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17 July 2007 : Column 257W—continued
Revenue and Customs: Location
Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what account is taken of economic development issues when considering proposals to move HM Revenue and Customs jobs away from objective 1 areas. [150230]
Jane Kennedy: Economic development issues are among a number of factors that will be taken into account in the impact assessments conducted before final decisions are made to close any HM Revenue and Customs office and relocate jobs elsewhere.
Social Security Benefits
Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of children live in households where the household income is entirely dependent on benefits. [150055]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 July 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of children live in households where the household income is entirely dependent on benefits. (150055).
Statistics on the receipt of benefits are published in the article “The effects of taxes and benefits on household income”. The latest article, for the year 2005-06, was published on the National Statistics website on 17 May 2007 at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/taxesbenefits. This annual analysis is based on data from the Expenditure and Food Survey, which is an annual survey of approximately 7,000 households in the UK.
Based on the same survey results used to produce the annual taxes and benefits article, it has been estimated that 11 per cent. of children in the UK live in households where the household income is entirely dependent on benefits.
Stamp Duties: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average amount of stamp duty paid on housing transactions in the London borough of Bexley was in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 2006-07. [149452]
Kitty Ussher: Reliable information is not available for 1997-98. Estimates of stamp duty land tax on housing transactions, and numbers of transactions, for each local authority will be published in September for 2006-07.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will adopt the development of infrastructure in the Government’s sustainable development areas as a particular cross-departmental priority issue for driving forward from the centre; and if he will make a statement. [149822]
Angela Eagle:
The Government are committed to ensuring that housing growth is accompanied by the social, transport and environmental infrastructure needed to support development, and as such has been conducting a policy review into supporting housing
growth. Further announcements will be made in the forthcoming housing Green Paper and the comprehensive spending review.
Taxation: Domicile
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the change has been in the number of non-domicile tax claimants in the last 12 months; [150074]
(2) how many investigations there have been into claimants of non-domicile status in the last five years; and whether any investigations resulted in claimants being (a) fined and (b) imprisoned for wrongfully claiming non-domicile status. [150075]
Jane Kennedy: In 2004-05 the number of non-domicile tax claimants was 112,000. This is the latest year for which this information is available.
No information is available on the number of investigations undertaken. In certain cases, where it has been determined that non-domicile status is incorrect, individuals have incurred a penalty as well as any tax due: there is no record of any individual having been imprisoned as a result.
Teenage Pregnancy: North East Region
Mr. Henderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the rate of teenage pregnancies was in (a) the Newcastle upon Tyne city authority and (b) neighbouring local authorities in the North East region in the last five years. [149849]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 July 2007:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the rate of teenage pregnancies has been in (a) the Newcastle upon Tyne city authority and (b) neighbouring local authorities in the North East region in the last five years. (149849)
ONS does not routinely publish teenage conception figures for girls aged under 20 by local authority areas. Figures are however published for conceptions for girls aged under 18 at local authority level. Figures for Newcastle upon Tyne and neighbouring local authorities are shown in the attached table and these are estimates of the number of conceptions that resulted in a live birth, stillbirth or legal termination. Figures for 2005 are provisional.
| Under 18 conceptions: number and rate for Newcastle upon Tyne and neighbouring local authorities in the Tyne and Wear metropolitan county, 2001-05( 1) | ||||||||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005( 1) | ||||||
| Number | Rate | Number | Rate | Number | Rate | Number | Rate | Number | Rate | |
| (1 )Figures for 2005 are provisional. | ||||||||||
Tobacco: Counterfeit Manufacturing
Mr. Breed: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many tobacco companies employ an anti-counterfeit solution of the kind set out in the voluntary agreement with the tobacco industry as announced in the 2007 Budget; [150426]
(2) what success criteria and targets have been agreed with the tobacco industry for industry performance against the voluntary agreement to introduce a covert anti-counterfeit mark to all UK tobacco products as announced in the 2007 Budget; [150425]
(3) when he expects his Department to review the voluntary agreement made with the tobacco industry on introducing a covert anti-counterfeit mark to all UK tobacco products as announced in the 2007 Budget. [150424]
Angela Eagle: The four largest tobacco manufacturers representing over 97 per cent. of the UK cigarette market intend to introduce the anti-counterfeit security technology.
The voluntary agreement with the tobacco industry will enable enforcement officials to identify counterfeit product quickly and easily.
Time scales for the introduction of the technology have been agreed with the tobacco manufacturers. All cigarette packs intended for the UK duty paid market manufactured from October 2007 will incorporate the technology, and all packs of hand-rolling tobacco manufactured from October 2008, at the latest, will also incorporate the technology.
The results of enforcement activity will be continually monitored by HMRC, to inform understanding of the threat posed by counterfeit penetration in the retail sector, and HMRC will also continue to examine technologies that could help to counter the trade in illicit tobacco products.
Unemployment: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Ribble Valley constituency were not in education, employment or training in the financial year ended March (a) 1997 and (b) 2007. [150261]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 July 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in Ribble Valley constituency were not in education, employment or training in the financial year ended March (a) 1997 and (b) 2007. (150261)
There were 7,000 people of working age, resident in the Ribble Valley constituency, who were not in full-time education, employment or training, for the 12 months ending February 1997, from the annual local area Labour Force Survey. The corresponding figure from the latest Annual Population Survey, for the 12 months ending in December 2006, was 8,000.
Estimates for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over the period.
Welfare Tax Credits: Lancashire
Mr. Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Ribble Valley constituency received tax credits in each of the last five years. [150262]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given to the hon. Member for West Lancashire (Rosie Cooper) on 18 June 2007, Official Report, column 1502W.
Young People: Gravesham
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many 16 to 18-year-olds were not in education, employment or training in Gravesham in (a) May 1997 and (b) May 2007. [150281]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 July 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many 16 to 18 year olds were not in education, employment or training in Gravesham in (a) May 1997 and (b) May 2007. (150281)
The sample sizes, from the annual local area Labour Force Survey for the 12 months ending February 1997, and from the latest Annual Population Survey for the 12 months ending in December 2006, are too small to provide estimates of the numbers of 16 to 18 year olds not in full-time education, employment or training, resident in the Gravesham constituency.
Home Department
Animal Experiments
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the minimum cage size is for a seven-year-old single rhesus macaque for use in scientific procedures for laboratory experimentation purposes; and for how many hours per day that minimum space is permissible; [149971]
(2) when she expects to announce a revision to the codes of practice to ensure that British laboratories are
compliant with the new standards outlined in article 5 (guidelines for accommodation and care of animals) of the European convention for the protection of vertebrate animals used for experiment and other scientific purposes (ETS No. 123); and if she will make a statement; [149972]
(3) whether there are rules governing (a) space requirements and (b) use of restraints for animals during animal experimentation. [150085]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 16 July 2007]: The weight of a seven-year-old rhesus macaque would typically be between 6 and 9kg. For an animal of that weight the Home Office code of practice for the housing and care of animals used in scientific procedures specifies an enclosure with a minimum floor area of 14,000 sq cm and with a height of at least 1.5 metres, if singly housed, and per animal if housed, as is usual, in groups. These minima are often exceeded in practice, particularly if animals have to be singly housed, or if they weigh more than 9kg, for which animals the code of practice gives no specific provision. The code of practice does not specify the time for which access to additional space must be provided. However the majority of primates are kept in grouped housing or, if they have to be singly housed, are allowed access to larger exercise enclosures during the working day.
We aim to publish a revised code of practice to take account of the guidelines set out in the revised appendix A to the Council of Europe convention for the protection of vertebrate animals used for experiment and other scientific purposes (ETS 123) in 2008, after the requirements for consultation and parliamentary scrutiny have been met.
The United Kingdom Government played an active part in producing the revised Council of Europe guidelines and began the process of ensuring their adoption in the United Kingdom well before they were finally agreed in June 2006. Implementation of the guidelines is not dependent on the publication of a revised UK code of practice and is being achieved more quickly and more effectively through the day to day contact between our inspectors and the scientific community.
All animals used in procedures licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 must be housed in accordance within the cage and pen dimensions in the Home Office code of practice for the housing of animals in designated breeding and supplying establishments. Any form of restraint applied for an experimental or other scientific purpose that may cause pain suffering distress or lasting harm may be applied only as part of a programme of work specified in a project licence issued under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. There must be adequate scientific justification for the use of restraint, it must be the least degree of restraint necessary to achieve the scientific objectives and it must be applied for the shortest period of time to achieve those objectives.
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