| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Sand Eel Fishery
Mr. Gill: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will publish the results of the three years research programme into sand eels announced in November 1996. [157831]
Mr. Morley: This presumably refers to EU Contract 95/78 dealing with the effects of large-scale industrial fisheries on non-target species. The research partners for this project included the Sea Mammal Research Unit at St. Andrews and the Marine Laboratory at Aberdeen, which will be able to supply the hon. Member with information on this project.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Appointments (Age Limit)
Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what age limit is placed on appointments to public bodies in his Department; if this limit is mentioned in advertisements for such posts; and what the basis for this limit is. [158113]
Mr. Wilson: The Government are committed to equality of opportunity and to increasing the diversity of those appointed to public bodies. No age limit is placed on appointments to public bodies in this Department.
TREASURY
Resource Accounts
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 6 April 2001, Official Report, columns 300-02W, on what date each of the resource accounts for 1999-2000 were published; what the (a) greatest, (b) median and (c) least number of days that elapsed was between each of the resource accounts being laid upon the table and being made generally available to the public; and if he will make a statement. [158540]
Mr. Timms: The dates that Departments' resource accounts were published are shown in the table.
(11) Where no date is shown the accounts were not published by 24 April 2001
25 Apr 2001 : Column: 295W
As at 24 April 2001, the greatest, median and least number of working days between the laying and publication of departmental resource accounts were as follows:
| Number of days | |
|---|---|
| Greatest | 54 |
| Median | 6 |
| Least(12) | -1 |
(12) DETR's non-statutory resource account was published the day before it was presented to Parliament
Fourteen Departments arranged for this statutory resource account to be published on the same day that they were laid by the Treasury, as did one Department for its non-statutory resource account.
This is the first year that Departments have had to organise the printing and subsequent publication of statutory accounts. The National Audit Office undertakes publication of appropriation accounts. The Treasury has informed Departments of the need to publish their resource accounts promptly after laying. Work is in hand to improve Departments' performance in respect of publication of 2000-01 resource accounts.
25 Apr 2001 : Column: 296W
Money Laundering
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures he will take to stop money laundering from the developed world through the City of London. [157659]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The United Kingdom already has comprehensive provisions in place to prevent money laundering, irrespective of where the funds originated. Money laundering is a serious criminal offence in the UK and attracts penalties of up to 14 years imprisonment--among the highest in the world. The UK anti-money laundering regime has been praised by the financial action taskforce as a model for other countries. Nevertheless, the Government are committed to implementing further measures to strengthen the laws against money laundering.
The Proceeds of Crime Bill, published in draft for consultation in March, will create a new criminal assets recovery agency, update the criminal laws on money laundering and permit the restraint of realisable property at the beginning of an investigation, an earlier stage than is possible at present. The Bill will also make it an offence for employees in the regulated sector to fail to disclose a transaction to the authorities when they knew or suspected or had reasonable grounds to suspect that it represented the proceeds of crime.
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 will give the FSA powers both to issue money laundering rules and to prosecute for breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations 1993.
Furthermore, the UK has taken an active role in updating the EU money laundering directive. The directive will be updated to expand the range of predicate offences giving rise to an obligation to report suspicions and will impose reporting obligations on lawyers and accountants. It will thereby ensure that the minimum standards applicable in other member states are brought close to the tough standards already applied in the UK.
Life Expectancy
Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated average life expectancy of (a) men and (b) women retiring today; and what the figures were for (i) 1991, (ii) 1981 and (iii) 1971. [158898]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The table gives life expectancy at state retirement age calculated from population estimates and deaths data for the calendar years shown.
| Males age 65 | Females age 60 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 12.4 | 20.1 |
| 1981 | 13.0 | 20.8 |
| 1991 | 14.1 | 21.9 |
| 1999 | 15.3 | 22.7 |
Source:
Government Actuary's Department
Minimum Wage (Greenock and Inverclyde)
Dr. Godman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in Greenock and Inverclyde benefited from the introduction of the national minimum wage; how many are estimated to benefit from the increase to £4.10; and if he will make a statement. [158599]
25 Apr 2001 : Column: 297W
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 Dr. Norman Godman, dated 25 April 2001:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the number of people in Greenock and Inverclyde who have benefited from the introduction of the national minimum wage (NMW), and the number who will benefit from the increase to £4.10.
- The Office for National Statistics has published estimates of the number of jobs paid at less than NMW rates for 1998, 1999 and 2000. These estimates are based on an improved methodology using data from the New Earnings Survey (NES) and Labour Force Survey (LFS). This methodology provides the best estimates for the number of jobs in the UK paid below low hourly rate thresholds and was developed to overcome the deficiencies inherent in using the NES and LFS separately for measuring low pay.
- Estimates for the United Kingdom and Government Office Regions are posted on the National Statistics website at: www.statistics.gov.uk/nsbase/themes/labour-market/nmw-lowpay-tables.asp
- Estimates for Parliamentary Constituencies of numbers of jobs paid below NMW rates are not available on the basis of the methodology applied for producing the national and regional level figures.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |