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7 Jun 2004 : Column 241W—continued
Legal Aid
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his policy is towards the payment of money from public funds in satisfaction of an award of legal aid to an individual (a) who appears on the UN list of suspected terrorists and (b) whose assets in the UK have been frozen pursuant to a decision of the G7 on the grounds that the individual is suspected of terrorism; and if he will make a statement. [169168]
7 Jun 2004 : Column 242W
Ruth Kelly [holding answer 28 April 2004]: The Government considers all such applications in line with its international obligations under UN Security Council Resolution 1452, and EC regulation 881/2002, which enforces that Resolution in the EU.
Military Support Vehicles
Richard Burden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the value to the UK economy of the Ministry of Defence contract for the manufacture and supply of military support vehicles. [177459]
Mr. Boateng: The MOD is carefully evaluating the tenders submitted on the support vehicle programme. The Defence Secretary will consult me and other colleagues when this evaluation is complete. In line with our Defence Industrial Policy, the way forward on the project will be informed by a number of factors, including value for money for the armed forces, affordability and the wider economy of the UK.
Ministerial Visits
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list visits made by each Minister in the Department between December 2003 and April 2004, broken down by (a) date, (b) constituency visited and (c) cost. [171570]
Ruth Kelly: The Government publishes on an annual basis the total costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500. Information for 2003–04 is currently being collected will be published as soon as it is ready. Domestic visits on official departmental business between December 2003 and April 2004 are listed in the following table.
All travel is undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
| Date | Constituency | Cost (£) |
|---|---|---|
| Chancellor of the Exchequer | ||
| 18 March 2004 | North East Milton Keynes | 26 |
| 26 March 2004 | Manchester, Central | 321 |
| 5 April 2004 | Poplar and Canning Town | No cost |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury | ||
| 15 December 2003 | Holborn and St. Pancras | No cost |
| 18 December 2003 | West Ham | No cost |
| 11–12 January 2004 | Warrington South, Preston | 817 |
| 25–27 January 2004 | West Aberdeen and Kincardine; Edinburgh, East and Musselburgh | 1,477 |
| 8–9 February 2004 | Belfast, East, Belfast, South | 586 |
| 16 April 2004 | Dover | 46 |
| 18–19 April 2004 | Blaenau Gwent; Islwyn | 470 |
| 25–26 April 04 | Copeland | 534 |
| Financial Secretary to the Treasury | ||
| 11 December 2003 | Stafford | 374 |
| Economic Secretary to the Treasury | ||
| 15 December 2003 | City of Durham | 479 |
| 29 January 2004 | Leeds, Central | 405 |
| 23 February 2004 | Dumbarton; Clydebank and Milngavie | 728 |
| 8 March 2004 | Selby | 452 |
| Paymaster General | ||
| 13 January 2004 | Cities of London and Westminster | No cost |
| 19–20 January 2004 | Aberdeen, Central | 1,110 |
7 Jun 2004 : Column 243W
Mortality Statistics
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of deaths were due to (a) respiratory disease, (b) heart disease and (c) cancer in each of the last three years. [176882]
Ruth Kelly: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mrs. Iris Robinson, dated 7 June 2004:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of deaths were due to (a) respiratory disease, (b) heart disease and (c) cancer in each of the last three years. I am replying in his absence. (176882)
The latest year for which data are available is 2002. Figures for all respiratory diseases, all circulatory diseases including ischaemic heart disease (otherwise known as coronary heart disease), and cancer are shown in the attached table for each year from 2000 to 2002.
| Calendar year | 2000 | 2001(63) | 2002(63) |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Respiratory diseases | 17.3 | 72.7 | 13.1 |
| Circulatory diseases including | 38.7 | 39.9 | 39.3 |
| (b) Ischaemic heart disease | 20.2 | 20.0 | 19.3 |
| (c) Cancer | 25.2 | 26.2 | 26.3 |
| All deaths (=100 per cent.) | 535,664 | 530,373 | 533,527 |
(61) The cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for the year 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) for 2001 and 2002.
The codes used are listed:
Diseases of the respiratory system—ICD-9 460–519; ICD-10 J00-J99
Diseases of the circulatory system—ICD-9 390–459; ICD-10 I00-I99;
Ischaemic heart disease—ICD-9 410–414; ICD-10120–125;
Neoplasm's—ICD-9 140–239; ICD-10 C00-D48.
(62) Figures are based on deaths occurring in each calendar year.
(63) The introduction of ICD-10 for coding cause of death in 2001 means that data for respiratory diseases, circulatory diseases and cancer are not completely comparable with data for years before this date. The data should therefore be interpreted with caution. The effect of the change in classification in 2001 on deaths from these causes is described in a report published in May 2002 and a more detailed analysis of the impact of ICD-10 in trends in circulatory disease mortality was published in May 2004.
Sources:
Office for National Statistics. Results of the ICD-10 bridge coding study, England and Wales, 1999. Health Statistics Quarterly 14 (2002), 75–83. Griffiths C, Brock A, Rooney C (2004). The impact of introducing ICD-10 on trends in mortality from circulatory diseases in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 22, 14–20.
Office of Government Commerce
Mr. Todd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list (a) the Office of Government Commerce Gateway Reviews conducted since January 2001, (b) the dates on which the reviews were completed and (c) further consequential Office of Government Commerce Gateway appraisals. [173820]
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Mr. Boateng: A list of OGC Gateway Reviews, conducted since 1 January 2001 and the dates on which each review was completed, excluding those projects associated with the security services (which fall within the scope of Exemption 1 (a) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information) has been placed in the Library of the House.
Pensions
Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to change the rules relating to the purchase of annuities. [177329]
Ruth Kelly: The Government intend to retain the requirement for pension schemes to secure their retirement benefits once a member reaches age 75.
But, as part of the simplification of the pension tax rules, the Government are proposing to make the annuity rules more flexible allowing new innovative products to be developed such as limited period annuities and value protected annuities.
Also, for those people who object to annuities due to their religious beliefs, the Government are proposing to introduce an alternative way of providing an income for life—an Alternatively Secured Pension (ASP).
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Departmental Administration Budget
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what progress has been made towards the 5 per cent. reduction in real terms in the Department's administration budget by 2008, announced by the Chancellor in the House on 17 March 2004, Official Report, column 331. [176499]
Mr. Lammy: The real terms reduction of 5 per cent. or more will be a central feature of the public spending settlements for 2006–08 to be announced in detail later this year.
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