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20 Oct 2008 : Column 90W—continued
Duchy of Lancaster
Departmental Press
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 2 July 2008, Official Report, column 1003W, (1) how many copies of PR Week the Cabinet Office subscribes to; [222998]
(2) how many copies of PR Week are purchased by the Cabinet Office each week. [223011]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Dorneywood
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use his Department has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months. [221973]
Mr. Watson:
My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has the use of Dorneywood as an official residence. The Chancellor and the Trustees have made Dorneywood available to other Ministers to use for
official engagements. Since September 2007, the Commons Chief Whip, the Leader of the House of Lords and Treasury Ministers have made use of Dorneywood for official engagements.
Fertility
John Battle: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the average fertility rate in (a) Leeds West, (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and (c) the UK was in each five year period since 1978. [228230]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Daren Dunnell, dated October 2008:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question regarding what the average fertility rate in (a) Leeds West, (b) Leeds Metropolitan District and (c) the UK was in each five-year period since 1978. (228230)
The table below provides the average Total Fertility Rate for the UK, Leeds Metropolitan District and Leeds West parliamentary constituency for each five-year period, where possible.
The average Total Fertility Rates are calculated using live births from the birth registration system and population estimates. All figures are based on current geographical boundaries and for Leeds Metropolitan District are available for 1982 onwards. Population estimates by parliamentary constituency are only available from 2001; hence fertility rates for Leeds West are shown for 2001 onwards.
| Average total fertility rate for UK, Leeds Metropolitan District and Leeds West parliamentary constituency: five-year periods, 1978-2007 | |||
| Average Total Fertility Rate( 1) | |||
| UK | Leeds Metropolitan District | Leeds West( 2 ) (parliamentary constituency) | |
| (1) The average Total Fertility Rate for each five-year period has been calculated by averaging the Total Fertility Rate for each individual year within the period. (2) The Total Fertility Rates for Leeds West have been calculated using population estimates by parliamentary constituency which have been published as 'Experimental Statistics'. (3) Total Fertility Rate for Leeds Metropolitan District for 1982 only. (4) Average Total Fertility Rate for Leeds West for 2001-2002 only. (5) The 2007 Total Fertility Rates for the UK, Leeds Metropolitan District and Leeds West parliamentary constituency are provisional. | |||
Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total cost was to the Exchequer of all quangos in 2007-08. [227885]
Kevin Brennan: Information on the cost and expenditure of non-departmental public bodies is published annually by the Cabinet Office. Information for 2006-07 was published in March and copies are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2007-08 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.
Unemployment: Fife
Willie Rennie: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people living in (a) Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and (b) Fife were unemployed in each of the last 12 months. [228017]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated October 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people living in (a) Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and (b) Fife were unemployed in each of the last 12 months. (228017)
The Office for National Statistics compiles unemployment statistics for Parliamentary Constituencies using the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions, and for Local Authorities using model based estimates.
The APS and model based estimates are available only for rolling 4 quarter periods. The latest available estimates cover the 12 months ending September 2007 and December 2007 and are provided in Table 1.
Table 2 attached shows the number of persons claiming Jobseeker's Allowance resident in Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and Fife for each of the last twelve months.
These figures along with a wide range of other labour market data for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are also published on the Office for National Statistics' NomisÂ(r) website: www.nomisweb.co.uk.
| Table 1: Number of persons unemployed( 1) resident in (a) Dunfermline and West Fife constituency and (b) Fife | ||
| Thousand | ||
| 12 months ending: | Dunfermline and West Fife | Fife |
| (1) Levels of unemployment are provided for persons aged 16 and over. The figures presented are weighted to population estimates published in 2007. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality below. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5 per cent. we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key Coefficient of Variation (CV)(percentage) Statistical robustness * 0 < CV<5 Estimates are considered precise. ** 5 < CV<10 Estimates are considered reasonably precise. *** 10 < CV<20 Estimates are considered acceptable. **** CV ≥ 20 Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes. Source: Annual Population Survey/Model based estimates. | ||
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Arctic
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what international meetings to discuss claims over the Arctic he plans to attend in the next 12 months. [226551]
Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has no current plans in this regard. None the less, the UN takes an active interest in many Arctic issues and engages with Arctic states, both bilaterally and in international forums. For example, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials attend meetings of the Artic Council at which the UK is a state observer, and will take part in the next meeting in Norway in November.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of claims that Rwandan troops are continuing to operate within the Democratic Republic of Congo. [226930]
Gillian Merron: At present we are not aware of any evidence that the Rwandan military has entered the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
We continue to monitor events in eastern DRC closely. We encourage the Governments of the DRC and Rwanda to co-operate to resolve threats to regional security.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department and its agencies spent on entertainment in each of the last five years. [219258]
Gillian Merron: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is committed to ensuring that all expenditure, including that on entertainment, is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Departmental Sick Leave
Jenny Willott:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility
who gave (i) stress and (ii) mental health and behavioural disorders as the reason for their absence was in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [216112]
Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is committed to protecting the health, welfare and productivity of its staff. Our occupational stress policy provides guidance for staff and managers on recognising and dealing with stress and on reducing the causes of stress in the workplace. We provide further support through a team of welfare officers, referral to our occupational health service and access to a 24/7 confidential Employee Assistance programme.
The average duration for single periods of sickness absence for UK civil servants employed by the FCO and by Wilton Park, an Executive Agency of the FCO, where stress or mental health illness has been given as the reason for the absence is set out in the following table.
| Number of days | ||
| Financial year | FCO | Wilton Park |
The FCO does not hold records of staff sickness absence before 2005. Nor does it have access to the sickness absence records of non-departmental public bodies. Sickness absence figures for FCO Services, which became a Trading Fund on 1 April 2008, are included in the FCO total.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the average duration of single periods of sick leave taken by staff in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental bodies for which it has responsibility was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [216113]
Gillian Merron: The average duration for single periods of sickness absence taken by UK civil servants employed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Wilton Park, an Executive Agency of the FCO, is set out in the following table.
| Number of days | ||
| Financial year | FCO | Wilton Park |
The FCO does not hold records of staff sickness absences before 2005. Nor does it have access to the sickness absence records of non-departmental public bodies. Sickness absence figures for FCO Services, which became a Trading Fund on 1 April 2008, are included in the FCO total.
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