| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
5 Feb 2009 : Column 1448W—continued
Childbirth
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what percentage of live births were to (a) non-UK born and (b) foreign national mothers and fathers in each (i) primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority are in each year since 1997. [253925]
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 February 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what percentage of live births were to (a) non-UK born and (b) foreign national mothers and fathers in each (i) primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority are in each year since 1997. (253925)
The tables attached provide the percentage of live births that were to (a) mothers (table 1) and fathers (table 2) not born in the United Kingdom, in each (i) primary care organisation and (ii) strategic health authority in England, for each year from 1997 to 2007 (the latest year available). A copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Figures for the percentage of live births that were to (b) foreign national mothers and fathers are not available, as nationality is not recorded at birth registration.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many live births there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by the age of the mother. [254149]
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 February 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your request for information on how many live births there were in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by age of mother. (254149)
The latest year for which figures are available is 2007. The attached table shows the number of live births in England and Wales in 2007, broken down by age of mother.
| Live births by age of mother, England and Wales, 2007 | |
| Age of mother | Live births |
| Source: Office for National Statistics. | |
Civil Servants: Retirement
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the timetable is for removing the mandatory retirement age policy across the Civil Service; and whether such removal will apply to senior civil servants. [249918]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Secretary announced on 1 October 2008 that Departments and agencies who had not already done so will introduce a policy of having a no mandatory retirement age for staff by March 2010. A review is currently under way to assess the potential impact of extending such a policy to members of the senior civil service.
Departmental Pay
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in the Prime Minister's Office who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate. [244380]
Mr. Watson: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
Permanent Cabinet Office employees are paid an annual salary, rather than an hourly rate. Permanent employees are paid within the Cabinet Office grading structure, where the grade of each role and the corresponding salary range is determined by the demands of the role.
Temporary Cabinet Office employees (on a fixed term contract of up to one year) are also paid an annual salary within the Cabinet Office pay ranges, with the grade again determined by the demands of the role.
As such, temporary and permanent employees at the same grade will both be paid within the same pay range.
Temporary staff not employed directly by the Cabinet Office (such as agency staff or fee-paid staff) are not Cabinet Office employees. Hourly rates of pay are not determined by the Cabinet Office and may be different than for temporary and permanent Cabinet Office employees.
Departmental Surveys
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to staff survey response metric of the capable Departments key performance indicator for Cabinet Office Departmental Strategic Objective 5, what proportion of civil servants in his Department (a) agreed and (b) disagreed with the statement that (i) this organisation as a whole is well-managed and (b) overall I have confidence in the senior managers in my organisation in the most recent period for which figures are available. [249964]
Mr. Watson: Details of the results of the latest Cabinet Office People Survey 2007 are published on the Civil Service website at:
A copy of this information has been placed in the Library.
Departmental Working Hours
Mr. Laws: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the policy of (a) the Prime Minister’s Office and (b) the Office of the Leader of the House is on granting staff time off in lieu for working (i) in lunch breaks, (ii) in evenings and (iii) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement; [252003]
(2) how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in (a) the Prime Minister’s Office and (b) the Office of the Leader of the House for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times outside contracted working hours in the latest year for which figures are available; [252004]
(3) what the policy of the Cabinet Office and its agencies is on granting staff time off in lieu for working (a) in lunch breaks, (b) in evenings and (c) at other times outside contracted working hours; and if he will make a statement; [252043]
(4) how many days off in lieu were granted to staff in (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) its agencies for working (i) in lunch breaks and (ii) at other times outside contracted working hours, in the last year for which figures are available. [252044]
Mr. Watson: The Prime Minister’s Office and the Leader’s Office are part of the Cabinet Office.
There are times when any Cabinet Office employee may be required to work during meal breaks, evenings and other occasions beyond their conditioned hours. They can apply for and be granted time off in lieu equivalent to the actual additional hours worked rather than claiming overtime payment.
The number of days off in lieu granted to the Department’s employees could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Disposable Income
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proportion of their income was spent by (a) the poorest 10 per cent. and (b) the richest 10 per cent. of the population on (i) food and (ii) fuel in the latest year for which figures are available. [254113]
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 February 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster asking what proportion of their income was spent by (a) the poorest 10 per cent and (b) the richest 10 per cent of the population on (i) food and (ii) fuel in the latest year for which figures are available (254113).
In 2007, the average weekly household expenditure on food, as a percentage of gross income, was 22 per cent for the lowest income decile group and 3 per cent for the highest income decile group. For fuel, the percentages were 11 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.
Estimates of expenditure on food and fuel are based on the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS), an annual survey of approximately 6,200 households in the United Kingdom. Further information on the EFS is available in the annual publication ‘Family Spending’ which can be found on the National Statistics website
(http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=361&;Pos=l&ColRank=l&Rank=272.).
Emergencies: EC Action
Mr. Stewart Jackson:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether he has had discussions with his counterparts in other European Union
countries on proposals for an EU-wide civil protection rapid reaction force; and if he will make a statement. [248675]
Mr. Watson: The UK supports the principle of member states cooperating voluntarily in the response to disasters but not the creation of a stand-by European civil protection force. Such a force would require pre-commitment of member states' resources and would go beyond the current legal framework of the Community's Civil Protection Mechanism. The current voluntary approach to mutual assistance among European Union member states is more cost-effective and flexible than a standing EU-wide civil protection force; and it allows member states to provide urgent assistance bilaterally or as part of regional groupings.
My officials have been closely involved in discussions with their European counterparts and have kept me informed on developments. These issues have also been discussed at a ministerial level in the Justice and Home Affairs Council and the General Affairs and External Relations Council.
Employment
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of people aged (a) over 50 and (b) 16 to 24 years were employed in the fourth quarter of 2008. [254049]
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 February 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of people aged (a) over 50 and (b) 16 to 24 years were employed in the fourth quarter of 2008. (254049)
The requested information will not be available until the publication of the February 2009 Labour Market Statistics First Release on 11 February.
Government Departments: Internet
Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether each internet service provider supplying internet connectivity services to central Government deploys the blocking list of known child pornography web sites provided by the Internet Watch Foundation. [253403]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office Corporate IT System accesses the Internet via the Government Secure Intranet (GSI) services as provided by Cable and Wireless.
In order to enforce the Cabinet Office HR ‘Appropriate Usage Policy’ for our IT systems we additionally use the website blocking system Websense Web Filter. Websense Inc. is an associate member of the Internet Web Foundation (IWF). The Websense Web Filter provides a list of categories to be blocked and URLs of sites within the category are updated on a daily basis.
Each Government Department is responsible for setting, implementing and maintaining its own controls. The Cabinet Office does not keep information centrally about the controls applied in other Departments.
Public Appointments: Parliamentary Scrutiny
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will include in the list of posts deemed suitable for pre-appointment scrutiny all (a) public sector regulators, (b) permanent secretaries of Government Departments, (c) heads of the judiciary and (d) heads of the police and security services. [254621]
Kevin Brennan: The list of posts suitable for pre-appointment hearings was agreed with the Liaison Committee and published on 2 June 2008 in “Pre-appointment hearings by select committees: Government Response to the Committee’s First Report of Session” 2007-08 (HC594). There are no plans to amend the list.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |