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Census
Barbara Follett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements have been made to review the procedures for safeguarding the security and confidentiality of information to be collected in the 2001 Census in England and Wales. [155723]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The Government's White Paper on the 2001 Census, published in March 1999, gave assurances that the well-established traditions of maintaining confidentiality of information collected in the census would be upheld for the 2001 Census, and that the Census Offices would undertake reviews of the confidentiality and security arrangements for the 2001 Census and would publish the outcome of such reviews before the Census.
Independent reviews of the physical security arrangements for processing the 2001 Census information and the measures to protect the statistical confidentiality of the data were undertaken last year. The outcome of the reviews, including a joint statement from the Registrars General for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, is being published today by the Office for National Statistics, the General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
The Government are satisfied that the measures and procedures in place will protect the security and confidentiality of the 2001 Census.
The Report is available via the National Statistics website www.statistics.co.uk. Paper copies will subsequently be available on request to ONS, and copies of the Report have been deposited in the Libraries of both Houses.
Statistics (Northern Region)
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what percentage of the workforce is unemployed in the Northern Region; [155045]
- (2) what percentage of the workforce in the Northern Region was unemployed (a) in 1996 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available; [155049]
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(3) how many people were (a) unemployed and (b) unemployed over two years in the Northern Region (i) in 1996 and (ii) at the latest date for which figures are available. [155050]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Fraser Kemp, dated 23 March 2001:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions about the number of unemployed, those unemployed for over two years and the percentage of the workforce that was unemployed in the Northern region in 1996 and at the latest date for which figures are available (155045, 155049 and 155050).
- Government Office Regions (GOR) are now used as the standard classification for regional analysis of statistics. The one used for the Northern Region is the North East GOR.
- For the North East Government Office Region, the table overleaf shows the total number of International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployed, those unemployed for over two years and ILO unemployed as a percentage of those economically active in autumn (September-November) 1996 and autumn 2000.
- These figures are obtained from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), in which unemployment is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). It counts as unemployed people who are (a) without a paid job (b) available to start work within the next two weeks and (c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained.
| 1996 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployed (thousand) | 115 | 90 |
| Unemployed over two years (thousand) | 40 | 15 |
| Unemployed as percentage of economically active | 9.6 | 7.5 |
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mothers in the Northern Region whose youngest child is aged under one year are in employment. [155048]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Fraser Kemp, dated 23 March 2001:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about mothers in the Northern region whose youngest child is under one and who are in employment (155048).
- Government Office Regions (GORs) are now used as the standard classification for regional analysis of statistics. The one used for the Northern region is the North East GOR.
- The Labour Force Survey (LFS) sample of mothers in employment in the North East GOR, whose youngest child was less than one year old in autumn (September-November) 2000, is too small to provide a reliable estimate of the size of this population.
- People aged 16 or over are classed as in employment by the LFS if they have done at least one hour of paid work (as an employee or self-employed) in the week prior to their LFS interview or if they have a job that they are temporarily away from. People who do unpaid work in a family business and people on Government- supported training and employment programmes are also included following the International Labour Organisation (ILO) guidelines.
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Mr. Kemp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of mothers in the Northern Region returned to work when their youngest child was (a) under six months, (b) six to 12 months, (c) one to three years and (d) over three years in each of the last five years. [155047]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Fraser Kemp, dated 23 March 2001:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question about the percentage of mothers in the Northern region who returned to work when their youngest child was of a specified age. (155047)
- Government Office Regions (GORs) are now used as the standard classification for regional analysis of statistics. The one used for the Northern region is the North East GOR.
- The table overleaf shows information on mothers in employment with a child aged under one year in the North East Government Office Region. This is taken from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The other information requested is not available.
| Percentage(19) | |
|---|---|
| 1996 | 39 |
| 1997 | 47 |
| 1998 | 45 |
| 1999 | 50 |
| 2000 | (20)-- |
(19) Percentages are based on those mothers in employment as a percentage of all mothers with youngest child under one year.
(20) Sample size too small for reliable estimate.
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey
Parliamentary Questions
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will respond to questions tabled on 26 February 2001, Ref. 0823W/00/01 and 0824W/00/01. [155162]
Miss Melanie Johnson: I shall write shortly.
Foot and Mouth
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the meetings and conferences organised by his Department and agencies of his Department which have been (a) cancelled and (b) postponed owing to foot and mouth disease; and if he will make a statement. [155368]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not held centrally.
European Investment Bank
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he supported the recent conversion of the venture capital division of the European Investment Bank to the European Investment Fund; and what the reasons were for the change. [151754]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The transfer of the EIB's venture capital operations to the EIF was part of a rationalisation of activities in the context of the
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acquisition by the bank of a majority shareholding in the EIF. The EIF is now the venture capital arm of the EIB Group. The UK supported this and is one of the main beneficiaries of its financing activities.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the priorities of the European Investment Bank; what his policy is on them; and what other priorities Her Majesty's Government have been pressing the bank to take on board. [151750]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The task of the EIB is set out in Article 267 of the EC Treaty.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which meetings of the European Investment Bank and the European Investment Fund are open to citizens from the European Union. [151756]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Meetings of the governing bodies of the EIB and EIF are not open to the public.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which European Union institution is responsible for overseeing the accounting practices of the European Investment Bank; what authority, in this regard, is held by the European Court of Auditors; on what grounds the European Court of Auditors can access the financial records of the European Investment Bank; when this has been done; and for what reason. [151753]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The accounting practices of the EIB are overseen by an independent Audit Committee which is accountable directly to the Board of Governors (EU Finance Ministers). The Court of Auditors has access to the bank, in accordance with an agreement under Article 248 of the Treaty.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the projects and the companies involved that have benefited from investment by the European Investment Bank in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [151752]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested is available in the Annual Reports of the EIB. The report for 1999 is available in the Library; the report for 2000 will be published in the summer.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value is of the European Investment Fund; what percentage of shares in the EIF is held by the European Investment Bank; what other shareholders there are in the European Investment Fund; and what proportions of the fund they hold. [151755]
Miss Melanie Johnson: This information is available on the EIF's website at www.eif.org.
Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in each of the last 10 years, what proportion of investment made by the European Investment Bank was made (a) within the EU, (b) within accession countries and (c) outside those countries. [151751]
Miss Melanie Johnson: This information is available in the Annual Reports of the EIB. The report for 1999 is in the Library. The report for 2000 will be published in June. The hon. Gentleman may also refer to EIB's website at www.eib.org.
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Mr. Flight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much money the UK has contributed to the European Investment Bank in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [151749]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Between 1991 and 1996 the UK paid 145,834,734 euros in direct subscriptions to the EIB. Since 1996, no payments have been made by member states to the EIB.
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