§ Mr. HopeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements he has made for publication of the Home Office Statistical Bulletin
674W
Unrestricted Principals and Equivalents (UPEs)1 and percentage of which aged 64 or over as at 1 October 1999 England Numbers (headcount) and percentages Region/Health authority All UPEs UPEs aged 64 or over Percentage of UPEs aged 64 or over Northern and Yorkshire Bradford HA 288 2— 0.3 Calderdale and Kirklees HA 304 5 1.6 County Durham Health Commission 324 2— 0.9 East Riding HA 300 9 3.0 Gateshead and South Tyneside HA 192 2— 0.5 containing the recorded crime statistics for England and Wales for the period April 1999 to March 2000; and if he will make a statement. [130922]
§ Mr. StrawThe decision as to when the statistics on recorded crime are to be published is taken by the Director of Research, Development and Statistics at the Home Office and is announced well in advance, as was the date of 18 July for the publication of the crime statistics from March 1999–March 2000. Ministers are informed but not consulted about such dates. This follows the new arrangement to protect the integrity of national statistics which I established in 1997.
In the light of the fact that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer is now planning, Parliamentary time allowing, to make a statement on public spending, on the afternoon of 18 July, the Director of Research, Development and Statistics, Professor Paul Wiles, has decided that the statistics will be published on 18 July as was originally announced, but at 00:01 hours rather than 11:00. An embargoed press briefing will be provided on 17 July so that the statistics can be reported on the morning of 18 July. At the same time as embargoed press copies are made available, they will also be sent to the Opposition. To ensure that Parliament is properly informed, copies of the crime statistics will be placed on the Home Office website and in the Library at 00:01 hours on 18 July.