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4 July 2007 : Column 1064W—continued


Young Offender Institutions: Overcrowding

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of levels of overcrowding at young offenders institutions; and if he will make a statement. [146799]

Mr. Hanson: The assessment of the occupancy of all prisoner accommodation is undertaken by senior operational managers in line with national guidance (Prison Service Order 1900 Certified Prisoner Accommodation) which details measurable standards for the certification of cells that can be applied consistently across the estate and contributes to providing decent living conditions for all prisoners.

Treasury

Babies: Down's Syndrome

Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many (a) births and (b) terminations there were of babies with Down’s Syndrome in each of the last five years; [147008]

(2) how many (a) births and (b) terminations there were of babies with (i) spina bifida, (ii) heart defects and (iii) kidney problems recognised during pregnancy in each of the last five years. [147009]

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 4 July 2007:


4 July 2007 : Column 1065W
Table 1: Number of notifications of selected congenital anomalies( 1) , 2001-05 and abortions( 2) , 2001-06, England and Wales( 3, 4)
Number
Congenital anomalies
Register areas Non-register areas All areas Abortions

Down syndrome

2001

253

128

381

347

2002

220

138

358

372

2003

282

122

404

401

2004

364

111

475

419

2005

350

103

453

429

2006

436

Spina bifida

2001

34

25

59

127

2002

46

29

75

98

2003

41

40

81

118

2004

53

25

78

90

2005

34

22

56

121

2006

106

Cardiovascular anomalies

2001

1,029

253

1,282

110

2002

1,031

260

1,291

103

2003

1,359

179

1,538

108

2004

1,282

159

1,441

147

2005

1,255

142

1,397

111

2006

129

Selected renal anomalies( 5)

2001

461

232

693

48

2002

517

217

734

43

2003

645

190

835

56

2004

622

162

784

43

2005

615

161

776

45

2006

32

(1) Live and still births notified to the National Congenital Anomalies System with a mention of the anomalies listed.
(2) Legal abortions performed under Ground E of the Abortion Act 1967. Figures provided by Department of Health.
(3) Births and abortions to women resident in England and Wales.
(4) Down Syndrome is defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10) code Q90, spina bifida using code Q05, and cardiovascular anomalies using codes Q20-Q28. Selected renal anomalies were defined using ICD-10 codes Q60-Q61, Q62.0 and Q63 for congenital anomalies and codes Q60-Q61 for abortions.
(5) Congenital anomaly figures for selected renal anomalies are provisional.

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 18 June 2007, Official Report, column 1495W, on departmental expenditure, whether the £50,955 is in addition to the £133,237 referred to in the answer of 4 December 2006, Official Report, column 196W. [147115]

Angela Eagle: The figure of £50,955 including VAT in the answer of the former Financial Secretary (John Healey) on 18 June 2007 was additional to the figure of £133,237 excluding VAT in the answer of 4 December 2006.


4 July 2007 : Column 1066W

Departments: Block Grant

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the annual block grant was for the Home Department in each year since 2002. [147614]

Andy Burnham: The budget for the Home Office is set as part of the three-year spending review cycle. The following table sets out the Home Office budget for capital and resource since 2002. Future budget allocations will reflect transfers of responsibility following the creation of the Ministry of Justice on 9 May 2007.

£ million
Resource Capital

2002-03

11,910

929

2003-04

12,004

941

2004-05

12,232

998

2005-06

12,703

1,034

2006-07 estimated

13,218

1,261


Departments: Disclosure of Information

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many requests for internal review made to his Department under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 have taken longer than 40 working days to complete. [146386]

Angela Eagle: There is no statutory obligation on public authorities to complete internal reviews within a specified timeframe.

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which Minister agreed to each use by his Department of a section 36 exemption to withhold information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000; and on which dates. [146527]

Angela Eagle: As is common with other departments HMT's departmental minister oversees the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act.

Departments: Pensions

David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions; and what steps he has taken in the last year to encourage more people to make such contributions. [147341]

Angela Eagle: 89 members of staff in HM Treasury (8 per cent. of the total number of staff employed by the Department) currently make additional voluntary pension contributions through deductions from their pay.

Pension scheme members receive an annual benefit statement showing the pension built up to date, and also a projection of pension on retirement if the member continues in service to scheme pension age.
4 July 2007 : Column 1067W
The benefit statement provides details of the civil service pensions website where staff can obtain further information, including on options for making additional voluntary contributions to boost their pension.


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