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26 Jan 2005 : Column 397W—continued
ECGD
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2004, Official Report, column 1242W, on the Export Credits Guarantee Department, which non-governmental organisations made informal representations. [210120]
Mr. Alexander [holding answer 24 January 2005]: Further, to my answer of 27 October 2004, representatives of Transparency International (UK) and the Corner House made informal representations in respect of ECGD's anti-bribery and corruption procedures.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 27 October 2004, Official Report, column 1242W, on the Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), what the value was of guarantees issued to Airbus under ECGD's anti-corruption procedures interim arrangements. [210122]
Mr. Alexander [holding answer 24 January 2005]: The value of the guarantees issued in support of Airbus aircraft under ECGD's anti-bribery and corruption procedures interim arrangements was US$202.8 million.
Mr. Arbuthnot: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what amount she has budgeted to cover liability for costs (a) of her Department and (b) of those for whom her Department has agreed to pay all or part of their costs in relation to the action for judicial review brought against her Department by Corner House in respect of Export Credits Guarantee Department forms. [210619]
Mr. Alexander
[holding answer 24 January 2005]: The current estimate for what ECGD will pay its external solicitors and Counsel in relation to the action for judicial review brought by Corner House is £64,710. The costs of the Corner House, which ECGD will pay under the terms of the High Court settlement of 13 January 2004.
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EU Presidency
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the Government's priorities for the Competitiveness Council will be during the United Kingdom's Presidency of the European Union; and if she will make a statement. [209553]
Mr. Alexander: The overall Council Agenda for 2005 is set out clearly in the UK-Luxembourg Annual Operating Programme (AOP), copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House. The agenda for the UK Presidency will be determined, to a large extent, by the agenda we inherit from Luxembourg and progress on the dossiers identified in the AOP.
My Department is in the process of planning and identifying detailed policy themes for the UK Presidency, within the context of the broader EU agenda. We expect work in the Competitiveness Council to take forward the conclusions from the Mid-Term Review of the Lisbon Agenda, concentrating in particular on promoting employment, better regulation, open and sustainable markets in an outward-facing Europe and boosting our economies' potential for innovation and research. Key items in the Competitiveness Council during our Presidency are likely to include the Services Directive, Seventh Framework Programme for research and technological development, the REACH chemicals regulation and better regulation work, in line with the recent 6 Presidency statement.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to answer the letter dated 20 December 2004 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Brunt. [210834]
Alan Johnson: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 25 January.
Incapacity and DLA Claimants
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what is the age breakdown of (a) incapacity and (b) disability living allowance claimants is. [208937]
Maria Eagle: The information is in the tables.
Notes:
1.Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1 percentage points.
2.Figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA), including IB credits only cases.
3.Great Britain figures include a small number of claimants resident overseas.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample.
26 Jan 2005 : Column 399W
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding. Percentages are rounded to the nearest 0.1 percentage points.
Source:
IAD information Centre, 5 per cent. sample
26 Jan 2005 : Column 400W
Winter Fuel Payments
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent changes have been made to eligibility for winter fuel payments for those living in residential care who (a) are receiving and (b) are not receiving pension credit; and if he will estimate in each case how many people have been affected by those changes. [211094]
Malcolm Wicks:
There have been no recent changes to eligibility for winter fuel payments for those living in residential care. The winter fuel payment regulations were amended in September 2004 to ensure those people who receive pension credit are treated in the same way as those who were previously in receipt of income support.
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TREASURY
Alcohol-related Deaths (Lancashire)
Mr. Pike: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer in respect of how many deaths in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley alcohol was the primary cause in each of the last five years. [210962]
Mr. Timms: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Mr. Peter Pike, dated 26 January 2005:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for how many deaths in (a) Lancashire and (b) Burnley, alcohol was the primary cause, in each of the past five years. I am replying in his absence. (210962)
The latest year for which figures are available is 2003. Figures in the attached table show the number of deaths where the underlying cause of death indicated a condition directly related to alcohol use in the years 1999 to 2003, among residents of the County of Lancashire and the Local Authority of Burnley.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) definition of alcohol-related deaths only includes those causes regarded as being most directly due to alcohol consumption. Apart from deaths due to accidental poisoning with alcohol, this definition excludes external causes of death, such as road traffic deaths and other accidents, and alcohol-related suicides and homicides. Estimates of the annual total number of deaths in which alcohol has played a role can therefore vary widely depending on the criteria used. The definition used by ONS allows for consistent comparisons over time for those deaths where a clear association with alcohol consumption can generally be assumed.
(75)For the years 1999–2000 the cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9). The codes used by ONS to define alcohol-related deaths are listed as follows:
291—Alcoholic psychoses
303—Alcohol dependence syndrome
305.0—Non-dependent abuse of alcohol
425.5—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
571—Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
E860—Accidental poisoning by alcohol
For the years 2001–03 the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) was used. To maintain comparability with earlier years the following codes were used:
F10—Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol
142.6—Alcoholic cardiomyopathy
K70—Alcoholic liver disease
K73—Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
K74—Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver
X45—Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol
The selection of codes to define alcohol-related deaths is described in:
Baker A and Rooney C (2003). Recent trends in alcohol-related mortality, and the impact of ICD-10 on the monitoring of these deaths in England and Wales. Health Statistics Quarterly 17, pp 5–14.
(76)Figures provided relate to the current county of Lancashire. This excludes the unitary authorities of Blackburn and Darwen, and Blackpool, created on 1 April 1998, which were part of the former county.
(77)Usual residents of these areas.
(78)Deaths occurring in each calendar year.
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