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17 Nov 2008 : Column 243W—continued
Minimum Wage: Enfield
Joan Ryan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people received the national minimum wage in Enfield North constituency in each year since its introduction. [235452]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Dennis Roberts, dated November 2008:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people received the national minimum wage in Enfield North in each year since its introduction. I am replying in her absence. (235452)
Estimates for the number of jobs paid at the national minimum wage are not available from the Office for National Statistics. However, estimates for the number of all employee jobs paid below the national wage are available by Government Office Region. This is the lowest geographical breakdown published by ONS.
I attach a table showing the number of jobs earning less than the national minimum wage for London region for all employees in each year since 1998.
A guide to measuring low pay and associated articles can be found on the National Statistics website at:
Ministerial Policy Advisors
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 22 July 2008, Official Report, columns 99-102WS, on special advisers, what expenditure the Government incurred in (a) pension contributions on behalf of and (b) severance payments to special advisers in 2007-08. [234021]
Kevin Brennan: I refer the right hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 July 2008, Official Report, columns 99-102WS, which included £993,329 in severance payments to special advisers in line with the contractual provisions set out in the model contract for special advisers. It also included an estimate of £546,000 for pension contributions.
Non-profit Making Associations
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many Government contracts have been awarded to social enterprises in each of the last three years, broken down by Department. [236225]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested is not held centrally. Businesses that are awarded contracts by the Government are not currently required to state whether they are social enterprises and no detailed central record of contracts awarded is held.
Productivity
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the productivity levels per worker were in each of the last 17 years. [234496]
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 November 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on what the productivity levels per worker in the UK economy was in each of the last 17 years. (234496)
The Office for National Statistics compiles quarterly productivity statistics for the UK. Output per worker is the ratio of Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices and Labour Force Survey (LFS) total employment.
Table 1 provides estimates of the index value with 2003 = 100 of Output per Worker for the United Kingdom for the years 1991 to 2007.
| Table 1 | |
| Output per worker index value | |
Public Bodies
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria the Office for National Statistics uses to decide whether a publicly funded body may be classified as a private sector organisation. [233370]
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 November 2008:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what criteria the Office for National Statistics uses to decide whether a publicly-funded body may be classified as a private sector organisation (233370).
ONS produces the United Kingdom's National Accounts. The National Accounts are an internationally comparable accounting framework that describes the activities in a national economy, including the transactions that take place between sectors of that economy. The relevant international manuals are the System of National Accounts 1993 (SNA93) and the European System of Accounts 1995 (ESA95) in particular.
As part of the process of producing the National Accounts, ONS decides on the classification of institutions and transactions within the economy. This well-established process is set out in Annex A of the National Statistics Protocol on Statistical Integration and Classification available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/about-statistics/ns-standard/cop/protocols/index.html.
Paragraphs 19-24 of the protocol annex provide a brief description of the classification criteria used when classifying an institution to the public or private sector. The paragraphs are reproduced below for ease. ‘NACC’ in paragraph 22 refers to the National Accounts Classification Committee, which is described in detail within the protocol.
Classification criteria: the basic approach to classification
19. Each classification decision is taken on its own merits and in line with international statistical guidance. Cases of public interest tend to be one of two types:
i. whether an entity, an organisation or financing vehicle for example, is in the private or public sector;
ii. whether government receipts are a charge for a service or a tax
i. Classification of an entity to the public or private sector
20. The guidance is extensive but two main stages can be identified when classifying an entity to an institutional sector. The first involves a decision on whether the entity is within the public or private sectors, and the second a decision on whether it is a market or non-market producer.
21. In summary the difference between the public and private sectors is determined by where control lies, rather than by ownership or whether or not the entity is publicly financed. International guidance defines control as the ability to determine general corporate policy. For example, this control can be exercised through the appointment of directors, control of over half of the shareholders voting power, through special legislation or decree, or through regulation.
22. As a result NACC will examine an entity to see whether there are any factors that enable any part of the public sector, either individually or collectively, to determine the general corporate policy of the entity. This includes recognition that government, or other sectors, may also control a unit through contractual arrangements. If this control is established the entity is classified to the public sector.
23. Having decided whether an entity is part of the public or private sectors, the second important aspect for sector classification is to determine whether it is a market or non-market entity. Public sector market entities are classified as public corporations (for example Royal Mail and Manchester Airport Group); public sector non-market entities are classified in the general government sector (for example government departments and the BBC). General government is then sub-divided into sub-sectors, including central government, state government and local government. Private sector market entities are classified as private corporations, and private sector non-market entities are generally classified to a sector known as Non Profit Institutions Serving Households.
24. The borderline between market and non-market classification is defined in the international guidance by whether more than fifty per cent of the production costs are covered by sales of goods and services.
Deprivation Indicators
Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the lower super output areas are with the (a) highest and (b) lowest rankings on the living environment domain for the multiple index of deprivation in each of the principal seaside towns in England and Wales; [234944]
(2) what the lower super output areas are with the (a) highest and (b) lowest average income level for each of the principal seaside towns in England and Wales; [234941]
(3) what the lower super output areas are with the (a) highest and (b) lowest employment levels in each of the principal seaside towns in England and Wales. [234942]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The following tables list the codes for the least and most deprived lower super output areas in the principal seaside towns in England, on the overall measure of multiple deprivation and across the seven domains of the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2007. Information on deprivation in Welsh towns can be obtained from the Welsh Assembly Government Statistical Directorate.
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