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8 Nov 2006 : Column 1531W—continued
Motoring Offences
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average sentence handed down by courts in Northern Ireland was for people convicted of motoring offences that resulted in a fatality in each of the last five years. [95391]
Mr. Hanson: The table provides the average sentence length in months for those convicted for motoring offences causing death and covers the years 2000 to 2004, the latter being the most recent available. Data are collated on the principal offence rule, thus only the most serious offence with which an offender is charged is included.
| Average sentence length for those convicted for motoring offences causing death 2000-04( 1) | ||
| Average sentence length in months | Number sentenced to immediate custody | |
| (1 )Data for 2004 are provisional. | ||
Post Office Card Account
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the Government have considered allowing the Social Security Agency and benefit recipients to retain Post Office Card Accounts as a regional facility. [97091]
Mr. Hain: It has not been possible to answer the hon. Gentleman’s question in this parliamentary Session.
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average time was between first consultation and diagnosis for those with rheumatoid arthritis in each health and social services board area in the last 12 months. [100345]
Paul Goggins: It has not been possible to answer the hon. Member’s question in this parliamentary Session.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) males, (b) females, (c) adults and (d) children in Northern Ireland have been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. [100346]
Paul Goggins: It has not been possible to answer the hon. Member’s question in this parliamentary Session.
Saville Inquiry
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his latest estimate is of the cost to public funds of the legal costs of the Saville Inquiry, broken down by individual barrister and firm of solicitors for (a) the soldiers and (b) the families of the civilians who died. [95992]
Mr. Hanson: Due to the complexities involved in compiling the information necessary to answer this question, it has not been possible to answer the hon. Member's question in this parliamentary Session. I will write to the hon. Member.
St. Andrews Agreement
Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in talks with political parties in Northern Ireland on restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly. [99542]
Mr. Hain: The Government are continuing to work closely with the Northern Ireland political parties and with the Irish Government towards restoration. The St Andrews Agreement opens the way to a new dawn for democracy in Northern Ireland based on the twin foundations of the rule of law and power sharing. The Government firmly believe the circumstances are right now to see a permanent political settlement in Northern Ireland, with the restoration and the full and effective operation of the political institutions.
Much progress was made at St Andrews. I look to the Northern Ireland parties to endorse the agreement by 10 November. There is a heavy responsibility on all the parties to move forward. The Government have set down a process and timetable which we believe offers the best opportunity for restoration of the devolved institutions.
Prime Minister
Gifts
Tim Loughton: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2006, Official Report, column 2030W, on gifts, if he will list the gifts (a) given to and (b) received from overseas dignatories under the value of £140 in each of the last three years; and what the average value of such gifts was in each category. [100378]
The Prime Minister: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Treasury
Airport Security
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many passengers passing through Heathrow have been (a) strip searched and (b) x-rayed by HM Revenue and Customs officials in each month of the last two years, broken down by (i) nationality and (ii) ethnicity; and in how many cases this has led to prosecution for drug-related offences. [100256]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of searches of persons carried out nationally by HM Revenue and Customs is contained in the Annual Reports for HM Customs and Excise and HM Revenue and Customs. The figures for the year ending 31 March 2006 will be published in the next Annual Report.
Information about searches by location cannot be disclosed as this would provide information of value to those seeking to circumvent HMRCs’ controls thereby prejudicing the prevention and detection of crime.
Asset Sales
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his financial statement of 22 March 2006, Official Report, column 300, what progress has been made with the sale of (a) Westinghouse, (b) the Tote and (c) part of British Energy. [98701]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 31 October 2006]: I have been asked to reply.
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Child Benefit
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many workers from the new member states of the EU are claiming child benefit in respect of families still living in their home countries. [98682]
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of applications for child benefit awarded to A8 nationals between May 2004 and June 2006 were for children who did not live in the UK. [98122]
Dawn Primarolo: I very much regret that it has not been possible to answer my right hon. Friend’s and the hon. Gentleman's questions in the time available before Prorogation.
Child Poverty
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures his Department has taken to reduce child poverty in Clwyd, South since 1997. [100380]
Dawn Primarolo: The Treasury has, in partnership with other Government Departments, tackled poverty and promoted economic opportunity through:
Promoting macro-economic stability;
Supporting work for those who can and ensuring that work pays, through the new deals, a national minimum wage and the working tax credit; and
Providing financial support for groups at particular risk of poverty, such as child benefit and the child tax for families, and the pension credit for pensioners.
Across the UK, these measures have helped lift more than a million people out of poverty since 1997. Tax credits are benefiting more than 242,600 families in Wales, and in Clwyd, South, claimant unemployment has fallen by 48 per cent., youth unemployment has fallen by 68 per cent. and long-term unemployment has fallen by 82 per cent.
Creativity and Innovation Centres
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer where creativity and innovation centres have been established since their announcement in his 2005 Pre-Budget Report. [99346]
Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.
The Cox Report, published in November 2005, made a number of recommendations to enable UK manufacturing companies to make greater use of UK expertise in design and creativity. All of the recommendations are being taking forward including the proposal to set up a network of ‘Creativity and Innovation’ centres throughout the UK with a central hub in London. The London Development Agency completed a scoping study in July and are now conducting a feasibility study into the location of the London Hub and functions of the regional spokes, which should be completed by early January.
Departmental Expenditure
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2006, Official Report, column 1060W, on departmental expenditure, how much was spent on travel cost by staff of (a) HM Treasury and (b) its agencies in (i) the UK and (ii) abroad in each year since 2001-02. [97989]
John Healey: I very much regret that it has not been possible to answer the hon. Gentleman's question in the time available before Prorogation.
Employer Training Programme
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) employees and (b) companies participated in the National Employer Training Programme in 2005; and how many have participated in 2006. [99366]
Phil Hope: I have been asked to reply.
The Employer Training Pilots ran up until the end of March 2006. Over the three years they operated they were very successful in engaging employers and employees in training up to a first full Level 2.
At the end of March 2006, the pilots had signed up 29,141 employers and 256,689 learners of which 136,851 had successfully completed their learning.
Employer and employee satisfaction levels were over 90 per cent.
From April 2006 Train to Gain started rolling out across England starting in the original Employer Training Pilot Areas.
4,689 employers have learners who started on LSC-funded qualifications since April 2006.
There are over 50,000 learner starts on Level 2 and Basic Skills qualifications for the year to date.
e-Trading
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who earned a second income from e-trading in each of the last five years. [100323]
Dawn Primarolo: The information requested is not available.
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many e-traders were successfully prosecuted for VAT evasion by HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five tax years. [100379]
Dawn Primarolo: Information held by HMRC does not currently allow the identification of ‘e-trade’ VAT evasion prosecutions.
Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the number of e-traders who have failed to register for VAT; and if he will make a statement. [100393]
Dawn Primarolo: No estimate has been made.
Household Poverty
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) children, (b) disabled children and (c) children from single parent families were living in poverty in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since 1997. [97007]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have been asked to reply.
Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in “Households Below Average Income 1994/95-2004/05”. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
Information is not available below the level of Government office region. The available information is in the tables.
| Number of children living in low income households: 1996-97 to 2004-05 | ||||
| Million | ||||
| Before housing costs | After housing costs | |||
| Great Britain | North East | Great Britain | North East | |
| Notes: 1. Numbers, for the North East region, are presented using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 2. The table shows number of children in millions—rounded to the nearest 10,000. 3. In this answer low income is determined for children as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the GB median. Source: Family Resources Survey | ||||
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