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11 July 2006 : Column 1725W—continued
People Trafficking (Wales)
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suspected cases of illegal people trafficking in Wales were reported to HM Customs and Revenue in each year since 2003. [84592]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC do not keep records of such cases in searchable form; but the Department pass all relevant reports to the UK Immigration Service or the Serious Organised Crime Agency who have responsibility for countering people trafficking, for follow-up action.
Pound Sterling (Purchasing Power)
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the purchasing power is of the pound sterling compared with (a) 1976, (b) 1986 and (c) 1996. [83802]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 11 July 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning what the purchasing power is of the pound sterling compared with (a) 1976, (b) 1986 and (c) 1996.1 am replying in her absence. (83802)
A pound in May 2006 is worth:
(a) 20p compared with its 1976 purchasing value;
(b) 49p compared with its 1986 purchasing value; and
(c) 77p compared with its 1996 purchasing value.
Recycling
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recycling facilities are available in his Department; and how many categories of waste are recycled by his Department. [83580]
John Healey: Recycling facilities for nine categories of waste are available at various locations within the Treasury building at 1 Horse Guards Road.
Tax Avoidance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to reduce tax avoidance opportunities for company directors drawing salary in dividend form; and if he will make a statement. [83422]
Dawn Primarolo: As stated at Budget 2006, the Government believe that all individuals and businesses must pay their fair share of NICs and tax, irrespective of legal form. The Government will continue to review the tax and NICs systems to ensure that this is the case and will bring forward proposals for discussion that are consistent with simplicity for compliant businesses, support for businesses in their aspirations to grow and maintaining the attractiveness of the UK as a business location.
Taxation Revenue
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue was raised in taxation in each year since 1976; and what the budget surplus or deficit was in each year. [83455]
Mr. Timms: Data on tax revenues and Government borrowing from 1976 onwards are available in the “Key Fiscal Aggregates” table and Table C1 in the Public Finances Databank. This is available on the Her Majesty’s Treasury website at:
http://www.hm_treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spending_statistics/pubsec_finance/psf_statistics.cfm
Unemployment
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) total and (b) percentage rate of (i) unemployment, (ii) long-term unemployment and (iii) youth unemployment was in each constituency in each of the last 10 years, grouped by region. [79828]
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 July 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (79828)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for local areas from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
Tables 1 to 5, attached, show estimates for each parliamentary constituency in great Britain, for the 12 month periods ending in February from 1997 to 2004 from the annual LFS, and for the 12 months ending December 2004 from the APS. Table 1 shows the number of unemployed aged 16 and over resident in each constituency; Table 2 shows unemployment rates; Table 3 shows the number of long-term (more than 12 months) unemployed; Table 4 shows the number of unemployed aged 16 to 24 and Table 5 shows the unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24.
These estimates, as with any from sample surveys, are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Changes in the estimates from year-to-year should be treated with particular caution.
ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA). Tables 6 to 10, attached, show annual averages for claimants of JSA resident in each constituency in the United Kingdom for 1996 to 2005. Table 6 shows the total number of claimants; Table 7 shows the number of claimants as a proportion of the resident population of working age; Table 8 shows the number of claimants claiming JSA for over 12 months; Table 9 shows the number claiming over 12 months as a proportion of the working-age population and Table 10 shows the number of people aged 18 to 24 claiming JSA. Proportions for the 18 to 24 age group are not available for parliamentary constituencies.
Since the information is so extensive, copies of these tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Correspondence
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter from Mrs. Pauline Penton, a constituent of the hon. Member for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, sent on 19 January. [82128]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 3 July 2006]: I apologise for the delay in replying to my hon. Friend’s letter. I will ensure a reply is sent as a matter of urgency.
Illegal Waste
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what volume of waste he estimates was illegally fly-tipped in each year since 1992, broken down by the nature of the waste. [84067]
Mr. Bradshaw: DEFRA has worked with the Environment Agency to establish Flycapture, the national database on fly-tipping, which has been operational since April 2004. Before this database was established, no national data were available on illegal waste disposal or fly-tipping.
Flycapture collects summary data by waste-type, land-type and size of incident at local authority level only. Data on the volume of waste fly-tipped are not available, however English waste collection authorities reported a total of 891,170 incidents between April 2004 and March 2005. It is also important to note that the data are probably an underestimate and will increase as authorities get better at collecting and reporting fly-tipping incidents.
The number of incidents of fly-tipping by waste-type, reported to Flycapture by English local authorities between April 2004 and March 2005, are set out in the following table:
| Waste Type | Number of incidents |
The number of incidents of fly-tipping by size, reported to Flycapture by English local authorities between April 2004 and March 2005, are set out in the following table:
| Size of Fly-tip | Number of incidents |
Pet Fairs
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what action he proposes to take in respect of pet fairs following the case of R (Haynes) v Stafford borough council. [84041]
Mr. Bradshaw: My Department is considering any implications the recent judgment may have on our proposals to regulate pet fairs.
Recycling
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he plans to take steps to bring forward penalties for those who fail to recycle their household waste. [82793]
Mr. Bradshaw: Local authorities have existing powers, under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, to require householders to put waste for collection, including recyclables, in specified receptacles. Where householders fail, without reasonable excuse, to follow the authority’s instructions on these matters, they can be issued with a fixed penalty notice under section 47ZA or be liable to prosecution and a summary fine upon conviction under section 46 of the Act.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what advice he offers to local authorities in dispute with households over misuse of new waste and recycling collection schemes. [83260]
Mr. Bradshaw: Getting people to change their behaviour is a challenge, and recycling is no exception. While there are millions of dedicated recyclers, there are still too many families and people who are not engaging with local waste reduction, recycling and composting schemes.
The Government are continuing to investigate options for influencing householder behaviour, and we have recently supported a series of local authority pilots to encourage householders to reduce, re-use and recycle their waste through positive incentives.
Ultimately, if mediation doesn’t work and a householder either fails to put the correct material into the appropriate receptacle for collection, or fails to comply with other instructions with regard to putting the receptacle out for collection or bringing it back onto their property after it has been emptied, the local authority can prosecute them for breaches of section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. These offences carry a maximum fine of £1,000. In addition,
the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Bill contains proposals for the issuing of fixed penalty notices to those breaching sections 46 and 47 of the 1990 Act.
Water Companies
Paddy Tipping: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what allowance Ofwat made for each water company for capital works in each of the last five years for which figures were available; and what the value was of the capital works completed by each water company in each year. [83535]
Ian Pearson: Ofwat makes assumptions on the capital investment required by companies at each price review for the ensuing five-year period.
Ofwat has only published annual expenditure against its assumptions for 2004-05. The following table gives information for the five-year period 2000-05. Ofwat will publish data for 2005-06 later this year, following analysis of the June return submission from companies.
The regulatory regime provides incentives for companies to out-perform Ofwat’s assumptions. Companies retain the benefit from these savings until the next price review when price limits are reset and Ofwat takes the savings into account.
| 2004-05 prices (£ million) | ||
| Total volume of investment activity 2000-01 to 2004-05 | ||
| Assumed | Actual | |
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