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25 Oct 2007 : Column 574W—continued

Death: Firearms

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people died from gunshot wounds in the UK in each of the last 10 years. [160004]

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

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 25 October 2007:

Number of deaths from firearm injury,( 1) United Kingdom, 1997 to 2006( 2)
Number of deaths

1997

198

1998

229

1999

207

2000

204

2001

193

2002

181

2003

187

2004

191

2005

185

2006(3)

210

(1 )The cause of death for firearm injury was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes listed below for the years 1997 to 2000 for England and Wales and Northern Ireland and from 1997 to 1999 for Scotland, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes listed below from 2001 onwards for England and Wales and Northern Ireland and from 2000 onwards for Scotland.
ICD-9: E922, E955.0-E955.4, E965.0-E965.4, E970, E985.0-E985.4
ICD-10: W32-W34, X72-X74, X93-X95, Y22-Y24, Y35.0.
Figures include deaths with a Coroner’s verdict of accident, suicide, homicide and undetermined intent.
(2) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.
(3) Data are provisional for Northern Ireland.

Death: Weather

Mr. Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many winter excess deaths there were in (a) England and (b) the UK in each year since 1996-97. [160273]


25 Oct 2007 : Column 575W

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

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 2 5 October 2007:

Departments: Alcoholic Drinks

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many bottles of champagne his Department purchased in the last 12 months. [159928]

Angela Eagle: Amounts spent annually on alcohol for HM Treasury staff are not recorded separately from other subsistence or hospitality spending and could be disaggregated only at disproportionate cost.

Subsistence and hospitality costs are only incurred within the rules set out in the “Civil Service Management Code” as well as the Treasury’s internal guidance

Departments: Overtime

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid to staff in overtime in his Department in each of the last 12 months. [159914]

Angela Eagle: Staff are encouraged to make full use of HM Treasury’s flexi-time working arrangement, which includes the option to take accrued excess hours as time off in lieu. However, where this has not been practical, the following table gives the amounts paid in overtime to HM Treasury staff in each of the past 12 months.

Month Cost (£000)

October 2006

30

November 2006

51

December 2006

93

January 2007

98

February 2007

52

March 2007

183

April 2007

30

May 2007

70

June 2007

42

July 2007

37

August 2007

30

September 2007

15


The peaks in December 2006/January 2007 and March 2007 are due to Treasury staff working additional hours in preparation for the pre-Budget report in December 2006 and the annual Budget in March 2007.


25 Oct 2007 : Column 576W

Divorce

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many divorces occurred in families with (a) one relevant male child and (b) one relevant female child in the last year for which data are available. [160493]

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

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 25 October 2007:

Drugs: South West Region

Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many customs officers there were covering Devon and Cornwall in each of the last five years; and how many kilos of (a) heroin, (b) cocaine, (c) ecstasy and (d) cannabis were seized in Devon and Cornwall in that period. [160642]

Angela Eagle: Nationally, there are approximately 4,500 front-line customs officers deployed to tackle smuggling at the frontier. These officers are deployed on a flexible and intelligence-led basis to wherever the risk is greatest.

HM Revenue and Customs do not release information about seizures below a national level as they consider that to do so would assist those who seek to evade the controls. Information on seizures made by HM Revenue and Customs since 2003 is contained in their annual reports available at www.hmrc.gov.uk

Duty Free Allowances: Tobacco

Mr. David Anderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what guidance he has issued on the levels of personal import allowances for (a) tobacco and (b) alcohol in relation to EU member states acceding (i) since and (ii) prior to 1999; and if he will make a statement; [160730]

(2) what steps have been taken to publicise the import allowances for tobacco and alcohol applicable to travellers to EU member states joining the EU (a) before and (b) since 1999. [160731]

Jane Kennedy: Since completion of the single market in 1993, persons travelling between EU member states have been able to bring with them unlimited quantities of alcohol and tobacco, provided that the product is bought duty paid in the member state of purchase, is for their personal use, and is transported by them. HM Revenue and Customs (formerly HM Customs and Excise) publishes guidance on this in Public Notice 1 “A Customs Guide for Travellers Entering the UK”, copies of which are available at all UK ports and airports, on the HMRC website, or by calling the
25 Oct 2007 : Column 577W
HMRC National Advice Service. It is also contained in the Customs Allowances posters displayed at all UK ports and airports.

Exceptions to these arrangements were agreed at EU level in 2004 and 2007 as part of transitional arrangements for countries joining the EU at those times. Existing member states were given the option to apply certain quantitative restrictions on personal importations of tobacco from accession countries for as long as those countries’ excise duty rates were below minimum EU levels. The UK applies these restrictions, which are identical to those applicable to travellers from non-EU countries, and has publicised this fact widely by amendments to the aforementioned guidance and publicity materials. Additionally, posters were placed in major airports of the accession countries concerned, and adverts were placed in a number of in-flight magazines.

Once the duty rates of the accession countries rise to minimum EU levels, the UK has committed to disapply these restrictions, and has already done so in the case of certain categories of tobacco products from two accession countries.

Employment: Sandwell

Mr. Spellar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Warley constituency and (b) Sandwell metropolitan borough council area were (i) employed (A) full-time and (B) part-time and (ii) unemployed at (1) the latest date for which figures are available and (2) at the same date in each of the last 10 years. [160041]

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


25 Oct 2007 : Column 578W

Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 25 October 2007:

Table 1: Full-time and part-time employment, and unemployment, in Sandwell local authority and Warley parliamentary constituency
Sandwell Warley parliamentary constituency
In employment (1000s) Unemployment In employment (1000s) Unemployment
12 months ending Full-time Part-time Level (1000s) Rate (%) Full-time Part-time Level (1000s) Rate (%)

February

1998

86

24

11

9

25

9

3

9

1999

86

28

12

9

26

11

3

6

2000

91

25

13

10

25

6

3

9

2001

89

24

11

9

27

4

3

10

2002

91

26

10

8

25

6

3

10

2003

85

28

10

8

23

7

3

9

2004

85

30

11

8

22

8

4

11

March

2005

84

30

10

8

23

7

4

11

2006

87

28

9

7

27

4

3

8

2007

90

24

9

7

27

5

2

7

Note:
Data subject to sampling variability.
Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with particular caution.
Source:
Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population Survey.; Model-based unemployment estimates

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