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9 Oct 2006 : Column 287W—continued
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people of (a) black Carribbean, (b) black African, (c) Indian, (d) Pakistani, (e) Bangladeshi and (f) Chinese ethnic origin live in rural areas in England and Wales. (91621)
Figures on urban and rural areas are only available for 2001, Census year. In England and Wales urban areas are defined by Department of Communities and Local Government’s (DCLG) as settlements with a usually resident population of 10,000 or more people. Rural areas are not specifically defined but the remainder i.e. those people who live either in settlements of under 10,000 people or do not live in a settlement are generally considered to live in a rural area. The table below has been presented on this basis.
The figures have been extracted from Table KS06 on the CD supplement to the Census 2001 Rural and Urban Classification 2004, which is available on request from the Office for National Statistics Census Customer Services [census.customerservices@ons.gsi.gov.uk].
| England and Wales | ||||||
| All people living outside settlements of 10,000 people or more | ||||||
| Asian or Asian British | Black or Black British | Chinese or other ethnic group | ||||
| Area | Indian | Pakistani | Bangladeshi | Black Caribbean | Black African | Chinese |
| Note: In England and Wales, settlements with 10,000 or more people are defined as urban and settlements with less than 10,000 people are defined as rural. Source: Table KS06 in the Census 2001 Rural and Urban Classification 2004. | ||||||
Information Technology Projects
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which information technology projects are being undertaken by his Department and its agencies; what the (a) start date, (b) original planned completion date, (c) current expected completion date, (d) planned cost and (e) current estimated cost is of each; and if he will make a statement. [86128]
John Healey: The information requested has been deposited in the Library of the House.
International Monetary Fund
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on UK interests of (a) Mexico, (b) Turkey, (c) China and (d) South Korea receiving increased voting rights within the International Monetary Fund. [92140]
Ed Balls: The UK strongly believes that a more effective IMF serves both our national interest and the global good and welcomes the programme of governance reform agreed by Governors of the IMF on 19 September. The increased voting shares of China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey recognise the changing weight of these economies in the global economy and are an important first step in strengthening the legitimacy, and hence effectiveness, of the IMF. The readiness of other members to accept offsetting reductions in their voting shares demonstrates the shared commitment to this goal. The UK’s voting share will fall from 4.93 per cent. to 4.85 per cent.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to make representations to European governments arguing that (a) Mexico, (b) Turkey, (c) China and (d) South Korea should receive increased voting rights within the International Monetary Fund; and what assessment he has made of the impact of increasing the voting rights for these countries on the operation of the Fund. [92141]
Ed Balls: All EU member states supported the recent agreement to increase the voting shares of China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey. This is an important first step in a programme of reform to strengthen the legitimacy, and hence effectiveness, of the IMF.
The UK strongly believes that a more effective IMF serves both our national interest and the global good.
These reforms to IMF governance have been, and will continue to be, discussed at meetings of European Finance Ministers.
Iraq
Mr. Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will answer question 80993, on British soldiers injured in Iraq, tabled by the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on 27 June 2006. [89687]
John Healey: The Chancellor of the Exchequer answered the hon. Member's question on 25 July, Official Report, column 1375W.
IT Contracts
Mr. Weir: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer which IT contracts awarded by his Department in each of the last five years have been abandoned; and what the value was in each case. [88973]
John Healey: No IT contracts awarded by HM Treasury since 2003 have been abandoned. Information prior to 2003 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 3 July 2006 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Junior Llewellyn Francis. [92059]
Dawn Primarolo: I replied to the right hon. Member on 13 September.
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will reply to the letter of 3 July 2006 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs. D. Levy. [92060]
Dawn Primarolo: I have replied to the right hon. Member.
Land Value Tax
Mr. Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment (a) his Department, (b) HM Revenue and Customs and (c) the Valuation Office Agency has made of the likely effects of introducing a land value tax. [89405]
John Healey: The Government keep all taxes under review. In addition, Sir Michael Lyons is considering reforms to council tax and business rates, and is including the merits of a land value tax amongst the options for future taxation of land and property. Sir Michael is due to report in time to inform the comprehensive spending review.
Landfill Tax
Mr. Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Government received in landfill tax collected from local authorities in the most recent year for which figures are available. [89481]
John Healey: It is not possible using landfill tax receipts data to determine how much revenue is received from local authorities. This is because registered landfill site operators pay the tax to HM Revenue and Customs and pass on the cost to their customers through the disposal charges they set. The origin of the landfill waste is not recorded on the tax return.
Local Government Finance
Mr. Hands:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what support, advice and assistance representatives
from (a) his Department, (b) HM Revenue and Customs and (c) the Valuation Office Agency have provided to the Scottish Local Government Finance Review Committee. [89406]
John Healey: Officials from HM Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs have met with members of the Scottish Local Government Finance Review Committee and its secretariat to provide factual briefings on the operation and delivery of the UK tax system.
Manufacturing Employment
Mr. Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the level of manufacturing employment was in (a) 1979, (b) 1997, (c) 1999, (d) 2004 and (e) 2005. [89602]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the national statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 9 October 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the level of employment in manufacturing. (89602)
The available statistics for the UK manufacturing industry are shown in the table below.
| Workforce jobs in the UK manufacturing industry, June each year | |
| Thousand | |
| Note: Figures are seasonally adjusted. | |
These estimates are based on sample surveys and are therefore subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Ministerial Collaboration
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of collaboration between his Department and the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit on (a) the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 and (b) future public services reform; and if he will make a statement. [90104]
Mr. Timms: Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit are co-located in Horse Guards Road and work in close collaboration on many aspects of public service delivery.
Ministerial Meetings
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last met the (a) Scottish First Minister and (b) Scottish Finance Minister; and what subjects were discussed at each meeting. [89392]
John Healey: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Ministerial Travel
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he spent on travel within the United Kingdom in each year since 1997; and how much was accounted for by (a) road travel, (b) rail travel and (c) air travel in each year. [83582]
John Healey: The accounting system does not record domestic travel costs for individuals by mode. Costs could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost.
Missing Trader Intra-Community Fraud
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with EU finance ministers on tackling Missing Trader Intra-Community fraud; what proposals he has put to the EU on measures to tackle MTIC; and if he will make a statement. [87179]
Dawn Primarolo: The Government are committed to working with our European partners to combat Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud across the EU.
The Chancellor attended ECOFIN in June, at which the European Commission’s Communication on tax fraud was discussed. The conclusions reached by the Council are set out in an Explanatory Memorandum submitted to the House by HM Treasury on 20 June (Communication from the Commission to the Council and European Parliament concerning the need to develop a co-ordinated strategy to improve the fight against fiscal fraud).
In order to strengthen further the Government’s strategy to combat VAT fraud, the Government announced on 26 January 2006 that it had written to the European Commission for a derogation to introduce a change in the VAT accounting procedure for certain goods. The request is progressing well through the EU process. There is no fixed timescale for that process but HMRC has recently advised businesses that, based on current progress with the derogation, it expects to introduce the accounting change on 1 December 2006. Finance Act 2006 includes an enabling clause for the introduction of the change.
Mortality Rates
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the mortality rate among (a) men and (b) women has been in each year since 1976, broken down by socio-economic group. [92032]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 9 October 2006:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the mortality rate amongst a) men and b) women has been in each year since 1976, broken down by socio-economic group. I am replying in her absence. (92032)
Before 2001 ONS reported on socio-economic variations in mortality using the Registrar General’s social class classification (based on occupation of the deceased). Mortality rates by social class have been published by ONS using data from annual death registrations, and population figures from the decennial census.
As populations by social class are only available every ten years, mortality rates based on them cannot be calculated every year. Rates for the periods 1970-1972, 1979-1983 and 1991-1993, were published in a table in the ONS Decennial Supplement, Health Inequalities, which is shown in the attached table.
Rates are reported only for men, as over half of deaths of women could not be classified to a social class using their own occupation. As the rates are based on occupations recorded in two different data sources (at death registration and in the census) there was also the potential that differences between the two could affect the results. This potential ‘numerator/denominator bias’ has been limited by restricting analysis to men aged 20-64.
From 2001 onwards the National Statistics Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC) has replaced social class as the classification used by ONS to routinely report socio-economic status. NS-SEC was also used to code results from the 2001 Census. ONS has not yet published mortality rates by NS-SEC.
| European standardised mortality rate by social class, men aged 20 to 64, all causes, England and Wales | ||||
| Death rates per 100,000 population | ||||
| Social class | 1970-72 | 1979-83( 1) | 1991-93 | |
| (1) Excludes deaths in 1981 as the industrial dispute involving Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages in England and Wales produced occupation details of uncertain quality. Source: Table 8.5, Health Inequalities, Decennial Supplement No 15, Drever F and Whitehead M (1997) The Stationery Office, London | ||||
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