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26 Nov 2007 : Column 56W—continued
Personal Income
Mr. Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average salary for (a) men and (b) women was in each Government Office region in each of the last 10 years. [167329]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 26 November 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average salary for (a) men and (b) women was in each Government Office region in each of the last 10 years. I am replying in her absence. (167329)
Levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for full-time employees on adult rates of pay, whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom.
ASHE results can be obtained on the National Statistics website at:
Poverty: Children
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether water poverty is included as a component in the delivery of public service agreements on child poverty. [166618]
Jane Kennedy [holding answer 20 November 2007]: The child poverty public service agreement (PSA) sets out the strategic priorities for Government in tackling child poverty including, among others, reducing poverty through raising incomes, and tackling poor living conditions.
Performance against the PSA is measured using three indicators, two of which are income measures and the third is a measure of low income and material deprivation combined.
By looking at income levels, living conditions and material deprivation the PSA includes a broad range of factors that influence child poverty.
Public Expenditure: Wales
Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the change to the budget of the National Assembly for Wales has been arising from the application of the Barnett formula comparability factor to expenditure on (a) the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, (b) London and Continental Railway and (c) the Channel Tunnel Rail Link; [168340]
(2) what the areas of devolved expenditure are upon which the comparability assessment for nuclear non-proliferation set out in the Statement of Funding Policy was based; [168355]
(3) how much has been spent on Cycling England since its inception; and what the corresponding change to the budget of the National Assembly for Wales was as a result of applying the Barnett formula comparability factor to this expenditure. [168361]
Andy Burnham: The expenditure by the UK Government on the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London and Continental Railway and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link has no effect on the budget of the National Assembly for Wales. Although the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform incurs expenditure on nuclear non-proliferation and subscriptions to international organisations on behalf of the UK, elements of the spending in relation to subscriptions are devolved. Expenditure is no longer recorded by the Treasury on a separate programme object for Cycling England; such spending is now subsumed within other transport programmes.
Revenue and Customs: Bath
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much it will cost HM Revenue and Customs to move operations from the Bath tax office to Bristol in terms of (a) additional travel costs for relocating staff, (b) all removal costs, (c) adaptations to the Bristol building for IT equipment and (d) specific needs of relocating staff; and what change there will be to the number of staff employed. [166013]
Jane Kennedy: Short-term costs will be incurred in closing any office, but they need to be set not only against the specific estate savings from that closure but also the long-term efficiency savings arising from the overall reorganisation of HMRC’s business, which cannot be apportioned to any specific office.
The Bath office was included in a review of offices in the Bristol urban centre. One of its conclusions was that business needs were best met by relocating teams from Bath, with the exception of the Enquiry Centre staff, to Bristol. The Enquiry Centre will remain in its present location or nearby.
Staff will wherever possible move with their work but the process to establish how many staff can reasonably be expected to travel to Bristol is still under way, and staff moves will not be completed until autumn 2008. The detailed breakdown of costs requested is therefore not yet available.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether a full equality impact assessment has been carried out on the effect of the closure of the Bath HM Revenue and Customs office on (a) staff and (b) service users. [166014]
Jane Kennedy: An impact assessment of HMRC’s plans to vacate Royal Mead, Bath is available at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/better-regulation/regional-reviews.htm. An Equality Screen of the plans, shown at Appendix A, concluded that a full equality impact assessment is not necessary at this stage as mitigating action can be provided for the potential and known impacts identified.
The impact on customers is expected to be minimal as Enquiry Centre services will continue to be provided in Royal Mead or nearby.
Revenue and Customs: Sunderland
Mr. Mullin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the economic impact on Sunderland of closing the two city centre HM Revenue and Customs offices; and if he will make a statement. [165314]
Jane Kennedy: HMRC consider local private and public sector employment statistics including growth or reduction over the last 10 years together with the economic impact of likely staff migration to new locations. These indicators are among a number of factors which were taken into account before the decision was taken to close the HM Revenue and Customs offices in Gilbridge house and Shackleton house, Sunderland but retain others in the area.
Social Security Benefits
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the take-up rate of (a) child tax credit, (b) working tax credit and (c) child benefit among those eligible has been in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement; [167093]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of children living in households eligible for but not claiming (a) child tax credit, (b) working tax credit and (c) child benefit in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [167094]
Jane Kennedy: Child and working tax credits were introduced in April 2003.
Estimates of take-up rates for child and working tax credit in 2005-06 and 2006-07 are not available. Estimates for 2003-04 and 2004-05, are produced in the HMRC publications “Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Take-up Rates” for each relevant year. These publications are available on the HMRC website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-take-up.htm. Table 7 of these publications also detail the estimated number of in-work entitled non-recipients, by family size.
A precise take-up rate for child benefit is not available, but it is estimated that approximately 2 per cent. of families, although entitled, do not claim child benefit. The number of children living in households eligible for but not claiming child benefit is not available.
Suicide
Mr. Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides there were in each county in each of the last 10 years. [167641]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many suicides there have been in each county in each of the last 10 years. (167641)
The attached table provides the number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death in each county in England and Wales, from 1997 to 2006 (the latest year available).
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