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24 July 2006 : Column 1058W—continued
Merlin Biosciences
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has met (a) Sir Christopher Evans and (b) representatives of Merlin Biosciences Limited on official business in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [61480]
John Healey: As part of the normal process of contact with business, Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of individuals and organisations. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s usual practice to provide details of all such meetings. Treasury meetings are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Code, as appropriate.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what trade related (a) missions he plans to undertake and (b) meetings he plans to hold during the parliamentary recess. [86763]
John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals throughout the year as part of the process of policy development, analysis and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of every such meeting.
Ministerial Offices
Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years. [87638]
John Healey: The Chancellor’s office was decorated once during this period as part of the refurbishment of 1 Horse Guards road.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Soames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which countries he has visited in Africa since 1997; and what the (a) dates, (b) objectives and (c) outcomes were of each visit. [87411]
John Healey: Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Copies of the lists are available in the Library of the House. Information for 2005-06 is currently being compiled and will be published shortly. All ministerial travel by Treasury Ministers is undertaken in accordance with the “Ministerial Code and Travel” by Ministers.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when and for how long he has visited (a) each member state of the European Union, (b) Japan, (c) India, (d) Brazil, (e) Canada, (f) New Zealand, (g) Australia, (h) South Korea, (i) Russia, (j) Singapore, (k) Thailand and (l) Mexico since 1997. [87738]
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2006, Official Report, column 1643W, on his official visit (Nigeria), what the normal procedures are; and on what date they were completed. [87893]
John Healey: Appropriate parties were notified prior to the visit. In addition the visit itself was widely publicised before it happened.
Ministry of Defence
Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer further to Releasing the resources to meet the challenge ahead, Cm 6889, what reduction in the administration budget he will require of the Ministry of Defence. [86916]
Mr. Timms: While the Government are committed to controlling the overheads of all Government Departments, “Releasing the resources to meet the challenge ahead” cm 6889 does not set targets for individual Government Departments. The Government have affirmed their commitment to bear down on administration costs over the CSR period.
MRSA
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many MRSA-related deaths there have been in (a) the UK and (b) each region in each of the last five years. [88152]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunell, dated 24 July 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many MRSA-related deaths there have been in (a) the UK and (b) each region in each of the last five years.
Figures on deaths involving MRS A are not available for the whole of the UK on a consistent basis. Figures for England and Wales are published annually in Health Statistics Quarterly - the most recent figures are for 2004 and were published in Health Statistics Quarterly 29 in February 2006. Figures for Northern Ireland are published annually - figures for the last five years were given in Hansard Written Answer 83964, Column 1774W.
Figures on deaths mentioning MRSA for Government Office Regions of England, and Wales, are given in the attached table for the years 2000 to 2004.
| Number of deaths where MRSA was a contributory factor( 1) , Government office regions of England, and Wales( 2) , 2000-2004( 3) | |||||
| Government office region | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| (1) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22. (2) Usual residence of the deceased. (3) Figures are for deaths occurring in the years 2000 to 2004. (4 )Includes non-residents. | |||||
Named Day Questions
James Brokenshire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer named day questions 61459, 61460 and 61461, concerning contracts and tenders with Capita plc., due for answer on 23 March. [83213]
John Healey [holding answer 10 July 2006]: I have done so. I apologise on behalf of the Treasury that the answer to the hon. Member’s questions was delayed.
Net Taxes/National Insurance
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what net taxes and national insurance contributions were, excluding North Sea revenues as defined in footnote three to table C9 of the 2006 Budget report, HC 968, in each year since 1976-77; and what these figures represent as a percentage of gross domestic product in each year. [87533]
Mr. Timms: Data on net taxes and national insurance contributions and North Sea revenues as a percentage of GDP back to 1973-74 can be found in table C1 of the Public Finances Databank (available on the web at: http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/economic_data_and_tools/finance_spending_statistics/pubsec_finance/psf_statistics.cfm).
Office of Government Commerce
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have been employed in the Office of Government Commerce efficiency team in each of the last five years. [87456]
John Healey: The OGC Efficiency Team was set up in 2004-05 to implement the findings of Sir Peter Gershon’s Report “Releasing Resources to the Front Line”.
In March 2005, at the end of the 2004-05 financial year, there were 28 staff employed in the Efficiency Team and in March 2006, at the end of the 2005-06 financial year, there were 29 staff employed in the Efficiency Team.
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he has met the Prime Minister to discuss reports received from the Office of Government Commerce efficiency team in the last 12 months. [87457]
John Healey: The Chancellor is in regular and frequent contact with the Prime Minister on a wide range of issues. As has been the practice of successive Administrations, it is not the practice of the Government to provide detailed information relating to discussions between Ministers.
Oxycodone Hydrochloride (Imports)
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of (a) legal and (b) illegal imports of products manufactured from oxycodone hydrochloride from the Republic of Ireland. [80575]
Mr. Coaker: I have been asked to reply.
Legal imports from the republic of Ireland are shown in total figures in the following table:
| Oxycodone hydrochloride (kilogram) | |
No assessment of illegal importation has been made.
Pensions
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what projections in respect of unfunded public sector pension schemes in the 2005 Long Term Public Finance Report would be if allowance were made for (a) the future impact on NHS payscales of the implementation of Agenda For Change and (b) the agreement of new contracts for general practitioners and hospital consultants. [87530]
Mr. Timms: Existing GAD analysis in the technical note “Unfunded Public Service Pension Schemes: 2005 Cash flow Projections: Assumptions and Data” placed in the House of Commons library on 12 June 2006 takes into account the ‘one off’ effect of Agenda for Change. The future impact on NHS payscales or the agreement of new contracts for GPs and Hospital Consultants were not considered. These will be factored in GAD analysis as evidence of their effect comes through in future. Providing detailed updated projections would incur disproportionate costs, although “Total Liability of unfunded Public Service occupational Pension Schemes” placed in the House of Commons Library on 2 March 2006 estimated that the impact during 2004-05 of Agenda for Change and new GP contracts increased the liability of the unfunded schemes by £46 billion.
Personal Debt
Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) average amount of personal debt per person and (b) total amount of personal debt was in (i) Brent and (ii) London in the last period for which figures are available. [87781]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician, who has been asked to reply.
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on personal debt in the UK. (87781)
We are unable to provide levels of total personal debt by region. The following table shows estimates for the whole of the UK.
| End-year | ||
| Total personal debt (£ million) | Average personal total debt (£) | |
| Note: For average per head figures, the denominator is population aged 16+. | ||
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