Mr John Taylor
Conservative, Solihull
To ask the Chancellor of the exchequer
(1) if he will instruct the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to provide substantive answers to Questions concerning decennial censuses after consulting the Registrar General;
(2) whether Treasury Ministers have used their powers under section 2(1) of the Census Act 1920 to control and direct the Registrar General since 1990;
(3) whether the necessary permission to retain the (a) 1981 and (b) 1991 census records for England and Wales in the Office for National Statistics once they are over 30-years-old has already been granted by the Lord Chancellor.
Stephen Timms
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury
I am the Minister responsible for the population census. Day-to-day responsibility rests with the Registrar General, who is also the National Statistician.
All Parliamentary questions to the Chancellor of the exchequer are answered substantively. It has been the practice of successive Administrations for many years to delegate questions concerning the census to the Registrar General for answer by letter. All such letter answers are printed in the Official Report.
The Registrar General undertakes his functions under section 2(1) of the Census Act 1920 and of any Census Order or Regulations made under the 1920 Act. His powers to carry out the census are subject to the control of, and in compliance with, any Ministerial direction by virtue of Section 2(2) of the 1920 Act. The Registrar General has regular meetings with the relevant Minister to discuss census-related issues. The Government's proposals for the 2001 Census were published in a white paper (The 2001 Census of Population", Cm 4253) in March 1999. Parliamentary authority for the 2001 Census was subsequently given by virtue of the Census Order 2000 (SI 2000/744), the Census Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/1473), the Census (Amendment) Order 2000 (SI2000/3249), and the Census (Amendment) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/3351).
I understand that no application has yet been made by the Registrar General to the Lord Chancellor, under the provisions of section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958, for him to retain the records from the 1981 or 1991 Censuses once they are over 30-years-old.
Yes4 people think so
No1 person thinks not
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The chancellor of the exchequer is the government's chief financial minister and as such is responsible for raising government revenue through taxation or borrowing and for controlling overall government spending.
The chancellor's plans for the economy are delivered to the House of Commons every year in the Budget speech.
The chancellor is the most senior figure at the Treasury, even though the prime minister holds an additional title of 'First Lord of the Treasury'. He normally resides at Number 11 Downing Street.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
As a bill passes through Parliament, MPs and peers may suggest amendments - or changes - which they believe will improve the quality of the legislation.
Many hundreds of amendments are proposed by members to major bills as they pass through committee stage, report stage and third reading in both Houses of Parliament.
In the end only a handful of amendments will be incorporated into any bill.
The Speaker - or the chairman in the case of standing committees - has the power to select which amendments should be debated.
