regret not having been in a position to do so earlier.

Sir Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster General will reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (HMT Ref: 3385N 05/06). [57642]

Dawn Primarolo: I have asked Sir David Varney to reply to the hon. Member and he has done so today.

Electoral Registration

John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) which 100 electoral wards have the lowest registration levels; [57735]
 
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(2) how many electoral wards in the UK have registration levels below 80 per cent. [57736]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 10 March 2006:

The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions concerning the number of electoral wards in the UK which have registration levels below 80 per cent. and the 100 electoral wards which have the lowest registration levels. I am replying in her absence. (57735 & 57736)

Data for Scotland are not available, and therefore this response reflects England, Wales and Northern Ireland only. Using the most recent electoral data for which estimates of the population aged 18 and above are available in order to calculate the registration rate, the number of electoral wards with a registration rate below 80 per cent. is 257. This represents 2.7 per cent. of the 9,421 wards in the England, Wales and Northern Ireland for which electoral registration rates have been calculated. I am placing in the House of Commons library a table listing the 100 electoral wards which have the lowest registration rates in ascending order.

It should be borne in mind that the percentage of the resident population who are registered to vote does not provide a reliable estimate of the registration rate of the eligible population. This is mainly because there are definitional differences between "usually resident" and eligibility to vote and therefore the estimated resident population aged 18 and over is not the same as the number of people eligible to vote. For example, the resident population includes all those who usually live in an area irrespective of nationality, whereas the parliamentary electorate excludes foreign nationals (but Commonwealth and Irish citizens are included) and may include some overseas electors who do not currently live in the area. Further, there is inevitably some double counting of the registered electorate. This can occur for a number of reasons. People who have more than one address, including
 

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students, may register in more than one place. Electoral registration officers may vary in how quickly they remove people from the registers after they have moved away from an area or after they have died.

For England and Wales, the closest available geography to current electoral wards, for which population estimates are available, is Census Area Statistics (CAS) wards. This geography was created for outputs from the 2001 Census and is based mainly on 2003 electoral wards.

The electorate counts are on electoral ward boundaries and so it has been necessary to convert these to the CAS ward geography.

The England and Wales ward registration rates have been calculated using December 2002 parliamentary electors, including attainers and the latest available ward population estimates which are for mid-2002. The parliamentary electorate has been used rather than the local government electorate, even though the latter is definitionally closer to the resident population, because the local government electorate is not available at ward level.

The registration rates are based on population estimates that are subject to a margin of confidence, which is proportionately larger for ward level estimates than for local authority estimates. The CAS ward population estimates have been published with the status of "experimental statistics". Therefore, the registration rates derived from them, should be treated with some care.

Where there are large differences between the electorate counts and population aged 18 and over, these cases may be attributable to: definitional differences between the estimates and electoral counts; the margin of confidence in the ward estimates; the accuracy of the electoral registers; and limitations in the methodology used to convert electoral counts to the CAS ward geography.

The Northern Ireland registration rates have been calculated using the December 2001 electorate (which reflects those resident and eligible to vote in October 2001), and the latest available ward population data which are from the 2001 Census, taken on 29 April 2001. The ward electorate counts include all those registered to vote in any election. These counts do not exclude foreign nationals but do include overseas electors.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: Electoral wards with the lowest derived registration rates, December 2001 or December 2002 electorate

Ward name	Parliamentary constituency	Country	Electorate	Population 18 plus
Eriswell and The Rows	West Suffolk	England	2,956	7,457
Botanic	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	3,582	8538
Windsor	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	2,918	6587
Queen's Gate	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,206	9,126
Aldergrove	South Antrim	Northern Ireland	1,847	3974
Scotton	Richmond (Yorks)	England	1,608	3,453
Llanbadarn Fawr—Padarn	Ceredigion	Wales	500	1,057
Stoneleigh	Rugby and Kenilworth	England	1,258	2,620
The Lower Tarrants	North Dorset	England	1,270	2,609
Lancaster Gate	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,811	11,835
Pirbright	Woking	England	1,858	3,667
Staining and Weeton	Fylde	England	1,314	2,553
Earl's Court	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,673	9,000
Courtfield	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,596	8,845
Knightsbridge and Belgravia	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,251	10,103
Hipswell	Richmond (Yorks)	England	1,877	3,588
Bryanston and Dorset Square(7)	Cities of London and Westminster (part)	England	5,902	11,266
	Regent's Park and North Kensington (part)
Hyde Park	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,615	10,487
Scottow	North Norfolk	England	1,460	2,678
Stranmillis	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	3,562	6530
Aberystwyth Bronglais	Ceredigion	Wales	1,011	1,852
Abingdon	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,431	8,095
Brompton	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,627	8,415
Hans Town	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,743	8,480
St. James's	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,719	10,222
Loughview	North Down	Northern Ireland	1,856	3276
Holland	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,768	8,380
Llanbadarn Fawr—Sulien	Ceredigion	Wales	874	1,528
Regent's Park	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	6,269	10,909
Aberystwyth Canol/Central	Ceredigion	Wales	1,238	2,133
Parkhurst	Isle of Wight	England	2,137	3,680
Campden	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,206	7,236
Brize Norton and Shilton	Witney	England	1,501	2,569
Cremorne	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,688	8,000
West End	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,565	9,305
Crane	North Dorset	England	1,016	1,696
Boarhunt and Southwick	Winchester	England	968	1,604
Treforest	Pontypridd	Wales	2,661	4,376
Donington and Albrighton North	The Wrekin	England	2,667	4,370
Pembridge	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,532	7,425
Ballycrochan	North Down	Northern Ireland	2,122	3471
Redcliffe	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,845	7,904
Marylebone High Street	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,707	9,165
Aberystwyth Rheidol	Ceredigion	Wales	1,462	2,339
Wallace Park	Lagan Valley	Northern Ireland	2,094	3345
Stanley	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,253	6,791
Lisanelly	West Tyrone	Northern Ireland	1,323	2096
Ebrington	Foyle	Northern Ireland	1,757	2741
Aberystwyth Gogledd/North	Ceredigion	Wales	1,183	1,840
Wellington	Aldershot	England	4,315	6,710
Greetham	Rutland and Melton	England	944	1,460
Church Street	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	5,969	9,064
Barkham	Wokingham	England	2,331	3,539
Startforth	Bishop Auckland	England	755	1,135
Lydford	Torridge and West Devon	England	1,127	1,693
River(7)	Gillingham (part)	England	4,069	6,108
	Medway (part)
Maida Vale	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	6,075	9,118
Vincent Square	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,397	8,100
Bulford	Salisbury	England	2,776	4,154
Faenor	Ceredigion	Wales	1,416	2,117
Tachbrook	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,581	8,328
Haverigg	Copeland	England	1,058	1,576
Royal Hospital	Kensington and Chelsea	England	4,645	6,904
Tardebigge	Bromsgrove	England	1,744	2,589
Lampeter	Ceredigion	Wales	1,670	2,479
Arboretum(7)	Nottingham East (part)	England	6,013	8,925
	Nottingham South (part)
Golborne	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	4,741	7,033
Gresteel	East Londonderry	Northern Ireland	1,741	2581
Abbey Road	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	5,922	8,778
College Park and Old Oak	Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush	England	4,381	6,490
Willesden Green(7)	Brent East (part)	England	7,164	10,528
	Brent South (part)
North End	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	6,894	10,131
Newnham	Cambridge	England	4,827	7,088
Tidworth, Perham Down and Ludgershall South	Devizes	England	4,317	6,337
Parkfield	Stockton South	England	3,157	4,623
Strand	Foyle	Northern Ireland	2,069	3028
Sutton(7)	Bassetlaw (part)	England	1,609	2,346
	Newark (part)
Avonmore and Brook Green	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	7,066	10,248
Coity	Bridgend	Wales	856	1,241
Withersfield	West Suffolk	England	1,572	2,278
Warwick	Cities of London and Westminster	England	5,735	8,270
Templar	South West Norfolk	England	1,748	2,520
Pakenham(7)	Bury St. Edmunds (part)	England	1,645	2,356
	West Suffolk (part)
Dunkirk and Lenton	Nottingham South	England	6,811	9,659
Hatfield West	Welwyn Hatfield	England	4,176	5,919
Long Sutton	North East Hampshire	England	1,748	2,475
University	Preston	England	2,165	3,063
South Richmond	Richmond Park	England	6,440	9,108
Norland(7)	Kensington and Chelsea (part)	England	5,231	7,372
	Regent's Park and North Kensington (part)
Ballymagee	North Down	Northern Ireland	1,924	2708
Cathedrals	North Southwark and Bermondsey	England	7,932	11,131
Strand	East Londonderry	Northern Ireland	1,656	2319
Chevington	Berwick-upon-Tweed	England	1,843	2,580
Brunswick	Warwick and Leamington	England	5,545	7,762
West City	Tyne Bridge	England	4,709	6,577
Marcham and Shippon(7)	Oxford West and Abingdon (part)	England	2,153	3,003
	Wantage (part)
Ballynafeigh	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	3,129	4363
Elswick	Tyne Bridge	England	4,933	6,878
Frognal and Fitzjohns	Hampstead and Highgate	England	7,233	10,084
King's Cross	Holborn and St. Pancras	England	6,946	9,676

 
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Ward name	Parliamentary constituency	Country	Registration rate (percentage)
Eriswell and The Rows	West Suffolk	England	39.6
Botanic	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	42.0
Windsor	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	44.3
Queen's Gate	Kensington and Chelsea	England	46.1
Aldergrove	South Antrim	Northern Ireland	46.5
Scotton	Richmond (Yorks)	England	46.6
Llanbadarn Fawr—Padarn	Ceredigion	Wales	47.3
Stoneleigh	Rugby and Kenilworth	England	48.0
The Lower Tarrants	North Dorset	England	48.7
Lancaster Gate	Cities of London and Westminster	England	49.1
Pirbright	Woking	England	50.7
Staining and Weeton	Fylde	England	51.5
Earl's Court	Kensington and Chelsea	England	51.9
Courtfield	Kensington and Chelsea	England	52.0
Knightsbridge and Belgravia	Cities of London and Westminster	England	52.0
Hipswell	Richmond (Yorks)	England	52.3
Bryanston and Dorset Square(7)	Cities of London and Westminster (part)	England	52.4
	Regent's Park and North Kensington (part)
Hyde Park	Cities of London and Westminster	England	53.5
Scottow	North Norfolk	England	54.5
Stranmillis	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	54.5
Aberystwyth Bronglais	Ceredigion	Wales	54.6
Abingdon	Kensington and Chelsea	England	54.7
Brompton	Kensington and Chelsea	England	55.0
Hans Town	Kensington and Chelsea	England	55.9
St. James's	Cities of London and Westminster	England	55.9
Loughview	North Down	Northern Ireland	56.7
Holland	Kensington and Chelsea	England	56.9
Llanbadarn Fawr—Sulien	Ceredigion	Wales	57.2
Regent's Park	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	57.5
Aberystwyth Canol/Central	Ceredigion	Wales	58.0
Parkhurst	Isle of Wight	England	58.1
Campden	Kensington and Chelsea	England	58.1
Brize Norton and Shilton	Witney	England	58.4
Cremorne	Kensington and Chelsea	England	58.6
West End	Cities of London and Westminster	England	59.8
Crane	North Dorset	England	59.9
Boarhunt and Southwick	Winchester	England	60.3
Treforest	Pontypridd	Wales	60.8
Donington and Albrighton North	The Wrekin	England	61.0
Pembridge	Kensington and Chelsea	England	61.0
Ballycrochan	North Down	Northern Ireland	61.1
Redcliffe	Kensington and Chelsea	England	61.3
Marylebone High Street	Cities of London and Westminster	England	62.3
Aberystwyth Rheidol	Ceredigion	Wales	62.5
Wallace Park	Lagan Valley	Northern Ireland	62.6
Stanley	Kensington and Chelsea	England	62.6
Lisanelly	West Tyrone	Northern Ireland	63.1
Ebrington	Foyle	Northern Ireland	64.1
Aberystwyth Gogledd/North	Ceredigion	Wales	64.3
Wellington	Aldershot	England	64.3
Greetham	Rutland and Melton	England	64.7
Church Street	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	65.9
Barkham	Wokingham	England	65.9
Startforth	Bishop Auckland	England	66.5
Lydford	Torridge and West Devon	England	66.6
River(7)	Gillingham (part)	England	66.6
	Medway (part)
Maida Vale	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	66.6
Vincent Square	Cities of London and Westminster	England	66.6
Bulford	Salisbury	England	66.8
Faenor	Ceredigion	Wales	66.9
Tachbrook	Cities of London and Westminster	England	67.0
Haverigg	Copeland	England	67.1
Royal Hospital	Kensington and Chelsea	England	67.3
Tardebigge	Bromsgrove	England	67.4
Lampeter	Ceredigion	Wales	67.4
Arboretum(7)	Nottingham East (part)	England	67.4
	Nottingham South (part)
Golborne	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	67.4
Gresteel	East Londonderry	Northern Ireland	67.5
Abbey Road	Regent's Park and North Kensington	England	67.5
College Park and Old Oak	Ealing, Acton and Shepherd's Bush	England	67.5
Willesden Green(7)	Brent East (part)	England	68.0
	Brent South (part)
North End	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	68.0
Newnham	Cambridge	England	68.1
Tidworth, Perham Down and Ludgershall South	Devizes	England	68.1
Parkfield	Stockton South	England	68.3
Strand	Foyle	Northern Ireland	68.3
Sutton(7)	Bassetlaw (part)	England	68.6
	Newark (part)
Avonmore and Brook Green	Hammersmith and Fulham	England	69.0
Coity	Bridgend	Wales	69.0
Withersfield	West Suffolk	England	69.0
Warwick	Cities of London and Westminster	England	69.3
Templar	South West Norfolk	England	69.4
Pakenham(7)	Bury St. Edmunds (part)	England	69.8
	West Suffolk (part)
Dunkirk and Lenton	Nottingham South	England	70.5
Hatfield West	Welwyn Hatfield	England	70.6
Long Sutton	North East Hampshire	England	70.6
University	Preston	England	70.7
South Richmond	Richmond Park	England	70.7
Norland(7)	Kensington and Chelsea (part)	England	71.0
	Regent's Park and North Kensington (part)
Ballymagee	North Down	Northern Ireland	71.0
Cathedrals	North Southwark and Bermondsey	England	71.3
Strand	East Londonderry	Northern Ireland	71.4
Chevington	Berwick-upon-Tweed	England	71.4
Brunswick	Warwick and Leamington	England	71.4
West City	Tyne Bridge	England	71.6
Marcham and Shippon(7)	Oxford West and Abingdon (part)	England	71.7
	Wantage (part)
Ballynafeigh	Belfast South	Northern Ireland	71.7
Elswick	Tyne Bridge	England	71.7
Frognal and Fitzjohns	Hampstead and Highgate	England	71.7
King's Cross	Holborn and St. Pancras	England	71.8

⁽⁷⁾ Wards which fall within two parliamentary constituencies.
Notes:
1. For England and Wales the registration rates are based on December 2002 electorate counts and mid-2002 population estimates.
2. For Northern Ireland the registration rates are based on December 2001 electorate counts and the 2001 Census population.
3. Data for Scotland are not available.
4. For England and Wales the electorate counts are not necessarily consistent with the statutory RPF 29 returns, due to the need for population estimation purposes to convert historic electorate counts on different ward geographies onto a consistent ward geography i.e. Census Area Statistics ward geography. Missing electorate data have been imputed.
Source:
Office for National Statistics





 
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