Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 19 December 2006
Solicitor-General
Compensation Payments
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Solicitor-General how much in compensation payments was paid by the Law Officers' Departments in 2005-06; and what the reason was for each payment. [108212]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) paid compensation of £331,605 during 2005-06. This information has been drawn from central CPS accounting records and not from detailed analysis of each case, which would incur disproportionate cost. But the reasons for payments included the outcome of personal injury claims and employment tribunals or were for procedural errors.
In 2005-06, the Treasury Solicitor's Department paid £41,000 and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate £187, but the reason for payment is in each case withheld on grounds of confidentiality to protect the identity of the individuals concerned.
The Attorney-General's Office, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and Serious Fraud Office made no compensation payments in 2005-06.
Furniture
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was spent by the Law Officers' Departments on furniture made by British firms in each year since 2000. [105073]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office was established on 18 April 2005 and has identified expenditure of £58,000 in 2005-06 on furniture manufactured and/or assembled in the UK.
The Serious Fraud Office has spent the following on design, construction and, on occasion, installation of furniture by British firms in each year since 2000:
| Financial year | Amount (£) |
The Crown Prosecution Service and the Treasury Solicitor's Department (including HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the Attorney General's Office) do not keep central records of the place of manufacture of furniture which they purchase. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
International GCSE
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Solicitor-General whether (a) the Crown Prosecution Service, (b) HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and (c) the Serious Fraud Office recognise the international GCSE as an acceptable substitute for a GCSE for the purpose of recruitment. [104297]
The Solicitor-General: All my Departments recognise the international GCSE as an acceptable substitute for a GCSE where such a qualification is required in recruitment.
Official Cars
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Solicitor-General how many cars run by the Law Officers' Departments were manufactured (a) in the UK and (b) abroad. [104816]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and the Serious Fraud Office have no departmental vehicles and do not use Government pool cars. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) leases 19 vehicles of which five were manufactured in the UK; 13 abroad; and for one the supplier was unable to confirm whether it was manufactured in the UK or abroad.
CPS and Treasury Solicitor's Department (including HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate and the Attorney-General's Office) use Government pool cars from the Government Car and Dispatch Service (GCDA). Information on cars operated by GCDA is available on page 14 of GCDA's Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Treasury
Bank of England Yacht
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the Bank of England of maintaining the Bank of England yacht was in the most recent year for which figures are available; and on how many occasions in the last 24 months employees of his Department have used it. [105590]
Ed Balls: The Bank of England's contribution to the BoE Sailing Club is a matter for the Bank. The club has no record of Treasury employees using the yacht in the last 24 months.
Building Societies: Charitable Assignments
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has received representations on the ability of managers of building societies to remove the charitable assignment of benefits at their discretion. [109474]
John Healey:
The charitable assignment scheme was introduced by the Nationwide building society in November 1997 and seeks to ensure that all new
members agree to assign their share of any future conversion benefits to a Charitable Foundation. The majority of building societies have since adopted this scheme.
The Treasury is not aware of any representations to remove this charitable assignment and any ability to do so is a matter for the individual society and its members.
Child Tax Credit
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families have received the baby element of the child tax credit in each year since its introduction, broken down by (a) in-work and (b) out-of-work families. [107566]
Dawn Primarolo: The number of in-work families benefiting from the baby addition of the child tax credit in 2004-05 and 2005-06 is shown at Table 2.1 in "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics. Finalised Annual Awards 2004-05". This is available on the HMRC website:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-quarterly-stats.htm
An estimated 130 thousand out-of-work families receive either the baby addition to child tax credit or the equivalent via income support.
Children's Charity Party: No. 11 Downing Street
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total cost to public funds is expected to be of the 2006 children’s charity party at Number 11 Downing Street; and what the cost was for the party in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005. [109205]
John Healey: No public funds were spent on the children’s charity party in 2006, 2005 or 2004.
Cold-related Deaths
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths in each of the past 10 years have been due to cold-related illnesses in the (a) over 65s and (b) under 65s. [110439]
John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 19 December 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many deaths in each of the past 10 years have been due to cold-related illnesses in the (a) over 65s and (b) under 65s. (110439)
The most recent year for which figures are available is 2005.
Most routine mortality statistics are based on a single cause for each death, the underlying cause of death which is defined by the World Health Organisation as:
(a) the disease which initiated the train of events directly leading to death; or
(b) the circumstances of the accident or violence which produced the fatal injury.
Using this definition “cold” can never be an underlying cause of death. However subnormal body temperature, hypothermia, may be mentioned on the death certificate.
The table below shows the number of deaths where hypothermia was mentioned on the death certificate by age group for England and Wales between 1996 and 2005,
| Deaths with a mention of hypothermia( 1) on the death certificate, by age, England and Wales, 1996-2005( 2) | ||
| Aged under 65 | Aged 65 and over | |
| (1) Deaths with a mention of hypothermia defined using the International Classification of Diseases. Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 991.6 for the years 1996 to 2000, and the Tenth Revision (ICD-IO) code T6Sfrom 2001 onwards. (2) Figures are for deaths occurring in each calendar year. | ||
Correspondence
John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Tax Credit Office in Preston will reply to the letter of 3 October 2006 from the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West about his constituent, Mrs. Suzanne Cameron Smith-Main. [107017]
Dawn Primarolo: The Tax Credit Office replied to the hon. Gentleman's letter of 3 October 2006 on 18 October 2006.
Council of Economic Advisers
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether Gavin Kelly is (a) an interim special adviser in the place of the reduced duties of Dr. Wood and (b) a permanent addition to the Council of Economic Advisers. [109224]
John Healey: Gavin Kelly is a permanent member of the Council of Economic Advisers.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answers of 29 November 2006, Official Report, column 722W, on External Employment Notices, and 6 December 2006, Official Report, column 486W, and the Prime Minister’s written statement of 24 July 2006, Official Report, column 90WS, on special advisers, if he will publish an updated list of the salaries of all his Council of Economic Advisers. [109225]
John Healey: The Prime Minister publishes an up-to-date list for all special advisers and those employed on special adviser terms in his annual statement on this subject.
Departmental Computer Systems
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any corrupt data have been detected on his Department’s computer systems. [109052]
John Healey: There is no record of the detection of any corrupt data upon which calculations or decisions are subsequently made.
Corruption, which is detected, and corrected, before any use is made of the data, occurs as part of the internal operation of all computer systems.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the cost was of (a) vehicle maintenance and (b) vehicle fuel to (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last three years; [103553]
(2) what the cost was of (a) hiring and (b) purchasing vehicles by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last three years. [103554]
John Healey: The information requested is as follows.
No direct expenditure on vehicle fuel or maintenance has been incurred in the past three years by HM Treasury, the Government Actuary's Department, National Savings and Investments or the Debt Management Office. For the Office of Government Commerce, OGCbuying.solutions and the Office for National Statistics the data cannot easily be disaggregated from other categories of spending. Therefore further analysis could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Data for the remaining agencies are set out in the following table.
| £000 | |||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |