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Written Answers

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Abortion

Questions

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 June (WA 168), why information on the cost of abortions performed by the independent sector, commissioned directly by primary care trust commissioners, is not collected centrally; whether they will now ask for this information; and how many such abortions were undertaken in 2009-10.[HL10234]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): Reference cost data are currently collected from National Health Service provider organisations (NHS foundation trusts, NHS trusts and primary care trust provider arms) and show the costs they incur in providing services to patients. This covers both the services that they themselves provide and services they contract out to independent sector organisations.

The cost to primary care trust commissioners of commissioning services from the independent sector for services such as abortion is not currently an explicit requirement of the reference cost collection. Any requirement to collect these data in the future would be subject to the department's review of central returns process. This is intended to ensure that central collections of information are appropriate to their purpose, do not duplicate existing collections, and minimise the burden on the NHS of submitting the data.

There were 189,100 abortions performed on women resident in England and Wales in 2009 and 189,574 in 2010. Of the 189,574, over half, 59 per cent, took place in the independent sector under NHS contract.

Asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 14 June (WA 167-68), what is the nature and extent of counselling provided to those who have previously had multiple abortions; who typically provides this counselling; and what is the evidence that it has been effective.[HL10235]

Earl Howe: The department does not collect information on the nature and extent of counselling provided to individual women seeking an abortion, including repeat abortions.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists' evidence-based guideline, The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, highlights that abortion service professionals must be able to provide the degree of support and counselling required by each individual and identify those who require more support. For the minority of women who need formal, therapeutic counselling, services should have agreed care pathways

29 Jun 2011 : Column WA420

in place, with access to trained counsellors with appropriate expertise. We are considering how the provision of counselling can be strengthened to support improvements to women's health and wellbeing.

Armed Forces: A400M

Questions

Asked by Lord Gilbert

To ask Her Majesty's Government what delays will be incurred by the A400M programme due to the engine gearbox problems.[HL10343]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Astor of Hever): The A400M development fleet continues to undergo rigorous testing, including that of the engine and gearbox, as part of the flight test activities leading to civil and military certification. During a flight test being conducted on Monday 6 June 2011, a gearbox incident took place, resulting in the automated shut down of the engine and the safe return of the aircraft to its base at Toulouse. An extensive investigation was immediately initiated and the gearbox is currently undergoing detailed inspection and failure analysis. This investigation is expected to take a number of weeks to be able to conclusively detail the cause of the incident and its report will be presented to A400M nations. To date there has been no direct impact on the overall flight test programme, although this will be reviewed once the investigation is complete.

The A400M flight test programme continues, with appropriate limitations and inspections.

Asked by Lord Gilbert

To ask Her Majesty's Government when Ministers were first apprised that the A400M would not be performing a display routine at this year's Paris air show.[HL10344]

Lord Astor of Hever: The decision not to fly the aircraft was taken by Airbus Military, as the operator of the aircraft, at a late stage prior to the start of the Paris air show. Due to the late nature of this decision by Airbus Military, it was not possible to brief Ministers beforehand.

Asylum Seekers

Question

Asked by Lord Stoddart of Swindon

To ask Her Majesty's Government why, in light of their policy of not opting in to the European Union common asylum policy, they intend to engage with the development and functioning of the European Asylum Support Office; and what will be the nature of such engagement.[HL10318]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): The Government are not persuaded of the need for a common EU asylum policy. We believe that by focusing its energies on unnecessary legislation, the

29 Jun 2011 : Column WA421

current EU work programme misses the opportunity to take more practical steps that will help member states now with the real challenges they face on the ground.

Engaging with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) allows us to further our commitment to tangible, practical co-operation at EU level, in particular by providing technical assistance to build capability in member states that are facing particular migration pressures. Effective border and asylum systems in other member states are firmly in the UK's national interest as they deter illegal migration and asylum shopping. The UK has recently deployed a number of asylum experts to Greece as part of EASO operations and expects to send at least three more in the next few months.

Bahrain

Question

Asked by Lord Hylton

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will arrange for the group trial in Bahrain of doctors and nurses to be observed daily by British and European Union diplomats.[HL10122]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Howell of Guildford): Our embassy in Bahrain sent observers to the trials on 6 and 13 June. We will continue to monitor progress in the ongoing National Safety trials. We urge the Government of Bahrain to ensure that due process is followed in all cases and that human rights are fully respected. We will continue to raise our concerns on a regular basis.

Bank of England Act 1998

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Bank of England continues to give precedence to the monetary policy objective specified in Section 11(a) of the Bank of England Act 1998; or whether it is now giving priority to Section 11(b).[HL10146]

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): At the Budget in June 2010, the Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed the Monetary Policy Committee's objective of targeting 2 per cent inflation, as measured by the 12-month increase in the Consumer Prices Index.

Banking: European Central Bank

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the United Kingdom would be obliged to participate in any recapitalisation of the European Central Bank (ECB) consequent upon any losses sustained by the ECB.[HL10141]

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The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The capital of the European Central Bank (ECB) is provided by the national central banks of all EU member states. The key for capital subscription or capital key determines the share of the total capital (currently €10.76 billion) paid by each member state. It is based on a weighting of each member state's share of the European Union (EU) population and share of EU gross domestic product.

Euro area member states pay 100 per cent of their subscribed capital. Non-euro area member states pay a much smaller percentage (currently, and since 29 December 2010, 3.75 per cent). This reflects the fact that the national central banks of all member states, including the United Kingdom, participate in the European system of central banks. However, the Bank of England contributes a relatively small amount (€58.5 million) to the ECB's capital, specifically as a contribution to its operating costs. The Bank of England makes no other contribution.

Changes to the ECB's subscribed capital may lead to adjustments to the individual contributions from all EU member states. The ECB last increased its subscribed capital in December 2010 by €5 billion, in line with the Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council Regulation No. 1009/2000 of 8 May 2000, which granted the ECB's governing council the power to decide on an increase up to this amount. At the same time, the percentage of subscribed capital that non-euro area national central banks are required to pay was adjusted down from 7 per cent to 3.75 per cent; as a result, the Bank of England contributed an additional €40,473.51. Any further increase to the ECB's subscribed capital would require EU member states at ECOFIN to agree on a new council regulation.

Net profits and losses of the ECB are allocated among the euro area national central banks. The non-euro area national central banks are not entitled to receive any share of the distributable profits of the ECB, nor are they liable to fund any losses of the ECB.

Banking: Royal Bank of Scotland

Question

Asked by Lord Myners

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sassoon on 7 June (WA 92), whether HM Treasury has the power to require the Financial Services Authority to release to it the report commissioned by the Financial Services Authority into the failure of the Royal Bank of Scotland.[HL10147]

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): The only report commissioned by the Financial Services Authority to which this Question appears to refer is the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, on which I refer the noble Lord to the Answer I gave him on 14 June (Official Report, col. WA 170).

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Battle of Waterloo: Commemoration

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.[HL10170]

Baroness Rawlings: Initiatives are being organised by a number of national and regional military museums to mark the occasion, including the National Army Museum and relevant regimental museums, which come under the remit of the Ministry of Defence. There is also likely to be some commemorative activity at associated heritage sites such as Apsley House, the home of the Duke of Wellington, and Walmer Castle.

Benefits

Questions

Asked by Lord German

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who claim (a) employment and support allowance in the support group, (b) employment

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and support allowance in the work-related activity group, or (c) incapacity benefit, have (1) Crohn's disease, (2) rheumatoid arthritis, or (3) psoriasis. [HL10209]

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who claim (a) employment and support allowance in the support group, (b) employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group, or (c) incapacity benefit, have (1) Crohn's disease, (2) rheumatoid arthritis, or (3) psoriasis, in each of the NUTS 1 regions of Great Britain. [HL10210]

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people who claim (a) employment and support allowance in the support group, (b) employment and support allowance in the work-related activity group, or (c) incapacity benefit, have (1) Crohn's disease, (2) rheumatoid arthritis, or (3) psoriasis, in each of the NUTS 2 regions of Great Britain. [HL10211]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): The information requested is given below.

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29 Jun 2011 : Column WA426

Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) Claimants with main disabling condition Crohn's disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis by NUTS 2 areas-November 2010.
		All cases				Support Group				Work Related Group
	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis
Great Britain and Abroad	593,930	1,900	820	2,920	54,620	270	50	310	160,570	570	270	1,280
Inner London	34,420	70	40	100	2,590	-	-	10	6,970	20	10	30
Outer London	41,420	130	50	190	3,400	10	-	20	8,980	30	10	70
Greater Manchester	34,470	110	50	160	3,850	30	-	20	10,440	30	20	70
Merseyside	20,460	70	30	90	1,420	10	-	-	6,300	20	20	50
South Yorkshire	12,720	40	10	60	1,160	10	-	-	3,770	20	-	30
Northumberland and Tyne and Wear	20,880	50	40	120	1,890	-	-	10	4,990	20	20	50
West Midlands	29,410	80	30	130	2,390	10	-	10	6,920	20	10	50
West Yorkshire	23,810	70	30	100	2,210	10	-	10	6,190	20	-	50
Tees Valley and Durham	14,470	40	30	60	1,220	10	-	-	3,830	10	10	30
Cheshire CC	9,460	40	20	50	840	10	-	10	2,940	10	10	30
Lancashire	18,350	40	20	90	2,180	10	-	10	5,280	10	10	40
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	8,670	40	10	50	830	10	-	10	2,740	20	-	20
North Yorkshire CC	4,860	10	10	10	520	-	-	-	1,290	-	-	-
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire	19,540	60	30	100	1,730	10	-	10	5,820	10	10	40
Leicester Rutland and Northamptonshire	13,840	50	20	80	1,390	10	-	-	3,930	20	10	40
Herefordshire Worcestershire and Warwickshire	9,720	30	10	60	990	10	-	-	2,560	10	-	20
Shropshire and Staffordshire	14,580	40	20	70	1,220	-	-	10	3,770	20	-	40
Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area	18,460	70	30	110	1,750	10	-	10	6,360	20	10	60
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	5,060	20	10	30	390	-	-	-	1,600	10	10	20
Devon	9,360	30	10	60	920	10	-	10	3,180	10	10	30
Dorset and Somerset	10,280	30	10	40	950	-	-	10	3,470	10	10	20
East Anglia	18,710	60	20	100	2,170	10	-	10	5,290	20	10	50
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire	11,730	60	20	70	970	10	-	-	2,880	20	-	30
Essex	14,450	50	10	60	1,040	-	-	-	3,500	10	-	20
Kent	15,250	70	20	100	1,460	10	-	10	5,340	30	10	50
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire	14,220	50	10	60	1,420	10	-	10	3,740	10	-	30
Surrey , East and West Sussex	19,680	80	20	110	2,060	10	-	10	5,230	30	10	60
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	14,830	50	20	60	1,410	10	-	10	4,320	20	-	20
Cumbria	4,910	20	-	30	360	-	-	-	1,810	10	-	20
Lincolnshire	5,690	30	10	40	710	10	-	10	1,900	10	-	20
North Eastern Scotland	3,430	20	-	20	460	-	-	-	890	-	-	10
Eastern Scotland	20,560	70	30	120	2,030	10	-	10	4,740	20	10	50
South Western Scotland	33,900	100	80	160	3,670	20	10	20	7,460	30	20	70
Highlands and Islands	2,540	10	-	20	240	-	-	-	580	-	-	-
West Wales and The Valleys	26,820	80	30	130	1,840	10	-	20	7,980	20	20	50
East Wales	12,610	50	20	60	900	10	-	10	3,560	10	10	20
Unknown/Abroad	350	-	-	-	40	-	-	-	50	-	-	-

ESA Claimants by NUTS 1 areas and phase/stage of the claim-November 2010.
		All cases				Support Group				Work Related Group
	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis
GB and abroad	593,930	1,900	820	2,920	54,620	270	50	310	160,570	570	270	1,280
North East	32,200	70	60	160	2,840	10	-	10	7,850	20	20	70
North West	87,650	280	120	410	8,650	60	10	50	26,770	80	50	200
Yorkshire and the Humber	53,210	170	70	240	5,000	20	10	20	14,960	50	10	110
East Midlands	39,070	130	60	220	3,830	20	-	20	11,640	40	20	100
West Midlands	53,700	160	60	270	4,600	20	-	30	13,250	50	20	110
East of England	44,890	170	50	240	4,170	30	-	20	11,670	50	20	100
London	75,840	200	100	290	5,980	20	-	30	15,940	50	20	100
South East	63,980	250	70	340	6,350	30	-	30	18,630	100	20	160
South West	43,170	150	70	240	4,010	30	10	40	14,600	40	30	130
Wales	39,440	120	60	190	2,740	20	-	20	11,530	30	20	70
Scotland	60,430	190	110	320	6,400	30	10	40	13,680	50	30	130
Unknown/Abroad	350	-	-	-	40	-	-	-	50	-	-	-

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29 Jun 2011 : Column WA428

Number of Incapacity Benefit (IB)/Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) claimants with main disabling condition Crohn's disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis by NUTS 2 areas-November 2010
	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis
Great Britain and Abroad	2,031,930	6,770	5,060	19,780
Inner London	115,310	280	230	590
Outer London	125,660	370	260	1,030
Greater Manchester	120,430	420	250	940
Merseyside	75,800	260	220	640
South Yorkshire	45,110	140	100	480
Northumberland and Tyne and Wear	70,820	260	220	780
West Midlands	100,770	290	280	1,080
West Yorkshire	77,760	260	200	750
Tees Valley and Durham	54,590	180	130	540
Cheshire CC	32,130	140	100	350
Lancashire	60,030	170	160	540
East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire	30,650	110	90	370
North Yorkshire CC	17,310	70	60	210
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire	76,750	260	210	730
Leicester Rutland and Northamptonshire	43,800	150	140	480
Herefordshire Worcestershire and Warwickshire	30,910	120	80	380
Shropshire and Staffordshire	52,190	140	120	600
Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Bristol/Bath area	61,650	230	130	550
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly	18,460	80	40	220
Devon	37,940	120	100	410
Dorset and Somerset	35,270	120	70	330
East Anglia	61,460	200	150	700
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire	36,030	140	60	360
Essex	44,030	170	90	460
Kent	45,090	170	80	510
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire	40,090	140	50	380
Surrey , East and West Sussex	61,610	210	120	530
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	43,020	150	80	510
West Wales and The Valleys	104,770	340	290	1,060
East Wales	41,680	140	110	440
Cumbria	17,290	50	60	200
Lincolnshire	22,170	60	40	260
North Eastern Scotland	13,980	50	30	130
Eastern Scotland	75,940	290	230	840
South Western Scotland	119,000	430	400	1,140
Highlands and Islands	12,630	50	50	150
Unknown/Abroad	9,790	30	30	110

Number of IB/SDA claimants with main disabling condition Crohn's disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis by NUTS 1 areas-November 2010.
	All	Crohn's disease	Psoriasis	Rheumatoid arthritis
Great Britain and Abroad	2,031,930	6,770	5,060	19,780
North East	114,250	400	330	1,220
North West	305,680	1,030	780	2,670
Yorkshire and The Humber	181,990	610	470	1,900
East Midlands	142,720	470	390	1,470
West Midlands	183,880	550	480	2,070
East of England	141,520	510	300	1,530
London	240,970	650	490	1,620
South East	189,810	670	340	1,930
South West	153,320	560	340	1,500
Wales	146,450	480	400	1,490
Scotland	221,560	820	710	2,250
Unknown/Abroad	9,790	30	30	110

Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent WPLS.

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

2. To qualify for incapacity benefit (IB), claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work called a personal capability assessment. Under the employment and support allowance regime, new claimants have to undergo the work capability assessment. From April 2011 incapacity benefit recipients have begun also to undertake this assessment. The medical condition recorded on the claim form does not itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming IB or ESA on the basis of mental and behavioural disorders would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the personal/work capability assessment.

3. Data include people in receipt of benefit and also those who fail the contributions conditions but receive a national insurance credit, ie credits only cases.

4. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008.

5. Phase/stage of ESA claim derived from payment details held on the source s

6. " - " denotes nil or negligible.

7. Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) was created by the European Office for Statistics (Eurostat) as a single hierarchical classification of spatial units used for statistical production across the European Union.

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8. NUTS1 areas are equivalent to English regions, Scotland and Wales.

9. NUTS 2 areas are defined as below:

England-Counties/groups of counties.

Scotland-Combinations of council areas.

Wales-Groups of unitary authorities.

see http://www.statistics.gov.uk/geography/nuts.asp

Children: Poverty

Questions

Asked by Baroness Lister of Burtersett

To ask Her Majesty's Government (a) how many, and (b) what proportion of, children were living in poverty in each of the past 30 years, using the after housing costs measure of poverty.[HL10296]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Freud): Estimates of the number and proportion of children living in poverty are published in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. HBAI uses household income adjusted (or equivalised) for household size and composition, to provide a proxy for standard of living.

The latest year of data that are available is 2009-10. The table below shows the number and proportion of children with income below 60 per cent of contemporary median income after housing costs (AHC) in the UK, for available years between 1979 and 2009-10.

Table: Numbers and proportions of children in households with equivalised incomes below 60 per cent of contemporary median income after housing costs (AHC)
	Number (million)	Proportion (%)
1979	2.0	14
1981	2.8	21
1987	3.3	27
1988 and 1989	3.4	27
1990 and 1991	3.9	31
1991 and 1992	4.1	32
1992 and 1993	4.4	34
1993-94 to 1994-95	4.3	33
1994-95	4.1	33
1995-96	4.2	33
1996-97	4.3	34
1997-98	4.2	33
1998-99	4.4	34
1999-00	4.3	33
2000-01	4.1	31
2001-02	4.0	31
2002-03	3.9	30
2003-04	3.7	29
2004-05	3.6	28
2005-06	3.8	30
2006-07	3.9	30
2007-08	4.0	31
2008-09	3.9	30
2009-10	3.8	29

1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data available at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=hbai_arc

2. Data up to 1994-95 are sourced from the Family Expenditure Survey and cover the United Kingdom. These are single calendar years for 1979, 1981, and 1987, two combined calendar years

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from 1988 to 1993 and a combined financial year 1993-94 to 1994-95. Data since the single financial year 1994-95 are sourced from the Family Resources Survey and cover Great Britain up to 1997-98 and the United Kingdom from 1998-99, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years.

3. Disposable household income is adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living.

4. All estimates are based on survey data and are therefore subject to uncertainty. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response.

5. Numbers of people in low-income households have been rounded to the nearest 100,000, while proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage point.

6. Figures have been presented on a After Housing Cost (AHC) basis. For Before Housing Costs (BHC) figures, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, buildings insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for AHC they are. Child poverty is more commonly measured on BHC rather than AHC. The targets set out in the Child Poverty Act and our broader set of income measures in the Child Poverty Strategy are calculated on a BHC basis. International comparisons are also calculated this way.

7. The household level poverty threshold is defined as the 60 per cent of contemporary median equivalised disposable household income.

Coroners' Inquests

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government in what circumstances in England a coroner's inquest is not held following a death in unusual circumstances. [HL10316]

The Minister of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord McNally): The circumstances in which coroners in England and Wales must hold an inquest are set out in Section 8 of the Coroners Act 1988. This provides that where a coroner is informed that a body of a person is lying within their district and there is reasonable cause to suspect that the deceased has either died a violent or unnatural death; has died a sudden death of which the cause is unknown; or has died in prison or police custody, then, regardless of where the death occurred, the coroner must hold an inquest into the death of the deceased as soon as practicably possible. They may not hold inquests in other circumstances.

Education: Duty to Co-operate

Question

Asked by Lord Touhig

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the duty to co-operate in so far as education is concerned. [HL10100]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools (Lord Hill of Oareford): The findings of the Audit Commission's report Are We There Yet? showed that before the duty to co-operate was extended, schools

29 Jun 2011 : Column WA431

and colleges in most areas were engaging voluntarily as partners in local co-operation arrangements.

The Government have taken into account the evidence in that report and the need to reduce the burden of statutory duties on schools and colleges. We are not convinced that the addition of schools and colleges to the list of statutory relevant partners, under Section 10 of the Children Act 2004, was an effective or appropriate way of improving children's educational outcomes or of enabling the best local co-operation arrangements to be put in place.

Emergency Travel Documents

Question

Asked by Lord Avebury

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the number of emergency travel documents issued to undocumented nationals of Iran, Palestine and Eritrea for each of the past three calendar years.[HL10305]

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Browning): The number of emergency travel documents issued to nationals of Iran, Palestine and Eritrea for each of the past three calendar years is as follows:

Years	Eritrea	Iran	Palestine	Total *
2008	0	5	6	11
2009	1	9	1	11
2010	1	7	0	8

^* The figures have been extracted from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change. They have not been provided under National Statistics protocols.

Finance: Private Finance Initiative

Question

Asked by Baroness Randerson

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to increase transparency on the capital gains made by firms running private finance initiative projects as a result of large scale equity transfer. [HL10384]

The Commercial Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Sassoon): HM Treasury currently collect, from departments, and publish PFI project data biannually. This includes information on the capital value, equity owners and full stream of payments over a project's life. This information can be accessed from the Treasury website: www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfistats.htm.

HM Treasury recognise that there is insufficient transparency in investor returns, particularly in relation to secondary market sales. The Treasury is now engaging with the National Audit Office to scope a workstream on PFI equity issues including transparency.

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