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27 Nov 2007 : Column 392W—continued
Insurance
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the number of independent brokers within the United Kingdom commercial insurance market; what the annual value of the market is; and what his policy is for the future of this sector. [167826]
Kitty Ussher: The Financial Services Authority is responsible for the regulation of independent brokers within the United Kingdom. The FSA currently authorises 8,225 general insurance intermediaries. Research carried out by the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) in 2006 indicated that 3,857 out of the total of regulated insurance intermediaries conducted general insurance broking as a core activity. The 2006 BIBA research indicated that total general insurance income from the primary UK market was £8.2 billion, of which £7.8 billion is generated by insurance brokers.
Insurance Companies: Disclosure of Information
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what requirements there are for commercial insurance brokers to disclose commission to clients; and what assessment he has made of the adequacy of those requirements. [167824]
Kitty Ussher: The Financial Services Authority set the requirements for commercial insurance brokers to disclose information to clients and is responsible for assessing the adequacy of those requirements. Insurance Conduct of Business Rule (ICOB) rule - ICOB 4.6.1R sets out the requirement for insurance brokers to disclose commission, when asked, to clients. The FSA review of commission disclosure in the commercial market is nearing completion and the findings will be announced shortly.
Insurance: Equal Opportunities
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what policy objectives he has for diversity and competition within the commercial insurance sector; and what his policy is for regulation of the sector. [167827]
Kitty Ussher: The Government strongly encourage competition in all sectors of the economy and have strengthened the UK's competition legislation through the Competition Act 1998 and Enterprise Act 2002. Enforcement of the competition legislation is the responsibility of the Office of Fair Trading, the Competition Commission and the economic regulators.
Regulation of the commercial insurance sector falls within the responsibilities of the Financial Services Authority.
Insurance: Public Participation
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to publish its consultation document on the hard disclosure of commission earned by brokers of commercial insurance; and what assessment he has made of the FSA's procedures for consulting before finalising that document, with particular reference to consultation with small independent brokers. [167828]
Kitty Ussher: The Financial Services Authority expects to publish the independent report on its findings on the hard disclosure of commission earned by brokers of commercial insurance shortly.
The Chancellor has made no specific assessment of FSA procedures for consulting before finalising this particular document. However, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 requires the FSA to consult on proposed rules and to produce a cost benefit analysis. The Act also requires the FSA to publish an account of representations made to it and its response to them.
Low Incomes: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Peterborough constituency were paid less than the minimum wage in the latest period for which figures are available. [168140]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 27 November 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to asking how many people in the Peterborough constituency earned less than the minimum wage in the latest period for which figures are available. I am replying in her absence. (168140)
Estimates for the number of jobs paid below the national minimum wage by parliamentary constituency are not available. However, I attach a table showing the number of jobs earning less than the national minimum wage by Government Office Region.
A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:
Members: Correspondence
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is his Department’s practice to attach to written answers hard copies of earlier replies cited in such answers where these were previously given to hon. Members other than the hon. Member to whom the answer is addressed. [167767]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 26 November 2007]: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer he received on 26 November 2007, Official Report, column 133W from my hon. Friend the Deputy Leader of the House. Treasury Ministers’ written answers which cite earlier replies invariably give the Hansard column reference.
Minimum Wage: Manpower
Colin Burgon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials are employed to enforce minimum wage requirements in the Yorkshire and the Humber region; and what the planned number of such staff is for 2008-09. [168566]
Jane Kennedy: The Yorkshire and Humber region is covered by the NMW compliance teams based in Shipley and Sheffield. The staffing information for these teams can be found in the following table:
| Payband | |
| Total | |
Mortgages: Repossession Orders
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely number of mortgage repossessions in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009. [167626]
Kitty Ussher: The Treasury does not produce a forecast for mortgage repossessions. The Council of Mortgage Lenders publishes a range of statistics on UK housing and mortgage markets, including on repossessions, available at:
National Savings
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of unclaimed assets in national savings accounts. [164124]
Kitty Ussher: National Savings and Investments (NS&I) estimates that there is approximately £466 million of unclaimed assets held with them in dormant accounts. NS&I offers a free tracing service to anyone who thinks that they may have unclaimed money in an NS&I product (www.nsandi.com/help/tracing_service.jsp). To date, it has achieved 48,000 successful traces and reunited customers with £47.8 million.
Northern Rock
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what meetings he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on Northern Rock in the last 12 months. [166509]
Kitty Ussher: The Chancellor regularly meets with the Governor to discuss a range of issues. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish his Department's statement of the principles governing its approach to any bid to acquire Northern Rock; and if he will make a statement. [166617]
Kitty Ussher: The statement of principles, which governs our approach to proposals for the future of Northern Rock and its business was published on 19 November 2007. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
Ovarian Cancer: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases of (a) ovarian and (b) breast cancer were diagnosed and cured in Peterborough constituency in each year since 1997. [167560]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked top reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 27 November 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many cases of (a) ovarian and b) breast cancer were diagnosed and cured in Peterborough constituency in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (167560)
Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of a) ovarian cancer and b) breast cancer registered in the Peterborough parliamentary constituency between 1997 and 2004, the latest year for which figures are available, are given in Table 1 below.
It is not possible to say whether or not patients are cured. For most cancers, but not breast, five-year survival rates are often taken to be ‘cure’ rates.
Survival rates by parliamentary constituency are not available, but one- and five-year survival for eight common cancers including breast cancer by government office region and strategic
health authority, for patients diagnosed in 1997-99 and followed up to 31 December 2004, are available on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=11991&;Pos=9&ColRank=l&Rank=272
Survival rates for ovarian cancer are available for England only, in -One- and five-year survival of patients diagnosed 1999-2003 and followed up to 2004: 21 common cancers, by sex and age’, on the National Statistics website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product/Product. asp?vlnk=14007
| Table 1. Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of ovarian and breast cancer( 1) registered in Peterborough parliamentary constituency( 2) : females, 1997 to 2004 | ||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
| (1) Ovarian cancer is defined by codes C56 and C57 and breast cancer by codes C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2) Based on parliamentary constituency boundaries as of 2007. Source: Office for National Statistics | ||||||||
Prostate Cancer: Peterborough
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Peterborough primary care trust and its predecessor's area in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [168333]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 27 November 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question asking how many men were diagnosed with prostate cancer in Peterborough primary care trust and its predecessor's area in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (168333)
Numbers of newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer registered in the Peterborough
primary care trust between 1997 and 2004, the latest year for which figures are available, are given in Table 1.
| Table 1 . Number of newly diagnosed cases of prostate cancer( 1) registered in Peterborough parliamentary constituency( 2) : males, 1997 to 2004 | ||||||||
| 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
| (1) Prostate cancer is defined by code C61 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) (2) Based on parliamentary constituency boundaries as of 2007. Source: Office for National Statistics | ||||||||
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