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11 May 2006 : Column 440W—continued
Cancer
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the death rate for cancer was in (a) males and (b) females under 75 years of age in each year since 1976. [68832]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the death rate for cancer was in (a) males and (b) females under 75 years of age in each year since 1976. (68832)
The most recent year for which figures are available is 2004. The attached table shows the age-standardised death rate from cancer, for males and females aged under 75 years in England and Wales for the years 1976 to 2004. Although coding changes within this period mean that figures are not completely comparable between 1976 and 2004, nevertheless a strong overall downward trend can be seen in cancer mortality across these years.
Cash Machines
Ben Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with banks on fee-charging cash machines; and if he will make a statement. [69720]
Ed Balls: On 4 May 2006, the former Economic Secretary to the Treasury convened a meeting of representative stakeholders, including banks, independent ATM providers and consumer groups, to address ATM charging. The discussion was open and extremely constructive. With the agreement of industry and consumer bodies present, my predecessor invited John McFall MP to chair a working group to take forward work on the key issues. This group will report back to me within a specific time-frame.
Census Records
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many communications have been received by (a) his Department and (b) the Office for National Statistics from hon. Members since 1 January 2005 on the failure of the Registrar General to transfer decennial census records for England and Wales to the National Archives not later than 30 years after their creation in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 s.3(4). [66496]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 11 May 2006:
As National Statistician and Registrar General I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many communications have been received by (a) the Treasury and (b) the Office for National Statistics from hon. Members since 1st January 2005, on the failure of the Registrar General to transfer decennial census records for England and Wales to the National Archives not later than 30 years after their creation in accordance with the Public Records Act 1958 s.3(4). 66496
There has been just one communication in total from Members of Parliament since 1 January 2005 concerning the transfer of census records but this related to the 1981 and 1991 Censuses which are, of course, not yet 30 years old.
I should clarify that in accordance with Section 3(4) of the Public Records Act I have obtained approval for retention of decennial census records which are over 30 years old. Lord Chancellor's Retention Instrument number 81 approves retention of the 1921 and 1951 censuses and the Lord Chancellor's Retention Instrument number 63 approves retention of the 1961 and 1971 censuses. There are no surviving decennial population census records for 1931 and no census was taken in 1941.
Charges (Bank/Credit Card)
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to limit punitive charges that can be levied when (a) a bank account goes overdrawn and (b) a credit card limit is breached. [64056]
Ed Balls: The Office of Fair Trading has been investigating the question of credit card default charges. In April it produced a statement of the principles they think card issuers should follow in setting default charges in their standard contracts with consumers in order to meet the test of fairness set out in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
The OFT has made it clear that it expects all credit card issuers to recalculate their default charges in line with the principles set out in the statement and to take action where needed to reduce the level of credit card default fees. The OFT also noted that the principles also apply to default charges in other consumer contracts such as those for bank overdrafts, store cards and mortgages.
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what opportunities exist for people to work beyond retirement age in his Department. [69066]
John Healey: The Treasury looks sympathetically at requests from its employees to work beyond its current retirement age of 60. The Department's retirement age policy is currently under review to take account of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the staff in his Department is (a) male, (b) female and (c) disabled, broken down by grade. [69068]
John Healey: 56.3 per cent. of the staff of the Treasury are male. The breakdown by grade is as follows:
| Percentage | |
The grade breakdown of the 43.7 per cent. of staff who are female is as follows:
| Percentage | |
3.5 per cent. of Treasury staff have declared themselves as having a disability. The grade breakdown is as follows:
| Percentage | |
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of his private office staff is (a) male, (b) female and (c) disabled. [69067]
John Healey: 76.9 per cent. of the staff of the Chancellor's Office are male and 23,1 per cent. are
female. None of the staff concerned have declared themselves as being disabled.
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost was of (a) staff away-days and (b) staff team building exercises in his Department in each of the last three years. [69065]
John Healey: The total cost recorded for staff away-days and team building exercises in 2005-06 is £54,000. Costs for earlier years could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost.
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