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11 Dec 2007 : Column 365W—continued
Departmental Telephone Services
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which telephone contact centres are within the responsibility of his Department. [173097]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury does not have a designated ‘call centre’ telephone contact centre as such. Telephone enquiries to HM Treasury are dealt with within the general Correspondence and Enquiry Unit along with email and letter correspondence handling.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the information collected by his Department on contact centre operations. [173099]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury operates a Correspondence and Enquiry Unit which is the central point of contact for those contacting the Department whether by telephone, email or letter. It handles approximately l,000 contact items per week from Members of Parliament and the public. Details and performances are provided in the Department's annual report and via an annual written parliamentary answer.
Financial markets
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to ensure liquidity in the financial markets following recent instability in the UK financial sector; and if he will make a statement. [163546]
Kitty Ussher: As the Governor made clear in his statement to TSC on 29 November, the Tripartite authorities keep conditions in international and UK financial markets under constant review. On 29 November the Governor of the Bank of England told the Treasury Committee of actions the bank is taking to assure banks of liquidity over the forthcoming year-end. The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank have announced similar measures. The bank stands ready to take further measures in order to keep overnight rates in line with bank rate.
Foreigners: Saudi Arabia
Keith Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of Saudi Arabian nationals living in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [171880]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 11 December 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question concerning what estimate has been made of the number of Saudi Arabian nationals living in the United Kingdom. I am replying in her absence. (171880)
Between July and September 2007, there were an estimated 12,000 Saudi Arabian nationals living in the UK. This figure is based on Labour Force Survey data and, as with any sample survey, is subject to a margin of uncertainty.
Insurance: Public Participation
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2007, Official Report, column 393W, on insurance: public participation, how his Department monitors the compliance of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) with the provisions of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 on requiring the FSA to consult on proposed rules and to produce a cost benefit analysis; and if he will make a statement. [172987]
Kitty Ussher: The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) requires the FSA to consult on rules it proposes to make. The consultation must include a cost benefit analysis and an explanation of the purpose of the proposed rules.
The FSA is independent of Government but accountable to Parliament, Government, the public and industry in a number of ways. For example, the FSA must make an annual report to the Treasury on the discharge of its functions and the extent to which its regulatory objectives have been met—this report is then published. The independent Practitioner and Consumer Panels, whose status is set out in FSMA, ensure that the views of consumers and the industry are taken into account by the FSA. The FSA is required to respond formally to their representations.
International Monetary Fund: Iraq
Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what successor programme has been negotiated between the government of Iraq and the International Monetary Fund; what the key features of this programme are; and if he will make a statement. [170255]
Kitty Ussher: The UK is not party to discussions between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the government of Iraq. However, we understand that officials from the IMF continue to meet with representatives of the government of Iraq, both in the region and in Washington, to discuss progress on economic reform.
Such discussions include focus on implementing the government of Iraq's economic reform programme supported by the current IMF stand-by arrangement (SBA), approved on 23 December 2005. Following the completion of the most recent and fifth review under the SBA on 2 August 2007, the IMF executive board approved a three-month extension of the SBA until 28 December 2007, to allow an IMF policy framework to remain in place while preparations were undertaken for successor arrangements.
The government of Iraq and the IMF are currently preparing for these arrangements, which will build on the reforms identified in current and previous IMF programmes, to enhance macroeconomic stability and economic development in Iraq.
More details of the current programme, as well as reports from IMF staff and the government of Iraq's memorandums on economic and financial policies, are available on the IMF's website at:
Meningitis: Death
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people have died from meningitis in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [172972]
Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 11 December 2007:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many people have died from meningitis in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (172972)
The attached table provides the number of deaths from bacterial and viral meningitis and other meningococcal diseases in (a) Jarrow parliamentary constituency, (b) South Tyneside local authority, (c) North East Government Office Region, and (d) the UK, from 1997 to 2006 (the latest year available).
| Table 1: Number of deaths from bacterial and viral meningitis and other meningococcal diseases( 1) Jarrow parliamentary constituency. South Tyneside local authority, North East Government Office Region, and UK, 1997-2006( 2, 3, 4) | ||||
| Deaths (persons) | ||||
| Jarrow | South Tyneside | North East | UK | |
| (1) Cause of death selected using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes 036, 047, 320 and 322 for 1997 to 2000 and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes A39, A87 and G00-G03 for 2001 to 2006. The introduction of ICD-10 in 2001 means that the numbers of deaths from this cause before 2001 are not completely comparable with later years. (2) Based on parliamentary constituency and local authority boundaries as of 2007. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. (4) Figures include data provided by the Registrars General for Scotland and Northern Ireland. | ||||
Northern Rock
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he was involved in the appointment of Sir Bryan Sanderson as Chairman of Northern Rock; and if he will make a statement. [166291]
Kitty Ussher: The decision to appoint Sir Bryan Sanderson as Chairman of Northern Rock was made by the board of Northern Rock plc.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reports he has received on the stability of Northern Rock in each of the last 12 months. [166507]
Kitty Ussher: On 14 August 2007, the Financial Services Authority told the Bank of England and the Treasury about its concerns about Northern Rock and its vulnerability to the tightening wholesale funding markets. The Chancellor was informed on 15 August and has received regular written and oral updates since then.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of Northern Rock's assets are free of specific charge as collateral for loans; [168523]
(2) what proportion of the lending to Northern Rock by his Department and the Bank of England is unsecured. [168526]
Kitty Ussher: On 14 September 2007 the Chancellor of the Exchequer authorised the Bank of England to provide a liquidity support facility to Northern Rock. A further facility was announced on 11 October 2007.
Lending for both facilities is on a secured basis and is secured against all of the assets of the company. Under the first facility lending is secured against collateral deemed to be eligible by the Bank of England, with an appropriate margin applied and by a charge over all of Northern Rock's assets. Lending under the second facility is secured by a charge over all of Northern Rock's assets.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what value of assets the Bank of England has accepted as collateral for loans to Northern Rock; [168524]
(2) what proportion of the Bank of England's total assets are represented by claims on Northern Rock and its assets. [168527]
Kitty Ussher: The sum borrowed by the company is confidential.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what due diligence his Department and the Bank of England completed before lending money to Northern Rock. [168525]
Kitty Ussher: The Bank of England, supported by external auditors, has conducted due diligence with regard to the processes used to manage the facility and the quality of the assets taken as collateral.
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what repayment scheme has been put in place for lending by the Bank of England and his Department to Northern Rock; [168529]
(2) what guarantees his Department has offered the Bank of England on its loans to Northern Rock. [168532]
Kitty Ussher: I refer the right hon. Gentlemen to the letters the Chancellor sent to the chairs of the Public Accounts Committee and the Treasury Select Committee on 11 October 2007, which are available in the House Library.
Northern Rock: Deutsche Bank
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has had recent discussions with representatives of Deutsche Bank on the acquisition of Northern Rock; and if he will make a statement. [172851]
Kitty Ussher: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Northern Rock: Finance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons he decided not to sanction a public loan to facilitate the takeover of Northern Rock by Lloyds TSB; and if he will make a statement. [171923]
Kitty Ussher: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) on 29 October 2007, Official Report, column 899W.
Office of Government Commerce
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of reductions in (a) salary and (b) administration costs made by the Office of Government Commerce in each year since 2003-04; and if he will make a statement. [165223]
Angela Eagle: The following table shows OGC's total net administration costs and salary cost contained therein for the years 2003-04 to 2006-07. These figures are consistent with the resource accounts for those years.
| £000 | ||||
| Resource accounts | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
The OGC's expenditure increased between 2004-05 and 2005-06 due to an expansion of its remit in that period, particularly on improving efficiency across the public sector.
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