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14 May 2008 : Column 1585W—continued
The first release of 2007 birth statistics for England and Wales is planned for summer 2008. The number of live births in 2007 by Primary Care Trust area is a subsequent product of the first release and will be sent to you by the Office for National Statistics once it is available, towards the end of the summer.
Departmental Catering
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost was of food and drink procured for working lunches attended by officials at which no external invitees were present in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [205520]
Phil Hope: The information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
All Cabinet Office expenditure on official hospitality including working lunches is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in “Government Accounting” and the Treasury handbook on “Regularity and Propriety”.
Integrated Household Survey
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many households will be surveyed by the Integrated Household Survey in each year once the survey is fully implemented. [204887]
Phil Hope: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 May 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about how many households will be surveyed by the Integrated Household Survey in each year once the survey is fully implemented. (204887)
The Integrated Household Survey (IHS) is being implemented in a phased way, with four of the initial five component surveys already within the IHS. These are the General Household Survey, Expenditure and Food Survey, Omnibus and the English Housing Survey. The fifth survey, the Labour Force Survey, will join the IHS in 2009. At that point, approximately 200,000 individual households will be interviewed in the IHS annually, split across the five IHS survey modules.
From 2009, other new social surveys that start up may also become part of the IHS.
Ministers: Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the percentage increases in (a) pension contributions, (b) salaries and (c) expense allowances of (i) Cabinet Ministers, (ii) Ministers of State and (iii) Parliamentary Under-Secretaries were in each of the last five years; [205020]
(2) what the percentage increases in pension payments to former (a) Cabinet Ministers, (b) Ministers of State and (c) Parliamentary Under-Secretaries were in each of the last 10 years. [205021]
Helen Goodman: I have been asked to reply.
The pension contribution of Members increased from 9 per cent. to 10 per cent. of salary in April 2004 for those opting for one fortieth pension accrual. It remained at 6 per cent. of salary for one fiftieth accrual. These pension contribution rates also apply to ministerial salaries.
Further information on current and historical rates of ministerial salaries and allowances payable to Members is available in the House Library.
The increases in ministerial salaries are given in the following table.
| Date of increase | Size of increase (percentage) |
There was no difference in the percentage salary increases between Secretaries of State, Ministers of State or Parliamentary Under-Secretaries.
All Secretaries of State, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries in this House are generally entitled to claim the same allowances as any other Member. The exception is that Ministers who are not provided with an official residence in London in respect of their office are entitled to claim the London supplement. They may claim this alongside the additional costs allowance if they also qualify for that allowance.
| As at 1 April each year—Size of increase (percentage) | |||||
| Allowance | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
The motor mileage allowance increased by 2.6 per cent. on 1 April 2004. From 1 April 2005 the motor mileage rate was reduced by 30.68 per cent. for the first 10,000 miles, by 56.67 per cent. between 10,001 and 20,000 miles and by 6.02 per cent. for over 20,000 miles. There has been no change to the level of the motor mileage allowance since 1 April 2005.
As for many public pensions, the increases applied each April to pensions in payment under the parliamentary contributory pension fund, in excess of the guaranteed minimum pension, were linked to the increase in the retail prices index as at the previous September. These increases applied to pensions paid to former Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and Parliamentary Under-Secretaries. The percentage increases for the last ten years were as follows.
| April each year | Increase (percentage) |
Mothers
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the average age of a first-time mother was in (a) the North West and (b) England in the most recent period for which figures are available. [204978]
Phil Hope: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated May 2008:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for information on the average age of a first-time mother in (a) the North West and (b) England in the most recent period for which figures are available. (204978)
It is not possible to provide the information requested because the number of previous children born to a woman is not collected from all mothers at birth registration.
Estimates of the mean age at first birth are published for England and Wales as a whole. ONS supplements the information on previous children collected from married mothers at birth registration with survey data to produce estimates of first births for England and Wales. However, it is not possible to produce these estimates for England or for sub-national areas.
Population: Wirral
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what information the Office for National Statistics holds on the numbers of people resident in Wirral, West constituency, broken down by age group. [205065]
Phil Hope: The information falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 14 May 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the numbers of people resident in Wirral West constituency. (205065)
The latest population estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies in England and Wales are for mid-2005. The estimates for Wirral West constituency by age group are shown in the attached table.
Security: Greater London
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the Cabinet Office’s Annual Resource Accounts for 2006-07, in what ways the Government Secure Zone project has been delivered more slowly than expected; and what the (a) forecast and (b) outturn expenditure on the project was in 2006-07. [191175]
Mr. Watson: During 2006-07, the Government Secure Zone (GSZ) programme was delivered with (a) forecast expenditure of £13,351,000 and (b) outturn expenditure of £12,767,000 (grant and non-grant) within a total income of £13,386,000 (resource and capital). The main project within the GSZ programme (the “Whitehall Streetscape Improvement” project) was delayed by three months in obtaining planning permission, resulting in a slower delivery and consequential underspend of £619,000 for the 2006-07 financial year.
House of Commons Commission
Members: Video Conferencing
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission (1) what the reasons were for the decision not to extend the video conferencing trials on the parliamentary estate; and if the Commission will reconsider this decision; [205102]
(2) what assessment the Commission has made of the merits of video conferencing on the parliamentary estate as a means of reducing the need of staff and hon. Members to travel to meetings. [205103]
Nick Harvey: There has been no specific assessment of whether video conferencing would be an effective means of reducing the need of staff and Members to travel to meetings. Parliamentary ICT (PICT) has been running a very limited informal trial of two ‘table top’ video conferencing products to establish their technical viability and to gain some insight into their potential benefit. This is now complete.
PICT's work relating to Members ICT has been defined by the Administration Committee in its second report of 2006-07 “Information and Communication Technology Services for Members” (HC 498), as approved by the Commission. The report's recommendations and the programme of work that has been agreed with the Commission do not include extending the provision of video conferencing in the immediate future.
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