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Manufacturing
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what measures are being taken to help improve manufacturing employment and the share of GDP produced by the manufacturing sector. [13002]
Mr. Boateng: The Government are committed to creating and maintaining the right climate for businesses of all kinds to flourish, invest and grow. Since 1997, the Government's central economic objective has been to achieve high and stable levels of growth and employment. To this end, they have pursued macro-economic and enterprise policies which promote business activity, and which should contribute to higher productivity. The Government have been determined that we will not return to the damaging cycle of boom and bust, which created so much uncertainty and trapped businesses in a cycle of low investment and low productivity.
Specific measures of benefit to manufacturing, in support of this objective, have been detailed in successive Budgets, pre-Budget reports and various White Papers, including "Opportunity for All in a World of Change" (Cm 5052) and "Excellence and Opportunity—A Science and Innovation Policy for the 21st Century" (Cm 4814).
Tax Burdens
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what (a) discussions he has had with and (b) representations he has received from the social exclusion unit regarding the tax burden on families in the lowest income quintile. [12801]
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Mr. Andrew Smith: The Government are committed to helping all families with children through the tax and benefit system, targeting the most support on those who need it most. The Treasury works closely with other Departments, including with the social exclusion unit, to help achieve this aim.
As a result of personal tax and benefit measures since 1997, families with children in the lowest income quintile are on average £1,700 a year better off.
Post Office Closures
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the impact on financial exclusion among persons in the lowest income quintile resulting from sub-post office closures in (a) inner-city and (b) rural areas in the past four years. [12803]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The Government have made no such assessment.
Consultation Documents
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many consultation documents were issued by his Department from (a) 15 October to 14 January, (b) 15 January to 14 April, (c) 15 April to 14 July and (d) 15 July to 14 October in each year from 1996. [12894]
Ruth Kelly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 24 October 2001, Official Report, columns 258–59W, and to the response to the question by the hon. Member for Aylesbury (Mr. Lidington) on 25 October 2001, Official Report, column 377W. Consultation documents from May 1997 are listed on the Treasury public website (www.hm-treasury.gov.uk). Providing information in the format requested and for dates before 1997 would incur disproportionate costs.
Economic Growth
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the impact on (a) Government expenditure and (b) tax revenues of a 0.1 per cent. change in the economy's rate of growth (i) in the year in which that change is experienced and (ii) in subsequent years. [12868]
Mr. Andrew Smith: The Treasury's estimates of the impact of the economic cycle on the public finances are set out in the publication, "Fiscal policy: public finances and the cycle", HM Treasury, March 1999.
Privy Council Silver
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much Bonham and Brooks charged by way of (a) cancellation and (b) otherwise in respect of the withdrawal from their auction of 30 November of certain items of Privy Council silver. [12867]
Ruth Kelly: The Treasury has engaged Bonham and Brooks to perform a programme of services relating to the valuation of assets as well as their sale. That engagement will continue. The fees payable will reflect the eventual overall outcome of the programme. No cancellation or other fee will be payable as a result of the recent withdrawals from auction.
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Graduate Incomes
Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 31 October 2001, Official Report, column 888W, to the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight (Mr. Turner), on graduate incomes, if he will give estimate of the average gross weekly earnings of full time employees by age, broken down into (a) graduates and (b) non-graduates and (i) male and (ii) female in each category for spring 2000. [14275]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Lynne Jones, dated 12 November 2001:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the average gross weekly earnings of graduates and non-graduates (14275).
- The Labour Force Survey (LFS) provides estimates of average gross weekly earnings for graduates and non-graduates. However, it only collects information about qualifications from respondents of working age (men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59). Therefore, it does not provide estimates for female graduates and non-graduates aged 60 years or over.
- Estimates for male and female graduates and non graduates for spring (March to May) 2000 are given in the attached table.
| £ | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| All full-time employees of working age(3),(4) | Graduates | Non-graduates | |
| Male full-time employees aged: | |||
| 16–64 years | 426 | 628 | 370 |
| 18 years | 152 | (6)— | 152 |
| 22 years | 266 | 300 | 258 |
| 30 years | 399 | 480 | 372 |
| 40 years | 490 | 813 | 426 |
| 50 years | 506 | 746 | 442 |
| 60 years | 431 | (6)— | 382 |
| Female full-time employees aged: | |||
| 16–59 years | 313 | 455 | 276 |
| 18 years | 160 | (6)— | 160 |
| 22 years | 229 | 250 | 221 |
| 30 years | 351 | 450 | 308 |
| 40 years | 354 | (6)— | 313 |
| 50 years | 322 | (6)— | 295 |
| 60 years(5) | — | — | — |
(2) The definition of full-time/part-time is based on respondents' self-assessment
(3) Men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59
(4) Includes people who did not state their qualifications
(5) Estimates for women aged 60 years are not available because the questions about qualifications only apply to people of working age
(6) Sample size too small for reliable estimate
Source:
ONS Labour Force Survey
Breast Cancer
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the survival rates are for victims of breast cancer in (a) North Yorkshire, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) Cumbria and (d) the United Kingdom at the latest date for which figures are available. [13381]
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Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Miss Anne McIntosh, dated 12 November 2001:
- As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the survival rates for victims of breast cancer in North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Cumbria and the United Kingdom at the latest available date (13381).
- Figures on survival rates from cancer are not generally available for local authority areas, such as Nottinghamshire and Cumbria. However, the following five-year survival rates for women aged 15–99 diagnosed with breast cancer are available for health authority areas in England:
- figures for women diagnosed in the period 1991–1993 can be obtained from the Department of Health website at: www.doh.gov.uk/nhsperformanceindicators/hlpi2000/h1143t.html; and
- figures for women diagnosed in the period 1992–1994 are being made available at health authority level on the National Statistics website (www.statistics.gov.uk) from Monday 12th November.
- Information on five-year survival from breast cancer in the United Kingdom as a whole is not available. Separate figures are available for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, based on women diagnosed during 1992–94, 1985–89, 1991–95, and 1993–96, respectively, and followed up to the end of 1999, 1994, 1998, and 1999, respectively. These are given in the following table. Because of differences in coverage and end of follow-up, and for other reasons, figures for the separate countries are not directly comparable and cannot be made so.
- Breast cancer in men is rare. Survival rates for men diagnosed 1986–90 and followed up to the end of 1995 have been published for NHS regions in England, and Wales, in Coleman MP et al., Cancer survival trends in England and Wales 1971–1995: deprivation and NHS Region. Series SMPS No. 61. London: The Stationery Office, 1999.
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Country | 5 year relative survival |
| England | 75 |
| Wales(7) | 65 |
| Scotland | 75 |
| Northern Ireland | 78 |
(7) Females aged 0–84
Sources:
Office for National Statistics. Cancer survival 1992–1999, England. London: ONS, 31st January 2001
Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. Cancer Registration and Survival in Wales 1985–1994. Cardiff: WCISU, 1999
Scottish Cancer Intelligence Unit. Trends in Cancer Survival in Scotland 1971–1995. Edinburgh: Information & Statistics Division NHS in Scotland, 2000
Fitzpatrick DA, Gavin AT. Survival of Cancer Patients in Northern Ireland 1993–1996. Belfast: Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, 2001
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