| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
27 Jan 2009 : Column 473W—continued
Charities
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many charities were removed from the Register of Charities, broken down by reason for removal, in the last three years for which figures are available. [249554]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Charity Commission. I have asked the commission to reply.
Letter from Andrew Hind, dated 21 January 2009:
As the Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, I have been asked to respond to your written Parliamentary Question on the number of charities removed from the Register of Charities in the last three years for which figures are available and to give the reasons for such removals.
The table below provides details of the charities removed from the Register of Charities in the last three financial years.
| Reason for removal | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | Total |
|
Ceased to exist or operate due to merger, incorporation or transfer of funds | ||||
|
Voluntary removal of charities below the minimum registration threshold | ||||
During the current financial year the Commission has introduced new measures to identify charities that have ceased to operate and where appropriate remove them from the Register. This is expected to result in an increase in the number of charities removed from the Register in the current year and several thereafter.
Children: Disadvantaged
Chris Grayling: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (a) how many and (b) what percentage of working age households had no one in work in each year since 1997, broken down by parliamentary constituency. [249371]
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 January 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question how many and what percentage of working age households had no one in work in each year since 1997, broken down by parliamentary constituency. (249371)
The available information is provided in the attached table. A copy of the table has been placed in the Library of the House.
The information requested has been answered using annual estimates derived from the Annual Population Survey (APS) household dataset, which are only available from 2004. Estimates before 2004 arc derived from the Labour Force Survey and are of insufficient quality for answering this question due to the detail requested. It is vital to note that as with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty as different samples give different results.
Figures for households are based on working age households. A working-age household is a household that includes at least one person of working-age, that is a woman aged 16 to 59 or a man aged 16 to 64.
Estimates that are deemed unreliable for practical purposes are presented in italics. These estimates are based on small sample sizes and are subject to large variability. Estimates that are reliable are shaded.
Departmental Standards
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the Cabinet Office's definition of avoidable contact as referred to in its Departmental Strategic Objective (DSO) 4 (Key Progress Measure 1) is; and whether the Cabinet Office has sole responsibility for delivery against the targets associated with DSO 4. [249967]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office defines avoidable contact as
“contact that adds no value to the outcome. It includes contact that is nugatory, duplicative or caused by failures in business processes”.
This is the definition as set out in the 2007 Service Transformation Agreement Progress Measure 1.
The targets associated with DS04 were derived from the two progress measures set out in the 2007 Service Transformation Agreement. These relate to avoidable contact reduction and rationalisation of Government websites. Responsibility for delivering these targets lies with the Departments responsible for delivering the relevant services. Responsibility for tracking progress, encouraging changes that will enable these targets to be met and fostering sharing of best practice lies with the Cabinet Office.
Futurebuilders Fund
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2008, Official Report, column 835W, on Futurebuilders: Catz Club, which body scrutinises and evaluates the activities of the Futurebuilders Fund in place of the Futurebuilders Advisory Panel. [249968]
Kevin Brennan: The Futurebuilders programme is delivered by Futurebuilders England Ltd. under contract to the Cabinet Office. Oversight is provided by the following mechanisms:
internal and external audit, as part of the Cabinet Office, including the Cabinet Office Audit and Risk Committee
through reporting to Cabinet Committees, where appropriate.
Sheffield Hallam university is carrying out an independent evaluation of the Futurebuilders programme.
In addition, the new Third Sector Advisory Body is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Third Sector Review commitments and priorities and advising on Office of the Third Sector programmes, including Futurebuilders.
Government Departments: Standards
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many joint avoidable contact workshops were held in November and December 2008; and which Government Departments were represented at such workshops. [249962]
Mr. Watson: Four avoidable contact workshops were held in November and December 2008—two for local government on 11 November and 25 November, and two for central Government Departments on 26 November and 8 December. The following Departments and agencies attended the central Government workshops:
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Department for Transport (DfT), the Department of Health (DH), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), NHS Direct, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the National Archives, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS), UK Borders Agency (UKBA) and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
Income: Families
Stephen Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of families in England have a gross income of less than £58,000 per year. [247547]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
24.2 million families, 91 per cent. of all families, have a gross income of less than £58,000 per year.
Notes:
1. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 26,000 households.
2. Data for 2006-07 were collected between April 2006 and March 2007.
3. The figures are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to Government office region populations by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
4. Weekly income is based on self-assessment and therefore may be subject to misreporting.
5. Income data on the Family Resource Survey are not equivalised. Equivalisation is the process in which household income is adjusted to account for variation in household size and composition.
6. Family has been interpreted to mean benefit unit, which is defined as a single adult or a couple living as married and any dependent children. Same-sex partners (and cohabitees) are also included in the same benefit unit.
7. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
Source:
Family Resources Survey, 2006-07
Lobbying
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he expects to respond to the First Report from the Public Administration Committee on Lobbying: access and influence at Westminster (HC 36-I). [249965]
Kevin Brennan: The Report from the Public Administration Select Committee was published on 5 January. The Government aim to respond within two months of publication.
Lone Parents: Income
Jenny Willott: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the average wage of working lone parents (a) in England, (b) in Wales, (c) in Scotland, (d) in Northern Ireland and (e) nationwide in each of the last 10 years. [249194]
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 January 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate has been made of the average wage of working lone parents (a) in England, (b) in Wales, (c) in Scotland, (d) in Northern Ireland and (e) nationwide in each of the last 10 years. (249194)
The information requested is not available. The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is the principal source of statistics on employees’ earnings but the survey does not collect details of employees’ family circumstances. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects information about each member of participating households and can therefore be used to estimate how many lone parents there are in work. However, the LFS cannot be used to estimate their average earnings.
Office of the Third Sector: Consultants
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which external consultants the Office of the Third Sector hired in 2007-08. [250322]
Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) has engaged outside consultants for specialist recruitment exercises for senior public appointments, for procurement exercises and for the development and/or review of data sources, policies and programmes. The following external consultants were used during 2007-08:
Hedra;
Odgers Ray and Berndtson Ltd.;
ECOTEC Research and Consulting;
Community Development Foundation;
Tribal Consulting;
Get 2 the Point;
Professor Steve Wilcox;
CL Ideas;
Third Sector Prospect;
St. Chad's College;
BMG Research; and
Clive Jones.
Pay: Private Sector
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the median wage of a full-time (a) private and (b) public sector worker was in each year since 1996-97. [249955]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the median wage of a full-time (a) private and (b) public sector worker was in each year since 1996-97. (249955)
Levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence.
The attached table shows the Median Gross Weekly Earnings for United Kingdom full time employees by private and public sector from 1997 to 2008. Results prior to 1997 are not available for the United Kingdom.
| Median w eekly pay - Gross (£) - For full-time employee jobs( 1) : United Kingdom | ||
| Private s ector | Public s ector | |
| (1) Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence. (2) 2004 results excluding supplementary survey for comparison with 2003 (3) 2004 results including supplementary surveys designed to improve coverage of the survey (for more information see National Statistics website: www.statistics.gov.uk (4) 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2005 (5) 2006 results with methodology consistent with 2007 Source: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Office for National Statistics. | ||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |