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Earnings
Mr. Cox: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated number of (a) men and (b) women who are earning less than £2.00 per hour in the United Kingdom. [23287]
Mrs. Liddell: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. Tom Cox dated 19 January 1998:
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has asked me to reply, as the Director of the Office for National Statistics, to your recent question on earnings.
The available information from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), Summer (June 1997-August 1997) is shown below. The LFS provides earnings data for Great Britain and not the United Kingdom and is regarded as the most appropriate source for low pay data.
Estimated numbers of men and women earning less than £2 per hour in Great Britain
Men 220,000
Women 283,000.
Retail Prices Index
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will alter the constituent elements of the RPI to reflect current spending on services and goods. [23573]
19 Jan 1998 : Column: 427
Mrs. Liddell:
The ONS recalculates weights for the constituent elements of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) at the start of each year using the latest available figures from the Family Expenditure Survey (FES). For example, from February 1998, the RPI weights will use information from the FES for the period July 1996 to June 1997. This allows the ONS to reflect the most up to date spending patterns available and to introduce new goods and services into the index.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his German counterpart about the implications for the introduction of the euro of the challenge in the German Constitutional Court concerning the alleged failure of Germany to meet the Maastricht criteria for entry into a single currency; and if he will make a statement. [23294]
Mrs. Liddell:
The Chancellor meets his German counterpart on a regular basis, including at ECOFIN where a range of issues are discussed. However, it would not be right for me to comment on the internal matters of other EU Member States.
Mr. Green:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the impact of VAT harmonisation in the EU on London's art market. [21466]
Dawn Primarolo:
Goods imported into the UK normally bear VAT at the standard rate (17.5 per cent.). Under the terms of EC law introduced in 1995, certain works of art, antiques and collector's pieces imported into the UK are eligible until 30 June 1999 for an effective rate of VAT at importation of 2.5 per cent. After that date, the UK should increase the VAT rate to at least the normal minimum effective reduced rate of 5 per cent.
During 1998, the EC Commission is expected to review the effects of the relevant EC legislation on the competitiveness of the Community art markets compared to third countries' art markets. The relevant Government Departments are working closely with art trade bodies to evaluate those effects, and to ensure that the position of the UK's fine art market will be properly represented in that review.
Millennium Experience
28. Mr. Page: To ask the Minister without Portfolio how much public money he estimates will be spent on the millennium experience. [21472]
Mr. Mandelson:
No taxpayers' money is being spent on the project other than that already committed by English Partnerships to prepare the site for development.
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The New Millennium Experience Company is receiving a Lottery grant of £399 million (net) from the Millennium Commission. A further £359 million of income will be raised from sponsorship, commercial activities, visitor revenue and disposal income.
30. Mr. Loughton:
To ask the Minister without Portfolio how much of the Greenwich millennium experience's budget will be raised through ticket sales.[21474]
Mr. Mandelson:
The New Millennium Experience Company currently estimates that around £168 million of the budget will be raised from visitor revenue including ticketing and merchandising.
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Minister without Portfolio if he will make a statement on the role that Christianity will play in the Millennium Experience. [23229]
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Minister without Portfolio what is the Government's policy in respect of the religious content of the Millennium Dome. [23576]
Mr. Mandelson:
I refer the right hon. Member and my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Ceredigion (Mr. Dafis) on 24 November 1997, Official Report, column 388.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Minister without Portfolio, pursuant to his oral answer of 8 December 1997, Official Report, column 660, if he will make a statement on his ticketing and transport arrangements for people from Scotland and the north of England. [21607]
Mr. Mandelson:
The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) is continuing to develop its ticketing strategy. The Company's aim is to set prices which are as low as possible and therefore are affordable to the maximum number of people whilst achieving the revenue required by the budget.
NMEC will work closely with all public transport providers, especially coach and rail operators, and with the travel trade, with the aim of ensuring that travel tickets can be sold together with Millennium Experience tickets and that the transport providers offer keenly priced fares.
29. Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Minister without Portfolio if he will make a statement on the future uses of the millennium dome after 2000. [21473]
Mr. Mandelson:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Selby (Mr. Grogan) on 1 December 1997, Official Report, columns 2-3.
Mr. Vaz:
To ask the Minister without Portfolio if he will list the names of the public appointments he has made since 1 May 1997; and which of those appointees receive remuneration. [23208]
Mr. Mandelson:
The information requested is listed in the following table.
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| Sponsored Body | Role | Name | Remuneration |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Millennium Experience Company | Deputy Chairman | Sam Chisholm | None |
| New Millennium Experience Company | Board Member | Sir Alan Cockshaw | None |
| New Millennium Experience Company | Board Member | Michael Grade CBE | None |
| New Millennium Experience Company | Board Member | Ruth MacKenzie | None |
19 Jan 1998 : Column: 429
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
China
Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Chinese authorities in respect of the conditions within Chinese orphanages. [22627]
Mr. Fatchett [holding answer 12 January 1998]: Orphanages were most recently discussed with the Chinese authorities at the expert level EU/China human rights meeting in Peking on 1-2 December 1997. We participated as a member of the EU Troika. At that meeting the EU agreed a package of technical assistance including projects for the protection of orphans.
Amsterdam Treaty
Sir Richard Body: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if paragraph 3 of the Subsidiary Protocol of the Treaty of Amsterdam permits the repatriation of acquis communautaire. [22615]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The Maastricht Treaty introduced as an objective of the European Union "to maintain in full the acquis communautaire" (Article B). The acquis communautaire is not an immutable body of law. Community agreements and legislation may be repealed or become obsolete. In the past the Commission has withdrawn legislative proposals on subsidiarity grounds. This option is made explicit in the Subsidiarity Protocol of the Treaty of Amsterdam, paragraph 3 of which states that subsidiarity
- "allows Community action within the limits of its powers to be expanded where circumstances so require, and conversely, to be restricted or discontinued where it is no longer justified".
European Commission Directorates
Sir Richard Body: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) of 9 December 1997, Official Report, column 498, what percentage of total staff working at A grade the figure for British nationals represents for each directorate of the European Commission. [22658]
Mr. Doug Henderson: The answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) on 9 December 1997, Official Report, column 498, was based on information from the European Commission dated July 1997. Since then, the Commission has supplied new information based on December 1997 figures.
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