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25 Feb 2008 : Column 1227W—continued
Olympic Games 2012: Essex
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if the Minister for the East of England will visit (a) Essex and (b) Colchester to discuss potential involvement with the 2012 Olympics. [188627]
Mr. Dhanda: The Minister for the East of England will be visiting Essex in July to meet representatives of the county council, and has asked for the Olympics to be placed on the agenda.
The Minister for the East of England, and I understand that partners in Essex are well engaged with the Olympics nations and regions structures that are in place. I am also aware of the efforts made by Colchester to engage and recognise opportunities by forming a 2012 Partnership Group and submitting an application for a pre-games training camp.
The Minister for the East of England currently has no plans to visit Colchester, but she would be pleased to consider any further information about how it plans to be involved in the 2012 Olympics.
Planning
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how often the expert panels on (a) housing markets and planning, (b) neighbourhoods, cities and regions and (c) housing and communities have met since being established; and whether their advice is made public. [186817]
Mr. Dhanda:
Each of the expert panels had separate launch events, to which all panel members were invited. However, the primary role of the expert panels is for individual panel members to provide advice on the topics in which they specialise, either through attending relevant policy seminars or through undertaking customised pieces of research in order to meet the
Department’s short-term information needs. As such, the panels do not meet formally.
The lead members for each expert panel are developing bespoke websites in order to disseminate the outputs of the respective panels. The membership of the expert panels was provided in response to the hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) on 5 February 2008 , Official Report, columns 1020-21W.
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations she has received from (a) the Welsh Assembly Government and (b) the Chair of the Sustainability Committee of the National Assembly for Wales on their involvement in the development of UK-wide planning legislation. [188171]
John Healey: We have received a number of representations from the Welsh Assembly Government on their involvement in the development of UK-wide planning legislation. I have received representations about the Planning Bill from the Chair of the Sustainability Committee of the National Assembly of Wales, including a copy of the Committee’s report on the Bill.
Regeneration
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish the report on Alternatives to Casino-led regeneration; on what date the report (a) was commissioned, (b) was originally scheduled for publication and (c) is now expected to be published; and what the cost of producing the report is. [188237]
John Healey: The Review of Alternative Approaches to regional casino-led regeneration will be published shortly.
In July, the Prime Minister said that the Government would consider the question of whether deprived areas could be equally well served by forms of regeneration other than the development of regional casinos. As a part of this process, an interdepartmental working group was set up, the first meeting of which was held on 9 August 2007.
Civil servants have to date devoted a significant amount of time to the investigation of alternatives to regional casino-led regeneration, although the review has not had a specifically dedicated resource. In addition, there has been a cost of approximately £3,000 for the Expert Panel members’ time to peer-review the document.
Regional Ministers: Finance
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the administrative costs for the Government offices for the regions are expected to be in the current financial year. [188769]
Mr. Dhanda:
The administrative costs of the Government offices for the regions in 2007-08 are expected to be £142,656,000. This includes all funding received from sponsor Departments, including a
non-cash allocation and funds that have been provided for the current year for a voluntary early release scheme.
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what budgets the Government offices for the regions are responsible for in the current financial year. [188770]
Mr. Dhanda: The Government offices for the regions have specific responsibility for an administration running cost budget and a capital budget.
Programme budgets administered by the Government offices are the responsibility of the Secretaries of State for the relevant sponsor Departments. The Departments delegate authority to the regional directors to spend against their programmes, though all expenditure incurred is recorded in the accounts of the Department concerned.
Supporting People Programme: Finance
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of recent trends in Supporting People funding in respect of domestic violence (a) refuge provision, (b) women only services and (c) black and minority ethnic women services. [188274]
Mr. Iain Wright: In 2005-06, over £59 million of Supporting People funding was used to provide housing-related support for victims of domestic violence. In 2006-07, the most recent year for which figures are available, that figure had risen to over £61 million. Services are commissioned by top-tier local authorities to meet local needs. The Government have not assessed the funding for specific types of services to which my hon. Friend refers.
Thames Gateway: Resignations
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the reasons for the resignation of Judith Armitt, chief executive of Thames Gateway; and whether Ministers in her Department were consulted by Ms. Armitt on her decision prior to its announcement. [178747]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) on 7 February 2008, Official Report, column 1324W.
Urban Areas: Sustainable Development
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answers of 5 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1034-5W, on urban areas: sustainable development, what measures, rules, codes of practice, or other guidelines are in place on transparency and propriety in her Department’s dealings with property developers in relation to eco-towns; how much financial or other assistance has been received in sponsorship for eco-town events by property developers in Micheldever in the last 12 months; how much is expected in the next 12 months; and if she will make a statement. [186988]
Caroline Flint: All Government officials are bound by the obligations set out in the Civil Service Code. The forthcoming public consultation on eco-towns will be undertaken in line with the Government’s Code of Practice on consultations.
The Government have received no sponsorship or financial support from private developers for eco-towns events that they have held, and will not be receiving any future support. Any funding received by a non-governmental organisation for eco-towns events is a matter for that organisation.
Treasury
Child Benefit
Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on (a) child benefit and (b) child tax credit for 16 to 19-year-olds in full-time education and unwaged work-based learning in 2006-07; and how much is planned to be spent on each in (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09, (iii) 2009-10 and (iv) 2010-11. [188043]
Jane Kennedy: The latest information on finalised child tax credit awards is for 2005-06. It is estimated that the entitlement for families with one or more children aged at least 16 at the previous 31 August was about £1.8 billion. This estimate includes entitlement for other children in these families. It also includes families receiving the equivalent level of support via income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance.
In 2006-07, around £1 billion was paid in child benefit to families in respect of children aged at least 16 at the previous August.
Estimates and forecasts for later years are not available.
Child Benefit: Personal Records
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish the (a) guidance provided to and (b) training procedures for HM Revenue and Customs staff on access to copying and dissemination of personal data. [168050]
Jane Kennedy: Examples of guidance to HMRC staff are already in the public domain and can be found at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals
It would not be appropriate to publish more specific details of the data security arrangements, controls and procedures adopted by HMRC to protect personal and other sensitive data as to do so would be likely to undermine their effectiveness.
HMRC is currently reviewing all training procedures and guidance relating to data security following the recent child benefit data loss incident.
Credit
Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information his Department holds on the (a) size and (b) recent trends in growth of the (i) global and (ii) domestic credit default swap market. [187813]
Angela Eagle: There are many statistical sources that provide estimates of the size of the global credit default swap market. Two such resources are the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA).
The latest BIS survey published in November 2007 reported the notional amount of outstanding over the counter credit default swaps to be $42.6 trillion in June 2007, up from $28.9 trillion in December 2006 ($13.9 trillion in December 2005).
ISDA reported that the notional amount outstanding of credit derivatives grew by 32 per cent. in the first six months of 2007 to $45.46 trillion from $34.42 trillion. They also reported that the annual growth rate for credit derivatives is 75 per cent. from $26.0 trillion at mid-year 2006.
Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether (a) his Department, (b) the Bank of England and (c) the Financial Services Authority have conducted an analysis of the effect on UK financial stability of the growth of the credit default swap market. [187814]
Angela Eagle: Both the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority routinely analyse developments in the credit default swap market, drawing on their relationships with firms, trade associations and international counterparts. These assessments are shared with HM Treasury through the Tripartite Standing Committee on Financial Stability. The Bank of England publish their analysis in their Quarterly Bulletin and Financial Stability Report.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department’s civil servants were (a) suspended and (b) dismissed for accessing (i) obscene and (ii) other prohibited material on work computers in each of the last five years. [188779]
Angela Eagle: The Department does not collect data on the number of Treasury staff who have been suspended. The number of staff dismissed for accessing (i) obscene and (ii) other prohibited material in each of the last five years is nil.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of the last 12 editions of the staff magazine of (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies. [187631]
Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Financial Secretary (Mr. Healey) on 5 February 2007, Official Report, column 737W.
Departmental Translation Services
Mr. Paul Goodman:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on translation services by his Department, associated agencies and non-departmental public bodies in (a) 2003-04, (b)
2004-05, (c) 2005-06, (d) 2006-07 and (e) in 2007-08 to date. [188003]
Angela Eagle: The Chancellor's Department and its associated agencies have procured translation services over the last five years. However, it is not possible to provide comprehensive details as these could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Employment
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of non-UK citizens in (a) unskilled and (b) semi-skilled employment in the UK in each year since 1997; [177468]
(2) what the working age employment rate of (a) UK nationals and (b) the UK population who were (i) unskilled, (ii) semi-skilled and (iii) skilled workers was in each year since 2001; and what research he has (A) commissioned and (B) evaluated on changes in these employment rates. [177469]
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 February 2008:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your two Parliamentary Questions. The first is about the number of (a) UK nationals and (b) the UK 60 million population who were (i) unskilled, (ii) semi-skilled and (iii) skilled workers was in each year since 2001; and what research has been (A) commissioned and (B) evaluated on changes in these employment rates. The second is about the number of non UK citizens in (a) unskilled and (b) semi-skilled employment in the UK in each year since 1997. I am replying in her absence. (177468, 177469)
The data for analysing migrant workers comes from the Labour Force Survey. The National Statistics method for estimating the number of migrant workers employed in the UK is based on the number of people at a given time who were born abroad, are of working age (16 - 64 for men, 16-59 for women), and in employment. However, you have requested data analysed by nationality and this is the basis on which this PQ has been answered.
The attached table gives the number and proportion of UK nationals, foreign nationals and all people in employment, for the three month period ending June each year, from 2001 to 2007. Comparable estimates are not available before 2001. The National Statistics Socio-economic Classification has been used to categorise the population and provide the employment status of each working age adult.
I am advised that the Government has not commissioned research on the changes in the employment rate of skilled and non-skilled workers since 2001. As part of the Leitch Review of Skills, published in 2006, projections of employment demand by skill level and occupation was commissioned from Cambridge Econometrics and the Warwick Institute of Employment Studies. Further information can be found at:
It is important to bear in mind that the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is not designed to cover everyone who is present in the UK. The survey may undercount the numbers of people who were born overseas.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
| Working age( 1) employment level and rate( 2) , by socio-economic classification (NS-SEC) and nationality, April to June, 2001-07, United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted | ||||||||
| Thousands, except where indicated | ||||||||
| All SEC categories( 3,4) | Higher managerial and professional | Lower managerial and professional | Intermediate occupations | |||||
| Level | Rate (%) | Level | Rate (%) | Level | Rate (%) | Level | Rate (%) | |
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