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Census
Matthew Green: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of census forms have been returned. [17570]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Matthew Green, dated 26 November 2001:
- As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question about the percentage of census forms that have been returned (17570).
- Currently ONS estimates that the 2001 Census response rate will reach 98 per cent. of households.
- Postback response for England and Wales as a whole was estimated to be around 88 per cent. of forms. Estimates from field managers reports suggest a further 7 per cent. of forms were collected by the field staff in the follow-up exercise. Judging from our 1991 knowledge possibly 3 per cent. of forms are expected to relate to vacant properties or second residences.
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Public Bodies
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those local bodies which were set up under legislation which is the responsibility of his Department since May 1997. [17614]
Ruth Kelly: No local bodies have been set up under legislation that is the responsibility of HM Treasury.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will list those public bodies which are the responsibility of his Department and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000; [17613]
- (2) if he will list those public bodies to which his Department appoints members and which are not listed in Public Bodies 2000. [17612]
Ruth Kelly: Public Bodies 2000 sets out information on non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), certain public corporations (including nationalised industries) and
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NHS bodies. There are four types of NDPB: executive NDPBs; advisory NDPBs; tribunal NDPBs; and boards of visitors to penal establishments. The next edition will be published around the end of the year. Information about taskforces, annual reports and ad hoc advisory groups and reviews is set out in an annual report, published by the Cabinet Office.
Copies of Public Bodies 2000 are in the Library of the House and this publication may be accessed via the Cabinet Office website http://www.official-documents.co.uk/ document/caboff/pb00/pb00.htm. Copies of the annual report on taskforces and similar bodies have also been placed in the Library of the House and the annual report is being made available on the Cabinet Office website.
Ministers of the Chancellor's Departments and agencies make appointments to a number of bodies that are not public bodies so are not listed in "Public Bodies. These bodies, their status and the numbers of ministerial appointments are listed in the table:
| Name of body | Status of body | Number of ministerial appointments |
|---|---|---|
| Building Societies Commission(14) | Part of the Registry of Friendly Societies (Government body) | 8 Commissioners |
| Crown Estate Commission | Crown Office | 8 Commissioners |
| Financial Services Authority | Private Company limited by Guarantee | 14 Appointments |
| Friendly Societies Commission(14) | Part of the Registry of Friendly Societies (Government body) | 6 Appointments |
| Public Works Loan Board | Government body | 16 Appointments |
(14) These bodies will cease to exist in their current form on 30 November 2001 with the bringing into force of the FSMA.
Treasury Ministers also make a total of nine non-executive appointments to the Management Boards of the Royal Mint, Office for National Statistics and National Savings, as well as 105 part-time lay appointments to VAT and Duties Tribunals.
Regulatory Impact Assessments
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the gross costs of the regulatory impact assessment for (a) The Insurance (Fee) Regulations 2001, (b) the Credit Unions (Increase in Limits on Periods by Persons Too Young to be Members of Periods for Repayments of Loans) Order 2001, (c) the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Promotion of Collective Investment Schemes) (Exemptions) Order 2001 and (d) the Open-Ended Investment Companies Regulations 2001. [17698]
Ruth Kelly: These costs are shown in the published Regulatory Impact Assessments copies of which can be found in the House Libraries.
Mrs. Browning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the gross costs of the regulatory impact assessment for (a) the Value Tax (Conversions of Buildings) Order 2001, (b) Starting Up in Business, (c) the Replacement of Personal Pensions Transfer Regulations, (d) the Capital Allowance Bill, (e) the Abolition of Withholding Tax on Bond Interest and Extensions of Routine Information Powers on Savings Income, (f) the Authorised Mileage Rates and (g) Internet Filing of Tax Information. [17699]
Dawn Primarolo: These costs are shown in the Regulatory Impact Assessments for each of the measures which are in the House Libraries and published on departmental internets.
Working Families Tax Credit
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the total annual running cost to firms of administering the working families' tax credit he estimates is borne by firms with no working families' tax credit recipients. [17740]
Higher Rate Taxpayers (Folkestone and Hythe)
Mr. Howard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many higher rate taxpayers there were in the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe for each year since April 1997. [17736]
Dawn Primarolo: There were 2,700 higher rate income taxpayers in the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe in the 1999–2000 tax year. This estimate is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes. I regret that estimates are not available for earlier years.
Higher Rate Taxpayers (Buckingham)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many higher rate taxpayers there were in the Buckingham constituency in each year since April 1997. [17849]
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Dawn Primarolo: There were 10,200 higher rate income taxpayers in the constituency of Buckingham in the 1999–2000 tax year. This estimate is based on the Survey of Personal Incomes. I regret that estimates are not available for earlier years.
Unemployment (Buckingham)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people aged 18 to 24 were unemployed for more than six months in each year since May 1992 in the Buckingham constituency. [17847]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. John Bercow, dated 26 November 2001:
- As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question on the number of people aged 18 to 24 years who were unemployed for more than six months for each year since May 1992 in the constituency of Buckingham. (17847)
- The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics for unemployment from surveys following the internationally standard International Labour Organisation definition. However, for the Buckingham parliamentary constituency the survey sample size is too small to provide estimates. ONS also compiles statistics of claimants of unemployment-related benefits. The claimant count consists of all people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or National Insurance credits at Employment Service local offices. They must declare that they are out of work, capable of, available for and actively seeking work during the week in which the claim is made.
- Prior to January 1996 comparable figures for earlier years are not available on the same geographical basis. Information on computerised claims by age and duration for parliamentary constituencies from January 1996 were based on the ward boundaries of the 1991 census while figures before are based on the ward boundaries of the 1981 census and are available from June 1985 to January 1996.
- The information requested is given in the attached table
| 18 to 24 | |
|---|---|
| May 1992 | 187 |
| May 1993 | 217 |
| May 1994 | 140 |
| May 1995 | 113 |
| May 1996 | 79 |
| May 1997 | 38 |
| May 1998 | 24 |
| May 1999 | 11 |
| May 2000 | 5 |
| May 2001 | 1 |
Occupational Pensions
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate is provided by the Government Actuary's latest survey of occupational pension schemes on (a) the proportion of such shares which undertake annual reviews of the level of pensions currently payable, (b) the proportion of occupational pensioners who have received post-retirement pension increases which are equivalent to, or better than, limited price indexation and (c) the average proportion of trustees of such schemes who are appointed by the employer. [17996]
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Ruth Kelly: Information about pensions increases is given in chapter 9 of "Occupational Pension Schemes 1995—Tenth Survey by the Government Actuary". Further information on the relationship between pension increases granted by a scheme and the appointment of trustees is not readily available.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to publish the report of the Government Actuary's Department 2000 survey of occupational pensions. [17995]
Ruth Kelly: The Government Actuary will release the results of his survey of occupational pension schemes as at 2000 in mid 2002.
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