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16 Jan 2007 : Column 1015W—continued
| Table 8: Unemployed and inactive people by gender and age, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted—Three months ending June 2006 | ||||
| Thousand | ||||
| Unemployed | Inactive | |||
| Total | Total | Wants job | Does not want job | |
| (1) Estimates are taken from the LFS. Samples sizes are too small to provide reliable estimates. Source: ONS Labour Force Survey (LFS) | ||||
Energy Prices
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Department of Trade and Industry regarding trends in the cost of energy and fuel bills. [114886]
John Healey: HM Treasury has regular discussions with the Department of Trade and Industry on a wide range of topics, including energy costs.
Financial Services Review
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the timetable is for the Financial Services Authority’s review of training and competence requirements within the financial services industry; [114770]
(2) whether the scope of the Financial Services Authority training and competence review will include an impact assessment of examination requirements introduced in relation to mortgage sales in October 2004. [114771]
Ed Balls: Following consultation, the FSA announced in March 2006 its intention that detailed rules on training and competence will not apply to those individuals in financial firms who deal only with wholesale customers.
As part of its review of the training and competence regime, the FSA is now looking at the general role of examination requirements within the regime. The FSA will publish a consultation paper in February 2007.
This will include an assessment of the costs and benefits of examinations as a means of assessing competence, as compared with other potential assessment methods. The consultation will include mortgage firms, but will not include a detailed analysis of the impact of specific examination requirements on particular sectors.
The review will take account of the impact of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MIFID) due to be implemented in the UK in November 2007. The intention is that the removal of detailed training and competence rules for wholesale business, together with any further changes resulting from the wider review, will be made at the time MIFID is implemented.
Gender Equality
Julie Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to ensure that (a) equality and (b) gender equality is built into the 2007 comprehensive spending review; and if he will make a statement. [114860]
Mr. Timms: Guidance to Departments for the 2007 comprehensive spending review has emphasised the Government’s commitment to our long-term goal of ensuring fairness and opportunity for all. This commitment will be reflected in both the allocation of resources and the Public Service Agreements that will be announced in the Spending Review White Paper. In addition, Departments’ spending plans for the years 2008-09 to 2010-11 will reflect existing and forthcoming legislation relating to race, age, disability and gender.
Gershon Review
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much and what proportion of the post-Gershon Review savings were identified as non-cashable. [115677]
Mr. Timms: Sir Peter Gershon’s Independent Review on Public Sector Efficiency identified scope to achieve efficiency annual gains of over £20 billion by 2007-08. Over 60 per cent. of these efficiency gains are expected to be cashable.
Global Schools Partnership
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional funding he has allocated to the Department for International Development’s Global Schools Partnership programme for the 2006-07 financial year. [115213]
Ed Balls: In April 2006 the Secretary of State for International Development announced that funding to DFID’s Global School Partnership programme would more than double to £7.5 million over the next three years. The Department for International Development allocated this additional funding from its departmental budget.
HM Revenue and Customs
Mr. McGovern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff have left HM Revenue and Customs under (a) Compulsory Early Retirement, (b) Flexible Early Retirement and (c) Approved Early Retirement since its formation in each of the last five years, broken down by grade. [115996]
Dawn Primarolo: The only early retirement scheme that has been in operation since the formation of HM Revenue and Customs is Approved Early Retirement. No staff have left under Compulsory Early Retirement or Flexible Early Retirement. The number of people who have retired under the scheme is 3,187. The breakdown by grade is given in the following table:
| Grade | Number |
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much HM Revenue and Customs and the Inland Revenue spent on outside business consultancy services in each of the last three years. [113760]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs was introduced in April 2006 replacing the former separate departments of HM Customs and Excise and the Inland Revenue. The relevant figures for expenditure on consultancy services, excluding the Valuation Office Agency, are given in the following table:
| £000 | |||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer what targets he sets for the duration of telephone calls to HM Revenue and Customs contact centres; and how many redialled calls there were to each contact centre in each of the last 12 months. [115860]
Dawn Primarolo: The Department does not set any formal national targets for the duration of telephone calls to HM Revenue and Customs contact centres.
For redialled calls, data are not maintained in the format requested.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the implementation phase of the HM Revenue and Customs regional review programme to begin for the Outer London cluster; and if he will make a statement. [114642]
Dawn Primarolo: HMRC is currently conducting a consultation exercise, which will end on 21 February, on its initial proposals for reducing its use of accommodation in outer London. Subject to ministerial approval decisions will be announced in the spring and implementation will begin in the summer, continuing through to 2010.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many of the headcount in the HM Revenue and Customs regional review programme for the Outer London cluster used are in each of the six areas which make up the cluster; and if he will make a statement; [114644]
(2) what estimate his Department has made (a) in respect of the HM Revenue and Customs regional review programme of the proportion of the headcount reduction and (b) the savings which will result from the reduction by (i) 2008 and (ii) 2010 which will fall within each of the six areas which make up the Outer London cluster; and if he will make a statement. [114643]
Dawn Primarolo: Although HMRC offices within Outer London have been grouped into six areas, for most planning purposes Outer London is taken as a whole.
The total number of HMRC staff working in Outer London at 1 October 2006 was 4,374, with the numbers estimated to fall to 3,800 by 2008 and to 3,300 by 2010.
The proposed rationalisation of the HMRC estate in Outer London is estimated to create estate savings of approximately £5.7 million a year.
Information Supplements
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of (a) providing and (b) subsidising supplements giving information about the work of his Department in (i) trade journals and (ii) newspapers in each year since 1997-98, broken down by supplement title. [115096]
John Healey: The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Inward Investment
Rob Marris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of foreign direct investment into the UK from (a) takeovers, (b) relocation of companies’ head offices and (c) the creation of new businesses in the UK in 2005-06. [110206]
John Healey: No direct estimates of FDI inflows by the categories specified are available. However, there are sources, such as the UK Inward Investment Report 2005-06 by UK Trade and Investment, which highlight details of UK inward investment.
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