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12 Dec 2006 : Column 982W—continued
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) men, (b) women and (c) young people in Eastbourne were unemployed in 1996; and how many are unemployed to date in the most recent year for which figures are available. [105111]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many (a) men, (b) women
and (c) young people in Eastbourne were unemployed in 1996; and how many are unemployed to date in the most recent year for which figures are available. (105111)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
Table 1, attached, shows the number of unemployed people, males, females and young people (aged 16 to 24) resident in the Eastbourne constituency for the 12 months ending in February 1997 from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2006 from the APS. Table 2 shows corresponding unemployment rates.
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). Table 3, attached, shows the average number of people, males, females and young persons (aged 18 to 24) resident in the Eastbourne constituency, claiming JSA in 1996 and the latest year for which data are available (November 2005 to October 2006). Table 4 shows these figures expressed as a proportion of the resident population of working age.
| Table 1: Number of unemployed persons resident in the Eastbourne constituency | ||||
| Thousand | ||||
| 12 months ending | Total | Males | Females | Persons aged 16 to 24 |
| Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution. Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey. | ||||
| Table 2: Unemployment rates( 1) for persons resident in the Eastbourne constituency | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| 12 months ending | Total | Males | Females | Persons aged 16 to 24 |
| (1) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population. Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to sampling variability. 2. Changes in the estimates from year to year should be treated with particular caution. Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey. | ||||
| Table 3: Average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance resident in the Eastbourne constituency | ||||
| 12 months ending | Total | Males | Females | Persons aged 18 to 24( 1) |
| (1) Computerised claims only. Dataset rounded to the nearest 5. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data. | ||||
| Table 4: Average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance resident in the Eastbourne constituency as a proportion of the resident working-age population | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| 12 months ending | Total | Males | Females | Persons aged 18 to 24( 1) |
| (1) Computerised claims only. Dataset rounded to the nearest 5. (2 )Not available. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data. | ||||
Light Aircraft
Robert Key: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many light aircraft landed in the UK from overseas destinations in each of the past five years; and how many of them were intercepted by HM Revenue and Customs (a) nationally and (b) in the south region in each year. [105089]
John Healey: In the 12 months to 30 November 2006 98,516 light aircraft are recorded as having landed in the UK from overseas destinations. No information for earlier years is available.
HM Revenue and Customs do not centrally record the challenges they make of light aircraft crew and passengers.
Loan Repayments
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which developing countries are making loan repayments to the UK. [105199]
Ed Balls: The UK has been a leading proponent of international efforts to reduce the debt burden of the poorest and most heavily indebted countries to free up resources for poverty reduction. Over the last 10 years, 30 heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) have received debt relief worth more than $40 million, and another 10 countries could qualify for debt relief when they meet the criteria. In addition, $38 billion of debt relief has been delivered to 20 countries under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.
Nevertheless, some developing countries are making debt repayments to the UK, as a result of commercial debt being rescheduled through the Paris Club, or of direct loans. The developing countries currently making debt repayments to the UK are: Kenya, Pakistan, Vietnam, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Macedonia, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Serbia and Montenegro, Croatia, Gabon, Columbia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
The UK also receives relatively small loan repayments from developing countries via the World Bank who administer a number of EU-IDA loans on behalf of a number of EC member states, including the UK. The countries making these payments are Bangladesh, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Egypt, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, People's Democratic Republic of Lao, Lesotho, Liberia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Togo, and the Republic of Yemen.
The UK's policy is to hold in trust, and subsequently reimburse, the EU-IDA loan repayments received since December 2000 from IDA, for HIPCs. When these countries reach Completion Point under HIPC the UK will cancel all remaining debt stock.
Marginal Tax Deduction Rates
Mr. Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in work face marginal tax deduction rates in excess of (a) 60 per cent., (b) 70 per cent., (c) 80 per cent. and (d) 90 per cent. [108776]
Ed Balls: The number of families facing marginal deduction rates in excess of 60 per cent. can be found in Table 4.2 of the recently published December 2006 pre-Budget report. This table does not, however, include the effect of the £25,000 disregard in tax credits, which allows income to rise between one year and the next by up to £25,000 before tax credits begin to be withdrawn.
The number of families facing marginal deduction rates in excess of 70 per cent. has fallen by around half a million as result of the Government’s reforms to the tax and benefit system.
Paymaster General
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what visits (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department made to (i) Israel and (ii) the Occupied Palestinian Territories in each of the last 12 months; and if he will list the Ministers and officials involved in each case. [108634]
John Healey: Since 1999 the Government have published annually a list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government have also published each year since 1995-96 the total annual cost of all Ministers' visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2006-07 will be published in July 2007.
Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when (a) the Paymaster General was last (i) accompanied by him to and (ii) informed of a visit by him to and (b) the Paymaster General's office last took part in arranging a visit by him to a tax credit (A) contact centre, (B) office and (C) IT development office. [104968]
John Healey: Treasury Ministers undertake visits all over the country and are in constant contact with each other on a wide range of issues relating to the Treasury.
Occupied Palestinian Territories
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department have had with (i) Ministers and (ii) officials from the Department for International Development regarding development assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and if he will list the Ministers and officials involved in each case. [108635]
Ed Balls: In the course of their official duties, Treasury Ministers and officials meet regularly with their counterparts in other Departments. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s policy to provide details of all such meetings.
Planning Gain Supplement
Mr. Boris Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the merits of exempting higher education institutions from planning gain supplement legislation. [108658]
John Healey: The 2006 pre-Budget report announced that the Government would move forward with the implementation of planning gain supplement (PGS), if it continues to be deemed workable and effective. PGS would be levied at a modest rate.
The application of PGS to major infrastructure projects, to public sector works, to minerals and waste consents and to non-Town and Country Planning Act consents remains under review as part of the development of PGS.
Prisons
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the announcement by the Home Secretary on 21 July of 8,000 extra prison places, what funds his Department has allocated to the Home Office for provision of those places; and what estimate he has made of the cost of those places. [104668]
Mr. Timms: Home Office spending for 2008-11 was announced in Budget 2006. Funding for subsequent years has not yet been determined.
For the estimated costs of the programme, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary, on 4 September 2006, Official Report, column 1915W.
Public-Private Forum on Identity Management
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost to date is of the Public/Private Forum on Identity Management. [103509]
Mr. Timms: The Public Private Forum on Identity Management has been formed under the Chairmanship of Sir James Crosby to examine how best the public and private sectors can work together on the operation of identity technology and databases, in particular to maximise efficiency and reduce unnecessary duplication. Staff and expenses costs to the Home Office and HM Treasury relating to the Forum total £150,552.85 to date, including initial start up costs.
Purchasing Criteria
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment the Office of Government Commerce has made of the case for applying (a) specified weighting and (b) priority listing to purchasing criteria used by (i) Government Departments and (ii) local authorities; and if he will make a statement. [105015]
John Healey:
The EU procurement rules require all public sector purchasers to set out the criteria to be applied to the award of contracts over certain thresholds. Authorities may chose between two award options, ‘lowest price’ and ‘most economically advantageous tender’. UK authorities will normally use the “most economically advantageous tender” option, which allows them to consider, besides price, a range of other value for money criteria such as whole life costs, the quality of the product or service, its fitness for purpose and other issues linked to the
subject of the requirement. This can benefit companies, including smaller companies, to be able to provide a tailored, quality product or service.
Traditionally, the EU procurement rules have required the award criteria to be ranked in descending order of importance, to provide potential suppliers with a view of their significance. However, the updated Public Contracts Regulations, which came into force on 31 January 2006 and implement new EU procurement rules, require authorities to state the actual weightings to be applied to each of the criteria, to provide even greater clarity. Where it is not possible to do this, authorities are still required to list the criteria in descending order of importance.
Single Parents
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many single parents there were in London, broken down by constituency in each quarter from 2000-01 to 2006-07; and if he will make a statement. [104978]
John Healey [holding answer 7 December 2006]: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 12 December 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for numbers of lone parents in London for each quarter from 2000-01 to 2006-07, broken down by constituency. (104978)
Numbers of lone parents are not readily available by quarter for parliamentary constituencies. The most recent published figures for the number of lone parent families in each parliamentary constituency in London are available from the 2001 Census. These can be found in table CAS 007 on the 2001 Census CD Census Area Statistics for Parliamentary Constituencies, which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent supporting small and medium-sized enterprises through (a) enterprise investment trusts, (b) enterprise management incentives, (c) venture capital trusts, (d) VAT for small traders, (e) corporation tax at the 20 per cent. rate and (f) corporation tax at the zero rate in each region in the fiscal year 2005-06. [104954]
John Healey: The estimated costs of total tax reliefs for (a) enterprise investment scheme (not trust), (b) enterprise management incentives, (c) venture capital trusts, (d) VAT for small traders below the VAT registration threshold, (e) corporation tax at the 19 (not 20) per cent. rate and (f) corporation tax at the zero rate in 2005-06 are given in Table 7 of the December 2006 Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs, published alongside the Pre-Budget Report 2006:
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