Written Answers toQuestions
Monday 30 October 2006
Work and Pensions
Age Discrimination
The Department maintains a clear view of the age profile of its workforce. The position as at June 2006 is in the following table.
Age Range Permanent and Fixed Term Appointments (Headcount) Percentage < 20 592 0.5 20 < 25 5,742 4.7 25 < 30 10,408 8.4 30 < 35 12,703 10.3 35 < 40 18,243 14.8 40 < 45 22,836 18.5 45 < 50 20,903 17.0 50 < 55 15,798 12.8 55 < 60 11,994 9.7 60 < 65 3,802 3.1 65+ 300 0.2 Total 123,321
The Department does not discriminate on grounds of age and recently implemented a policy of having no mandatory retirement age for all DWP employees below the Senior Civil Service. DWP employees in the Senior Civil Service are managed centrally by the Cabinet Office and have a mandatory retirement age of 65.
The Department identifies and supports training which is needed to enable delivery of DWP business, irrespective of an employee's age. All employees, irrespective of age, are able to request flexible working practices to help meet their particular commitments, commensurate with continuing to support delivery of the Department's business needs. Employees who have reached minimum pension age of 60 are similarly able to request to draw their accrued pension benefits and keep working, either on reduced hours or in a lower grade. Any training necessary to support delivery of the Department's business is conducted as part of paid working time.
Benefits
From April 2004 we widened the scope of extended payments by introducing a parallel scheme for people moving into work from either incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance. In 2005, it is estimated that 5,000 customers or their partners who received either incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance received an extended payment when they moved off benefit and into employment.
New claims to severe disablement allowance were stopped on 6 April 2001. From that date new customers need to apply for incapacity benefit or income support on grounds of incapacity. At that time youth rules were introduced to incapacity benefit, whereby those incapable of work before the age of 20 (25 years old in certain circumstances) are eligible for the benefit without needing to meet the national insurance contribution condition.
Existing severe disablement allowance customers, apart from those aged under 20 years old on 5 April 2001, have not been transferred onto incapacity benefit. Instead payment of severe disablement allowance continues as long as the benefit conditions continue to be satisfied.
Entitlement to severe disablement allowance does not passport its recipients to other benefits, such as housing benefit, in the way that income support and income related jobseeker's allowance do. Many customers on severe disablement allowance may also qualify for income support and so be passported to other benefits in that way. People on severe disablement allowance with a low income, but not also receiving income support would need to be considered for housing benefit on low-income grounds.
Earnings disregards apply to all income related benefits: income support; jobseeker's allowance; pension credit; housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Benefits rates are set for the financial year, not the calendar year, and with 1997-98 as the base year, the real terms amounts of the earnings disregards are set out in the table together with the current rates
£ Cash terms Real terms1 Standard earnings (single) 5.00 4.00 Couples earnings 10.00 7.90 Disabled, or carer 20.00 15.90 Lone parent (not HB/CTB) 20.00 15.90 Lone parent (HB/CTB only) 25.00 19.80 HB/CTB 16/ to 30-hour disregard 14.90 11.80 HB/CTB childcare disregard one child 175.00 138.80 HB/CTB childcare disregard two+ children 300.00 238.00 1 Deflated by RPI, base year: 1997-98 Notes: 1. Forecast RPI for 2006-07, from Budget 2006 2. The first three disregards apply to all income related benefits. 3. There are different lone parent rates for housing benefit (HB) and council tax benefit (CTB). 4. The last four disregards apply to HB and CTB only.
There are three levels of the national minimum wage. The rates from 1 October 2006 are: £5.35 per hour for workers aged 22 years and older; a development rate of £4.45 per hour for workers aged 18-21 years inclusive; and £3.30 per hour which applies to all workers under the age of 18 who are no longer of compulsory school age.
At the £5.35 per hour rate, the number of hours required to reach the earnings disregard level for each type of disregard ranges from one hour for a claimant on the standard earnings disregard, to five hours for a lone parent on housing benefit or council tax benefit. However, at 16 hours, such a lone parent would also qualify for an additional earnings disregard amount of £14.90.
Bereavement benefits are payable to both men and women.
They provide fast and direct financial help for immediate needs following bereavement, for widows, widowers and surviving civil partners alike.
Benefits (EU Nationals)
I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 8 March 2006, Official Report, column 1548W.
(2) how many arrivals from the new EU accession countries (a) have claimed and (b) are claiming income related benefits at the latest available date.
The information is not available in the precise format requested. However, information on the number of applications for income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance and pension credit is available in the "Accession Monitoring Report; May 2004 - June 2006", a joint report by the Home Office, Department for Work and Pensions, HM Revenue and Customs and Department for Communities and Local Government; copies of which have been placed in the Library.
The report is available online at:
www.ind.homeoffice.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/accession_monitoring_report
The available information can be found in table 14 of the Accession Monitoring Report May 2004—June 2006, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
Benefits (York)
The available information is in the following tables.
IS JSA IB/SDA WB PC MIG DLA AA 1997 3,690 3,460 4,040 — — 2,600 2,500 1,900 1998 3,370 2,760 4,144 — — 2,400 2,700 1,900 1999 3,670 2,402 4,040 — — 2,400 2,700 2,000 2000 3,650 2,189 4,020 340 — 2,560 3,000 2,000 2001 3,740 1,903 4,170 340 — 2,610 3,200 1,900 2002 3,710 1,689 4,210 300 — 2,740 3,200 1,900 2003 3,480 1,571 4,150 260 — 2,730 3,140 1,800 2004 3,370 1,580 4,080 210 3,720 — 3,250 2,000 2005 3,250 1,298 4,010 190 4,330 — 3,330 2,100 2006 3,190 1,659 3,890 170 4,470 — 3,420 2,300 Notes: 1. IS figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and exclude MIG cases. 2. JSA figures are un-rounded and are not seasonally adjusted. 3. IB/SDA figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and include IB contributions only cases. 4. WB figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 5. PC figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 6. MIG figures are rounded to the nearest hundred from 1997 to 1999 and to the nearest 10 from 2000 onwards. 7. DLA figures are rounded to the nearest hundred from 1997 to 2002 and to the nearest 10 from 2003 onwards. 8. AA figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 9. WB figures are not available broken down by parliamentary constituency prior to September 1999. 10. WB was replaced by bereavement benefit on 9 April 2001. 11. PC replaced MIG on 6 October 2003. 12. DLA and AA figures exclude suspended cases. Source: 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS); DWP information Directorate 5 per cent. samples; count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer system (including clerically held cases).
CA SP BB March 2000 — 18,400 — March 2001 — 18,000 — March 2002 500 17,800 100 February 2003 500 18,200 70 February 2004 470 18,150 70 February 2005 490 18,150 60 February 2006 510 18,070 80 Notes: 1. CA figures are rounded to the nearest 100 from 2002-03 and to the nearest 10 from 2004 onwards. 2. SP figures are rounded to the nearest 100 from 2000 to 2002 and to the nearest 10 from 2003 onwards. 3. BB figures are rounded to the nearest 100 for 2002 and to the nearest 10 from 2003 onwards. 4. CA figures exclude underlying entitlement cases. 5. CA and SP figures are not available broken down by parliamentary constituency prior to 2000. 6. BB replaced widow's benefit, for new claims, on 9 April 2001. Sources: 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS); DWP information Directorate 5 per cent. samples.
Industrial injuries disablement benefit (IIDB) claimants in the City of York parliamentary constituency, as at date shown each yearNumberMarch 2000200March 2001200March 2002200March 2003205March 2004200March 2005205December 2005205Notes: 1. IIDB figures to March 2002 are based on a 10 per cent sample from clerical forms and are subject to sampling error; they are rounded to the nearest hundred.2. IIDB figures from March 2003 are from a 100 per cent sample from the Industrial Injuries Computer System; they are rounded to the nearest five.3. IIDB figures are not available broken down by parliamentary constituency prior to March 2000.4. The latest available data is for December 2005.
Winter Number 1999-2000 18,600 2000-01 20,140 2001-02 20,090 2002-03 19,980 2003-04 19,850 2004-05 19,440 2005-06 19,340 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures are not available broken down by parliamentary constituency prior to winter 1999-2000. Source: DWP Information Directorate, 100 per cent. data.
£ million Income support 13.3 Jobseeker's allowance 6.1 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance 9.4 Widow's benefit/bereavement benefit 1.2 Pension credit 9.0 Disability living allowance 10.2 Attendance allowance 5.7 Carer's allowance 1.3 State pension 87.3 Industrial injuries disablement benefit 0.5 Winter fuel payments 5.5 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred thousand. 2. Figures are based on four-quarterly averages for the quarters May 2005 to February 2006. 3. The latest available industrial injuries disablement benefit data relate to December 2005. 4. Bereavement benefit replaced widow's benefit, for new claims, on 9 April 2001. Source: 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS); DWP information Directorate 5 per cent. samples.
Carers
[holding answer 20 October 2006]: The information requested is not available.
Departmental Vacancies
The Department for Work and Pensions uses competencies and selection tests in its processes for both internal and external selection including appropriate literacy and numeracy tests in external selection, rather than formal educational qualifications in mathematics and English.
Events (Risk Assessments)
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently re-published “Charity and voluntary workers: A guide to health and safety at work” (HSG192). This is mainly concerned with the health and safety of workers employed by the voluntary sector, but does touch upon public events. It was developed in partnership with the Charities Safety Group, which has over 100 member charities, and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.
The guidance makes clear that employers are required to carry out an assessment of risks that result from their undertaking and, if they employ five or more people, that they must record the findings of the assessment. Therefore, where the body organising an event is an employer, as many charities are, the law requires that a risk assessment is carried out.
The guidance also includes advice and case studies to help charities and volunteering organisations decide on the practical steps they need to take.
HSE also supported Volunteering England in the development and recent launch of their risk assessment toolkit which is available free online at www.volunteering.org.uk. It gives detailed guidance on all aspects of risk assessment in volunteering, including health and safety aspects of organising events.
Evidence of Identity
In the year from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006, fewer than 1 per cent. of those who attended a Jobcentre Plus Evidence of Identity interview were referred to the Immigration and Nationality Department as potential immigration offenders.
Adults who require a NINO are asked to bring a number of documents to the Evidence of Identity interview to help prove their identity. These documents are set out in form ISSPA5JP, which is available from Jobcentre Plus and social security offices. Copies have been placed in the Library. It is also available at www.dwp.gov.uk
Government Social Research Service
The Department's expenditure on social research for the last five financial years is given in the following table:
Financial year Expenditure 2001-02 11.8 2002-03 10.2 2003-04 12.5 2004-05 14.2 2005-06 16.92
The number of projects completed during the last five years, based on the number of social research reports published, is 430 (all social research undertaken by the Department is published).
The latest available staffing figures (for the year 2004-05) indicate there are 84 social researchers employed within this Department at a cost of around £4.4 million.
Housing Benefit
Local authorities, who administer housing benefit, have been issued with guidance advising them of the amendments that have been made to the housing benefit regulations as a result of the changes of the entitlement conditions for child benefit. This guidance was contained in housing benefit and council tax benefit circular A6/2006. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Income Support
The Department for Work and Pensions has not made any assessment of the extent to which individuals are able to eat healthily when in receipt of income support. The rates of income support are intended to cover all normal day to day living expenses.
The annual cost of increasing by £1 per week income support levels for single people is estimated to be £1,000,000 for people aged 16 to 17 and £14,000,000 for people aged 18 to 24.
International GCSE
The Department for Work and Pensions uses a combination of competencies and selection tests for recruitment purposes and does not use specific educational qualifications as a criterion.
Investment Allowances
Capital limits apply to all income related benefits: income support; jobseeker's allowance; pension credit; housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Capital at or below the lower limit does not affect benefit. For capital between the lower and the upper limit, an amount of ‘tariff income’ is assumed. Claimants with capital above the upper limit are excluded from benefit. Pension credit has no upper limit, nor do housing benefit and council tax benefit when paid with pension credit.
Benefit rates are set for the financial year, not the calendar year, and with 1997-98 as the base year, the real terms capital limit amounts are set out together with the present upper and lower capital limits, which were increased for working age claimants in April 2006, in the table.
£ Cash terms Real terms1 Council tax benefit, housing benefit, income support and jobseeker's allowance Lower limit 6,000 4,750 Upper limit 16,000 12,750 Child's limit 3,000 2,500 Lower limit (RC/NH)2 10,000 8,000 Pension credit Lower limit 6,000 4,750 Upper limit 3— 3— Lower limit (RC/NH)W 10,000 8,000 1 Deflated by RPI base year 1997-98 2 RC = residential care home; NH = nursing home 3 No limit Note: Forecast RPI for 2006-07, from Budget 2006
The maximum allowance for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) is £7,000 in each tax year (stocks and shares only). The lower capital limit (working age adults and pensioners) capital is broadly equivalent to the ISA allowance. The upper capital limit (working age adults only) is broadly equivalent to twice the annual ISA allowance.
Jobcentre Plus
(2) what discussions have taken place in his Department on the possible closure of Chorlton Jobcentre Plus.
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 30 October 2006:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking whether there are any plans to close Chorlton Jobcentre Plus and what discussions have taken place in his Department on the possible closure of Chorlton Jobcentre Plus. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
There are two Jobcentre Plus sites at Chorlton:
The Benefit Delivery Centre which processes benefits for the Manchester area. This is in the implementation stage and planned to be fully operational in March 2007. There are currently no plans for closure of this site.
Chorlton Jobcentre which provides a customer-facing service.
We are currently reviewing our Jobcentre network, including Chorlton Jobcentre, to ensure that our services are delivered efficiently. Any site identified as a potential closure is referred to the Minister of State for consideration. If the Minister gives permission to proceed, a full consultation will take place with local stakeholders.
Lindsey Harman, the District Manager for Greater Manchester Central will be more than happy to discuss any further concerns you may have, and I have asked Lindsey to keep you informed of developments.
Liability Insurance
Research conducted for Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2003 indicated that less than 1 per cent. of companies had failed to take out employers' liability (compulsory) insurance (ELCI). The research was carried out to investigate allegations that companies were having problems in obtaining ELCI, because of difficulties in the cost and availability. Due to the low overall level of reported non-compliance no attempt was made to assess regional differences.
With regard to insufficient ELCI, the law is specific about conditions in ELCI insurance policies. HSE is not aware of any complaints concerned with deficiencies in ELCI policies, nor of any prosecutions brought by HSE under the ELCI Act on the grounds of insufficiency.
Muslim Council of Britain
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was formed in June 2001 from the Department of Social Security (DSS), the Employment Service (ES) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). Any financial information would only be available from that time.
The Department for Work and Pensions has provided neither financial support nor support in kind to the Muslim Council of Britain.
National Insurance Numbers
(2) how many national insurance numbers were issued in each year since 1997.
The available information is in the following table.
Number (Million) 1997 66 1998 67 1999 68 2000 69 2001 70 2002 71 2003 72 2004 73 2005 74.5
In order to maintain the integrity of the system (and for benefit purposes) NINOs are not removed. For example, they are retained after a person dies or moves abroad. This is because individuals who move abroad may at some point have a call upon contributions paid whilst in the UK. In the case of deceased individuals, a partner may make a claim for a contributory benefit, which is dependant on the contribution record of the deceased individual. This means that the number of accounts held on the system accrues as NINOs are allocated each year to all UK children who reach 16 years and persons from abroad requiring a NINO are added.
Number 1997 1,017,500 1998 1,026,885 1999 1,021,776 2000 995,351 2001 928,059 2002 1,082,035 2003 1,141,795 2004 1,250,622 2005 1,486,312
Customers wishing to obtain a new national insurance number are required to attend an interview at a Jobcentre. The Jobcentres providing these services were selected on the basis of historical information on where the largest volumes of applications were made, taking into account the suitability of premises available.
New Deal
At the end of February, there were 63,370 participants on New Deal for Lone Parents, of which, 5.6 per cent. (3,590) declared themselves as disabled. Since the start of the programme in 1998, 4.3 per cent. of those starting New Deal for Lone Parents have declared themselves as disabled, and of the 457,850 lone parents helped into work through the programme, just over 4 per cent. were disabled. All participants on New Deal for Lone Parents are parents.
All New Deal for Lone Parent advisers receive disability awareness training, and if a lone parent needs extra support because of a disability or health condition, they can be referred to a Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Adviser (DEA). DEAs support recently disabled people, or those whose health condition or disability has deteriorated and who need employment advice. They can refer people, where appropriate for occupational health assessments, or to access to work advisers, as well as the full range of Jobcentre Plus disability programmes. In addition, DEAs support people who encounter barriers in the workplace associated with disability, and also provide advice and support to employers regarding the employment and retention of disabled people and those with health conditions.
Pension Credit
The information requested is not available.
I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 431W.
Pensioner Incomes
I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 October 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question, what estimate has been made of the Pensioner Prices Index in each year from 1976-77 to 2006-07 (96313).
The Retail Prices Index (RPI) covers the expenditure of UK private households only, excluding the top four percent by income and those pensioner households where the head of the household is retired and economically inactive and where at least three-quarters of the household income is derived from state benefits.
Since 1969, RPI pensioner indices have been compiled on a quarterly basis for these pensioner households excluded from the RPI (separately for one and two pensioner households). These indices are based on the spending patterns of these specific households, and contain some pensioner specific items such as OAP bus and rail fares. They exclude items such as canteen meals, which are not relevant due to very small expenditure levels. They also exclude housing costs on the grounds that the price indicators used in the RPI would overstate the price increases experienced by these pensioners, because no allowance is made for rebates e.g. on council tax and local authority rents.
Table 1 shows the RPI Pensioner Indices for 1976 - 2006 based on January 1987 = 100.
Quarterly Indices (January 1987=100) 1 pensioner 2 pensioner Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 1976 39.4 41.0 41.8 44.3 39.4 40.9 41.8 44.3 1977 46.3 48.4 49.4 50.2 46.6 48.5 49.3 50.1 1978 51.1 52.4 53.1 53.6 51.0 52.3 53.0 53.6 1979 55.6 57.1 60.0 62.0 55.5 57.1 60.2 62.1 1980 64.9 67.8 69.6 71.2 64.8 67.8 69.3 70.7 1981 73.3 75.6 76.9 78.8 73.0 75.6 76.9 78.9 1982 81.3 83.4 83.6 84.7 81.2 83.1 83.2 84.4 1983 85.7 86.5 87.2 88.6 85.2 86.3 87.0 88.4 1984 89.7 91.5 91.5 92.5 89.5 91.5 91.4 92.4 1985 94.0 96.1 96.1 96.9 93.9 96.0 96.0 96.8 1986 97.9 99.0 99.0 99.4 97.7 98.8 98.9 99.4 1987 100.3 101.2 100.9 102.0 100.3 101.3 101.1 102.3 1988 102.8 104.6 105.3 106.6 103.1 104.8 105.5 106.8 1989 108.0 110.0 111.0 113.2 108.2 110.4 111.3 113.4 1990 115.3 118.1 119.9 122.4 115.4 118.3 120.2 122.6 1991 123.8 127.4 128.5 129.9 123.7 128.0 128.9 130.4 1992 130.8 132.2 131.6 132.6 131.5 133.2 132.6 133.7 1993 133.6 135.0 134.8 135.0 134.7 136.8 136.8 136.8 1994 135.1 137.7 137.4 137.8 137.3 139.6 139.4 139.9 1995 139.1 140.7 141.0 141.7 141.4 143.1 143.5 144.2 1996 142.8 144.3 144.1 144.3 145.5 147.2 147.1 147.6 1997 144.4 145.4 145.6 146.1 147.9 149.0 149.5 150.1 1998 146.0 147.5 147.5 148.6 150.1 151.8 151.9 152.8 1999 148.9 149.9 149.5 150.1 153.3 154.5 154.2 154.9 2000 150.0 151.0 151.1 151.2 154.9 156.2 156.5 156.9 2001 150.6 153.3 153.0 153.9 156.5 159.3 158.9 159.3 2002 154.7 155.3 155.0 156.1 160.1 161.0 160.7 161.7 2003 156.7 157.9 158.3 159.4 162.6 163.7 164.0 165.0 2004 159.7 160.9 160.5 162.3 165.4 166.6 166.1 167.6 2005 163.4 164.8 165.1 167.1 168.3 169.8 170.1 171.7 2006 168.2 171.6 173.6 — 172.4 175.4 177.2 —
1 pensioner 2 pensioner Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 1976 25.6 17.9 15.9 18.1 25.2 17.4 15.4 17.9 1977 17.5 18.1 18.4 13.4 18.1 18.4 18.0 13.0 1978 10.3 8.3 7.3 6.6 9.4 7.8 7.5 7.1 1979 8.8 8.9 13.1 15.8 9.0 9.2 13.5 15.8 1980 16.7 18.8 16.0 14.7 16.6 18.8 15.3 14.0 1981 13.0 11.4 10.5 10.7 12.6 11.4 11.0 11.5 1982 10.9 10.4 8.7 7.5 11.2 10.0 8.2 7.0 1983 5.4 3.7 4.3 4.6 5.0 3.8 4.6 4.8 1984 4.7 5.8 5.0 4.4 5.0 6.0 5.1 4.5 1985 4.8 5.0 4.9 4.8 4.9 5.0 5.0 4.7 1986 4.2 3.1 3.0 2.6 4.1 2.9 3.0 2.7 1987 2.4 2.2 1.9 2.6 2.7 2.5 2.2 2.9 1988 2.5 3.4 4.4 4.5 2.8 3.5 4.4 4.4 1989 5.1 5.2 5.4 6.2 4.9 5.3 5.5 6.2 1990 6.8 7.4 8.0 8.1 6.7 7.2 8.0 8.1 1991 7.4 7.9 7.2 6.1 7.2 8.2 7.2 6.4 1992 5.7 3.8 2.4 2.1 6.3 4.1 2.9 2.5 1993 2.1 2.1 2.4 1.8 2.4 2.7 3.2 2.3 1994 1.1 2.0 1.9 2.1 1.9 2.0 1.9 2.3 1995 3.0 2.2 2.6 2.8 3.0 2.5 2.9 3.1 1996 2.7 2.6 2.2 1.8 2.9 2.9 2.5 2.4 1997 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.6 1.2 1.6 1.7 1998 1.1 1.4 1.3 1.7 1.5 1.9 1.6 1.8 1999 2.0 1.6 1.4 1.0 2.1 1.8 1.5 1.4 2000 0.7 0.7 1.1 0.7 1.0 1.1 1.5 1.3 2001 0.4 1.5 1.3 1.8 1.0 2.0 1.5 1.5 2002 2.7 1.3 1.3 1.4 2.3 1.1 1.1 1.5 2003 1.3 1.7 2.1 2.1 1.6 1.7 2.1 2.0 2004 1.9 1.9 1.4 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.3 1.6 2005 2.3 2.4 2.9 3.0 1.8 1.9 2.4 2.4 2006 2.9 4.1 5.1 — 2.4 3.3 4.2 — 1 Separate indices are produced for 1 and for 2 pensioner households that are excluded from the RPI. That is households where the head of the household is retired (at least 65 years of age for men and 60 years or more for women) and economically inactive, and where at least three quarters of the household’s income is from state benefits. Source: National Statistics
Pensioners (Benefit Payments)
The Pension Service has written to every pensioner household to tell them about pension credit. A direct mail initiative “You're missing out” was targeted at 1.5 million households identified as highly likely to be eligible for pension credit, as a result of data matching. A further ‘reminder’ postcard was sent to one million households who did not respond. Since 5 December 2005 customers who contact the pension credit application line to make an application for pension credit are also able to claim housing benefit and council tax benefit during the one phone call.
During 2005-06 Local Service visited approximately 23,000 households each week, focusing on those customers who were most likely to be eligible for pension credit and working closely with partners (e.g. Help the Aged, Age Concern) to encourage pensioners to take up their entitlement to pension credit.
In addition, we are currently improving our service by enabling new customers who call to claim their state pension, to also apply for pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit in a single call.
Pensioners (Council Tax Benefit)
People aged 60 or over who are receiving the guarantee part of pension credit will normally be entitled to full council tax benefit, less deductions for any non-dependants in the household.
There is no capital limit within pension credit although a notional rate of income for capital over £6,000 (£10,000 for those in care homes) is assumed at a rate of £1 for each £500 or part of £500.
Someone in ill-health may also be entitled to an additional amount in pension credit for severe disability if they qualify for attendance allowance or the middle or highest rate of the care component for disability living allowance. This would increase the level of the guaranteed minimum income that would be applied and increase the amount of income (including notional income from savings) that someone could have and still qualify for pension credit.
People over the age of 65 who are severely disabled and have personal care or supervision needs can claim attendance allowance. It is non-contributory, tax free and is not affected by income or savings.
We want to make sure pensioners claim all the benefits to which they are entitled and know that some pensioners need support in doing so. The Pension Service Local Service, local authorities and sometimes the voluntary sector are joining forces nationally so that older people will receive a full and joined up service that can deal with a variety of issues and queries. Many older people dislike having to go through claim processes over and over again with different organisations and these joint teams can help reduce this by providing a single access point to social care and benefit entitlements such as pension credit, housing benefit and attendance allowance.
We now have 118 teams that are able to visit some of the most vulnerable people in the country, people who historically may never have applied for any entitlement or benefit and who would not be aware of referral routes or even the names of the many benefits they could receive.
State pension, winter fuel payments and free television licences are not affected by health or savings and are available to everyone who satisfies the qualifying conditions.
Pensions
(2) to what extent the cost of setting up the proposed new system of personal accounts will be met by savers through the annual management charge; and whether part of the cost will be met by the Exchequer.
We are currently undertaking work to consider funding structures of personal accounts and will bring forward proposals in due course.
Post Office Card Account
Information is not available in the format requested.
Information showing the number of DWP benefit and pension payment accounts paid by Direct Payment into a Post Office card account in (a) the London Borough of Bexley and (b) Greater London is shown in the following table.
Greater London authorities Number of accounts Barking and Dagenham 15,250 Barnet 11,630 Bexley 10,700 Brent 13,560 Bromley 12,570 Camden 11,020 City of London 230 Croydon 15,950 Ealing 13,160 Enfield 15,810 Greenwich 16,400 Hackney 17,270 Hammersmith and Fulham 9,940 Haringey 14,800 Harrow 6,190 Havering 13,070 Hillingdon 10,310 Hounslow 8,850 Islington 15,900 Kensington and Chelsea 6,280 Kingston upon Thames 4,450 Lambeth 17,020 Lewisham 15,810 Merton 6,910 Newham 18,360 Redbridge 11,410 Richmond upon Thames 4,490 Southwark 16,050 Sutton 7,670 Tower Hamlets 16,740 Waltham Forest 14,590 Wandsworth 12,170 Westminster 9,530
My Department has taken no steps, other than those built into the original contract, to either reduce the cost of each transaction into a Post Office card account or to reduce the range or quality of services provided to customers.
Remploy
The annual average productivity-related subsidy paid to companies that employ a person through Remploy Interwork is £503.24.
(2) how many people have transferred from Remploy businesses to Remploy Interwork in each of the past five years.
The available information is in the following tables.
April to March Number 2001-02 1,048 2002-03 1,743 2003-04 2,486 2004-05 3,576 2005-06 4,285 1 Information is not available to differentiate between mainstream employers and other companies.
April to March Number 2001-02 98 2002-03 93 2003-04 58 2004-05 12 2005-06 22
(2) how many people have undertaken work-related training schemes through Remploy Interwork in each of the last five years.
Remploy Interwork provides vocational skills development programmes to build up knowledge of specific work sectors and training to develop basic work and presentational skills.
All disabled people entering a Remploy Interwork programme receive an individual tailored programme of support and training.
The available information is in the table.
April to March Number 2001-02 1— 2002-03 3,422 2003-04 8,995 2004-05 7,061 2005-06 7,167 1 Information is not held by Remploy.
Leader of the House
Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund
(2) what recent estimate he has made of the (a) rate and (b) annual cost of employer contributions to the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund; and if he will make a statement.
The Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) is a fully-funded pension scheme whose costs are met from Members' contributions, investment returns and an Exchequer contribution. The Government Actuary undertakes a triennial valuation in which he makes recommendations as to the necessary Exchequer contribution to the PCPF. This can rise or fall depending on factors such as predicted investment returns and longevity assumptions. The value of the Exchequer contributions since 1978-79 is as follows:
Financial year PCPF exchequer contribution rate (Percentage of Members' salaries) PCPF exchequer contribution rate (Percentage of office holders' salaries) PCPF exchequer contribution (£ million) 1978-79 18.5 18.5 4.07 in aggregate over a 3-year period 1979-80 16 16 See above 1980-81 16 16 See above 1981-82 16 16 5.55 in aggregate over a 3-year period 1982-83 16 16 See above 1983-84 20 14 See above 1984-85 20 14 8.21 in aggregate over a 3-year period 1985-86 20 14 See above 1986-87 20 14 See above 1987-88 19 13 6.65 in aggregate over a 3-year period 1988-89 19 13 See above 1989-90 4.4 4.4 See above 1990-91 4.4 4.4 0.88 1991-92 4.4 4.4 0.94 1992-93 6.8 6.8 1.52 1993-94 6.8 6.8 1.54 1994-95 6.8 6.8 1.59 1995-96 7.6 6.8 1.83 1996-97 9.6 6.8 2.75 1997-98 9.6 7.6 3.04 1998-99 7.6 6.8 2.49 1999-2000 7.5 7.5 2.56 2000-01 7.5 7.5 2.66 2001-02 7.5 7.5 2.86 2002-03 7.9 7.9 3.26 2003-04 24 24 9.82 2004-05 24 24 9.96 2005-06 24 24 10.17 Notes: 1. The above costs include contributions payable in respect of pensions provided for MPs, Ministers and office holders. 2. Contribution rates for 1978 to 1981 were based on a notional salary figure.
In the triennial valuation report laid before the House in March 2006, the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) calculated the Exchequer contribution should be 26.8 per cent. of pensionable pay from 2006-07 until 2020-21 and then 18.1 per cent. of pensionable pay thereafter. The estimated cost of contributions payable by the Exchequer for 2006-07 to 2008-09, the period until the next triennial valuation, is £11.9 million per annum. As at 31 March 2006 the membership of the PCPF was as follows:
Number Current members 668 Deferred members (former MPs, Ministers and office holders not yet in receipt of a pension) 228 Pensioners 908
(2) what the current rate of ill-health retirement is for the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund; and if he will make a statement.
The granting of early retirement is a matter for the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) trustees. A current Member who ceases to serve as an MP or Office Holder prior to age 65 and who applies to retire because of ill-health, is required to be examined by a medical practitioner appointed by the trustees to advise on whether his or her ill-health would prevent him or her from performing adequately the duties of a MP. The resulting medical report is considered by the trustees. A former MP or Office Holder may also apply to receive an ill-health pension, subject to confirming that he or she does not intend to seek election to the House or accept any future offer to serve as an Office Holder, and the medical practitioner confirming that the former member has retired from ‘gainful work’ as a direct consequence of ill-health.
The incidence of ill health retirements of current and former Members from the Fund between 1987 and 2005 is shown in the following table.
Statistics for each individual year are not available.
Period (as at 1 April each year) Total retirements Retirements paid early on ill health grounds Percentage paid early on ill health grounds 1987-1990 101 6 6 1990-93 104 5 5 1993-96 40 2 5 1996-99 168 8 5 1999-2002 99 6 6 2002-05 58 2 3
Serving Members who are awarded an ill-health pension are provided with a pension that they could have expected to receive had they served as an MP up to age 65. Former Members awarded an ill-health pension receive their pension built up to the date of retirement without actuarial reduction for early payment.
(2) what the (a) present and (b) future retirement age arrangements are for the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund.
The accrual rate for the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) is 1/40th of final salary for each year of service with an option to pay a lower contribution rate for 1/50th accrual. The normal retirement age in the PCPF is 65. There are no plans to change the normal retirement age.
Members who have served as an MP since 2 April 1991 can receive a pension on retirement before 65, subject to having completed 15 years as an MP. The pension is actuarially reduced to take account of early payment. Members elected before 4 November 2004 can also currently draw an early retirement pension without any reduction being applied for early payment if they are aged 60 or above and their combined age and service under the scheme totals 80 or more at date of retirement. In agreeing to phase out this retirement provision, the House decided in 2004 that only service up to 1 April 2009 or the next General Election, whichever was the later, would count towards the qualifying period for early retirement.
The Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF) is a fully funded pension scheme. Following the triennial actuarial valuation report laid before the House in March 2006 by the Government Actuary, the Exchequer contribution was increased from 1 April 2006 to the equivalent of 26.8 per cent. of Members’ salaries. There is no unfunded liability.
September Sittings
The House held normal sittings in September in 2003 and 2004 for eight and seven days respectively. There were emergency recalls in 1990 (two days), 1992 (two days), 1998 (two days), 2001 (three separate days) and 2002 (one day). The information for 2003 and 2004 is as follows:
Date Business Hours sat Divisions and number voting Monday 8 September Second Reading: Water Bill 8.34 Three: 492; 485; 474 Tuesday 9 September Opposition Day (Con) (Iraq and Teacher Shortages) 9.26 Two: 448; 438 Wednesday 10 September Opposition Day (Lib Dem) (Old Age and Iraq) 8.15 Three: 373; 389; 338 Three deferred: 390; 295; 388 Thursday 11 September Government adjournment: Defence 7.00 None Monday 15 September Lords Amendments: Local Government Bill 7.57 Four: 338; 377; 412; Tuesday 16 September Opposition Day (Con) (Electricity and EU Constitution) 8.22 Three: 456; 427; 406 Wednesday 17 September Remaining Stages: Northern Ireland (Monitoring Commission etc) Bill and Lords Amendments: Local Government Bill 13.20 Six: 332; 328; 337; 346; 343; 333 Thursday 18 September Second Reading: Arms Control and Disarmament (Inspections) Bill [Lords] 4.56 None
There were also sittings in Westminster Hall on eight days and 2,888 parliamentary questions were dealt with.
Date Business Hours sat Divisions and number voting Tuesday 7 September Second Reading: Companies (Audit, Investigations and Community Enterprise) Bill [Lords] 6.52 None Wednesday 8 September Opposition Day (Con) (Pensions and MRSA) 8.30 Three: 501; 497; 468 Thursday 9 September Government adjournment (European Constitution) 7.02 None Monday 13 September Second Reading: Children Bill [Lords] 8.40 One (programme motion): 313 Tuesday 14 September Opposition Day (Lib Dem) (Higher Education and Older Women) 8.30 Four: 441; 442; 432; 423 Wednesday 15 September Remaining Stages: Hunting Bill 11.18 Eight: 468; 477; 467; 466; 522; 357; 337; 494 Thursday 16 September Lords Amendments: Employment Relations Bill; Government adjournment (HIV/AIDS) 7.00 None
There were also sittings in Westminster Hall on six days and 2,201 parliamentary questions dealt with.
International Development
Age Discrimination
DFID regularly monitors the age profile of its workforce as part of our wider approach to diversity monitoring. DFID produces an Annual Diversity Report. This looks at age data for recruitment, promotions, staff satisfaction and staff leaving DFID.
The Department has reviewed its policies to ensure we comply with the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations introduced on 1 October 2006 and promote good practice on age. The trade union side and the chair of the General Advisory Group on Diversity were consulted.
DFID applies the same training needs assessment procedures to all staff, irrespective of age. All DFID staff have the right to request to work flexibly and the right to training with paid time off.
Older staff can choose to either work reduced hours or downgrade as part of their preparations for retirement. DFID’s procedure for considering requests to work beyond our default retirement age of 65 includes the option of agreeing flexible working options.
Conflict Affected/Low Income States
The primary source of global data on out of school children is the Education for All Global Monitoring Report. The 2007 report was launched on 26 October. Using the data in the report of the numbers of primary school age children and those out of school, the percentages of primary aged children enrolled in school are calculated as (a) conflict-affected fragile states 79 per cent. and (b) low income countries 84 per cent. The report does not have data for seven conflict affected fragile states and 18 low income countries.
The designation of conflict-affected fragile states used in the calculation is from the Failed States Index (2005) and the Heidelberg Institute on International Conflict Research (2004). DFID is currently reviewing its use of a list of fragile states because countries frequently move in and out of conflict and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change. DFID uses the World Bank’s Country Income Groups for the classification of low income countries.
The designation of conflict-affected fragile states is taken from the Failed States Index (2005) and the Heidelberg Institute on International Conflict Research Conflict Barometer (2004). These countries are Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos, Nigeria, Nepal, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen. DFID is currently reviewing its use of a list of fragile states because countries frequently move in and out of conflict and political circumstances in a country can rapidly change.
DFID uses the World Bank’s Country Income Groups for the classification of low income countries. DFID, in line with the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, update income group classifications every three years. For the purposes of the 2003-06 and 2005-08 Public Service Agreements, DFID use the World Bank thresholds based on GNI per capita in 2001 of less than US$746. Latest figures in our publication “Statistics on International Development” use the 2004 classification.
The list of 2004 low income countries, which includes 59 countries, appears in “Statistics on International Development”, published on 26 October 2006 on the DFID website (www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/sid2006/sid06-full.pdf, Annex 1, page 142). Hard copies will be available in the House of Commons Library.
Expenditure in conflict-affected fragile states and low income countries in each of the last five years can also be found in “Statistics on International Development” (table 12, pages 65-101).
Departmental Dress Code
DFID’s policy on religion or belief outlines that staff are welcome to display religious artefacts or symbols, or wear cultural or religious dress. This is part of our wider efforts to encourage the celebration of religious diversity.
However, it does make clear that religious materials should only be sent to other staff if there is a clear DFID business need, or if it improves the understanding of culture or diversity within the organisation or countries with which DFID work. It should not be circulated for missionary purposes or to achieve converts to any religion or belief.
DFID did not hold a central disciplinary record until October 2004. Data show there have been no cases of disciplinary action taken against staff in respect of our religion or belief policy.
Departmental Mail
Approximately 60 per cent. of DFID’s mail is sent via a private sector contractor, point-to-point between our two UK offices. The cost of this service for the last financial year was £24,897. All remaining post is sent via the Royal Mail.
HIV/AIDS
DFID has recently completed a study on the links between sexual and reproductive health and rights and the AIDS response. The study included a review of the experience of programmes to link sexual and reproductive health and HIV and AIDS services. For example a South African NGO, LoveLife, provided youth friendly services for sexual and reproductive health and HIV in combination with a multi-media information campaign aimed at young people. Changes in HIV prevalence and sexual behaviour were tracked through the National Youth Survey. The survey results demonstrated that participation in the programme was associated with decreased odds of HIV infection and increased the odds of young men and women using condoms.
The DFID review concluded that there is emerging consensus, backed up by growing evidence, on the main priorities for developing links between sexual and reproductive health and HIV and AIDS services. The challenge now is to support national governments to scale up the provision of evidence based and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for all vulnerable groups including women and girls, men who have sex with men and sex workers.
IT Projects
DFID is currently undertaking three major IT projects.
The contract for the Quest Electronic Document and Records Management project was signed in March 2004. The main rollout was originally estimated to be completed in December 2005. Detailed planning carried out in early 2005 led to a revised target date of March 2006, which was met. The projected supplier base cost at tender was £8.98 million. The projected total supplier cost is now £11.52 million, which includes implementation of a number of options available under the original contract but not included in the base cost.
The contract for the ARIES Finance, Procurement and Reporting System was signed in November 2005. The rollout is estimated to be complete by October 2008. The projected supplier base cost at tender was £11 million. A number of additional cost options are available under the contract. The ARIES project is currently on track to deliver to time and budget.
The HR Transformation project was initiated in March 2005 and has a budget of £6.5 million. It is primarily a business change project but it includes enhancements to the existing HR system and a number of smaller IT enabled components. The planned completion date is the March 2008. The project is currently on track to deliver to time and budget.
DFID has also let a number of small IT related contracts. However, our central records do not distinguish IT contracts, so provision of details for these contracts would incur disproportionate costs.
Pakistan
I have recently visited the earthquake affected areas and was able to see first hand the current situation and changes that have taken place one year on from the earthquake. Much progress has already been achieved, including semi-permanent shelters for thousands of affectees and all transitional health and education facilities made functional through the provision of interim structures like pre-fabricated buildings and weather proof tents.
The immediate challenge for the Pakistani Government is the on-coming winter for which, in collaboration with NGO’s and donors, they have prepared a comprehensive winter contingency plan. The UK stands by to provide additional assistance if required during this period.
Water and Sanitation
Countries receiving the most bilateral assistance from DFID in the sector:
2005-06 (£ million) India 27.2 Sudan 11.3 DR Congo 6.7 Pakistan 6.7 Iraq 6.1
DFID works with the UN, governments and others on programmes with a range of factors including public utilities, local civil society and private sector operators. It is difficult to break down country level expenditure to distinguish between public, private and community based support using our standard reporting procedures. DFID hires consultants to produce detailed analysis of its water and sanitation expenditure. They reported around 95 per cent. of DFID’s bilateral support to the sector was predominantly through governments and not-for-profit or humanitarian agencies in 2003-04. 2005-06 figures are expected by end 2006.
DFID committed £1.05 million for 2006-07 to support the World Bank led programme, the International Benchmarking Network for Water and Sanitation Utilities (IBNET). This measures the performance of water service providers across the world. DFID has recently met with representatives of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation who are developing Water Operators’ Partnerships. These are intended to enable well-performing utilities to support utilities that are struggling to provide adequate water and sanitation services. DFID is considering how it might support this programme.
West Bank and Gaza
The UK Government are extremely concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This is caused by the conflict with Israel; an economic downturn due to restrictions on movement and access and the Palestinian Authority’s fiscal crisis, which has meant it has been unable to pay salaries. The fiscal crisis is mainly the result of the withholding of clearance revenues by Israel and a downturn in domestically generated revenues. The suspension of budgetary support by donors has played a less significant role.
The suspension of budgetary support has been necessary following the Hamas-led Government’s failure to renounce violence, recognise Israel and sign up to previous peace agreements. However, the international community is doing what it can to address the humanitarian situation. The European Community has increased its aid from €250 million to €340 million this year. UK bilateral aid levels have remained constant at £30 million this financial year.
A Temporary International Mechanism (TIM) has been set up to support Palestinians directly instead of going through the Palestinian Authority. DFID intends to contribute up to £12 million to the TIM and the European Community is contributing €105 million. So far the TIM has delivered 2.6 million litres of fuel to keep water, sanitation and health care facilities running; allowances for over 63,000 Palestinian Government workers; and welfare payments to over 40,000 of the poorest Palestinians.
DFID has provided £15 million this financial year to support Palestinian refugees, through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA). DFID also gives core funding to other UN agencies which are helping to address the humanitarian situation including the World Food Programme and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Furthermore, we have deployed two experts to OCHA to improve its ability to monitor the humanitarian situation in Gaza. These experts will help to make sure that aid gets to those who need it the most.
World Poverty Day
DFID supports the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October because it highlights the tremendous support shown by people all over the world for the world’s poor. I marked World Poverty Day by publishing a statement on the DFID website, which featured progress made by DFID and the G8 countries since Gleneagles in fighting world poverty. In the run-up to World Poverty Day we used the DFID website to promote the UN Millennium Campaign’s Stand Up Against Poverty initiative. I congratulate them on setting a Guinness World Record: 23.5 million people in more than 100 countries took part in the challenge.
Transport
Airports
“The Future of Air Transport” White Paper sets out the conclusions of the Government on the case for future expansion at airports, following extensive study and consultation. The Government's consultation document on the future demand for regional air services in the north of England preceded the White Paper and informed its content.
“The Future of Air Transport” White Paper made clear that the future development of Robin Hood airport Doncaster Sheffield and Sheffield city airport would need to be determined through the normal regional and local planning processes. Surface access provision will be addressed alongside other planning considerations.
The Government’s policy on the development of airport capacity in the United Kingdom is contained in “The Future of Air Transport” White Paper, following extensive study and consultation. The White Paper made clear that the future development of Robin Hood airport Doncaster Sheffield and Sheffield city airport would need to be determined through the normal regional and local planning processes.
Robin Hood airport Doncaster Sheffield is owned and operated by Peel Airports Group. Peel Airports and Sheffield Business Park Ltd. are joint owners of Sheffield city airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is responsible for regulating civil airports in the United Kingdom. The CAA is not aware of any legal provisions that prevent access to the runway at Sheffield city airport by general aviation. In licensing Sheffield city airport, the CAA does not confer on any person the right to use the aerodrome without the consent of the licensee.
Aviation Noise
Databases (Security Breaches)
There have been no confirmed security breaches from external sources to databases controlled by the Department for Transport and its agencies in the last five years.
Confirmed breaches committed by staff over this period are:
Number of breaches Number of records compromised Estimate of total number of records accessible 2002 1 20 1— 2003 2 3 1— 2004 1 13 1— 2005 2 20 1— 2006 2 40 1— 1 Unknown.
Departmental Estate
The Department was formed in 2002. In the period since then to date we have not owned, leased, rented or occupied any properties at 42-48 Wigmore Street, London.
Dual Carriageways
(2) what plans there are to dual additional stretches of the A303 over the next decade; and if he will make a statement.
We are currently considering the inter-Departmental Review Group's report on options for improving the A303 past Stonehenge and will announce our conclusions in due course. The timing of other proposed improvements to the A303 to the west of Stonehenge, and the A358 between Ilminster and Taunton, will be influenced by our conclusions on the Stonehenge scheme. In considering the timetable for these scheme we will also take account of the south-west region's advice that, within the regional funding allocation for major transport schemes in the south-west, a start should be made on either the A303 Stonehenge scheme or on the A303 Ilminster bypass improvement and improvements to the A358 to Taunton within the next 10 years, and that other A303 schemes are for the longer term, beyond 2016. The Highways Agency is continuing to prepare the A303 Ilminster bypass improvement and improvement to the A358 from Ilminster to Taunton so that these schemes can be considered for entry into the targeted programme of improvements in due course.
Eurostar Services
Any changes to Eurostar service patterns are a matter for Eurostar. The Department for Transport has no plans to undertake any review of the viability of extending Eurostar services to regional destinations.
Funeral Limousines
No. The exception from the compulsory use of child seats or boosters by children permitted by the directive is for taxis. Updated regulations came into force on 18 September 2006 in Great Britain. For this purpose, they apply the exception to licensed taxis and licensed private hire vehicles only. Drivers of these vehicles cannot be expected to know in advance which and how many child seats or boosters may be required by child passengers. However, funeral directors do liaise with bereaved families over arrangements and therefore can arrange to take into account the need for child seats/boosters for child passengers when travelling in dedicated funeral vehicles.
Government Social Research Service
The total cost of the Government Social Research Service since the Department for Transport was established in May 2002 is estimated as follows:
Amount (£) 2002-03 2,671,087 2003-04 2,503,123 2004-05 2,622,204 2005-06 3,053,447
During this period 64 projects have been completed. The Department employs 15 Government Social Research Service staff.
Highways Agency (Animal Welfare)
The Highways Agency is committed to minimising the impact of the trunk road network (in England) on both the natural and built environment and to playing a full role in implementing the Government’s Biodiversity Action Plan. Where appropriate, the agency undertakes works to mitigate for the impact of its operational, maintenance and improvement works, which may include the provision of animal welfare measures. These measures include the provision of animal crossings in the form of tunnels and adapted farm crossings and underpasses. Appropriate fencing may be included to both prevent animals crossing the carriageway and direct the animals to a safe crossing facility. They also undertake specific enhancement measures, such as the provision of bat boxes as part of commitments set out in the Highways Agency Biodiversity Action Plan (HABAP). Finally, the agency also undertakes research to support the development of advice in relation to the effectiveness of such measures.
With respect to expenditure, mitigation and enhancement measures are often provided as part of larger scheme budgets and specific costs are not available. However as part of its HABAP commitments, the agency has installed in excess of 920 bat boxes since 2002. Each of these enhancement schemes has been evaluated through a value management process, to ensure that works are appropriate and represent value for money. Other works are evaluated through cost challenge workshops or similar procedures for assessing value for money.
Laser Speed Meters
I have been asked to reply.
A number of representations have been received since the introduction of the LTI.20.20 the exact number could not be extracted from our records without disproportionate cost.
M1
There are an average of 372 operatives and supervisors working on the M1 widening scheme between junctions 8 and 10. Of these, 347 work during the daytime and 25 during the night.
Railway Services
The root cause of the event that resulted in service disruption on the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) on 1 September is still the subject of investigation by Network Rail. It is known that a train pantograph clashed with the overhead wiring structure to bring the wiring down. Following a detailed review of this and other incidents resulting in overhead line failures, a number of actions are being implemented to improve the monitoring and future maintenance of the equipment.
GNER have had discussions with officials in the Department, they have had none with Ministers.
A subsidy is to be paid to SWT for the first three financial years of the franchise:
2006-07: £16.2 million;
2007-08: £61.2 million; and
2008-09: £23.2 million.
Thereafter SWT pay a premium to the DfT:
2009-10: £36.5 million;
2010-11: £74.4 million;
2011-12: £117.4 million;
2012-13: £160.1 million;
2013-14: £193.9 million;
2014-15: £223.6 million;
2015-16: £250.4 million;
2016-17: £235.2 million.
All the above are Net Present Value.
Railway stations are owned by Network Rail and managed by Network Rail or Train Operators. It is for these parties, in consultation with stakeholders, to plan the facilities at stations and decide upon what charges might apply.
At present, Oyster Pay As You Go is not valid on national rail, and the only rail stations equipped for Oyster Pay As You Go are those which are also served by Underground trains. However, in May we announced that agreement has been reached with Transport for London to fund installation of Oyster equipment at all the remaining national rail stations in London. Coupled with the new simplified rail fares for London which we announced on 19 October 2006, Official Report, columns 61-62WS, this paves the way for Oyster Pay As You Go to be rolled out across national rail in London over the next few years.
Network Rail is responsible for monitoring the performance of passenger rail services. Since July 2004, punctuality of passenger trains has improved from 81.5 per cent. to 87.4 per cent.
This information is not held by the Department for Transport but by the British transport police who can be contacted at:
British Transport Police,
25 Camden Road,
London NW1 9LN,
E-mail: general.enquiries@btp.pnn.police.uk.
Road Freight
Estimates for the UK are not available. Annual figures for the level of road freight activity by GB-registered goods vehicles in Great Britain, excluding foreign vehicle activity, (measured both in tonnes and tonne kilometres) are published in Table 4.1 of Section 4 of the Department of Transport's annual statistical compendium “Transport Statistics Great Britain 2005”. This publication can be accessed on the Department's website. The link to Section 4 is:
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_transstats/documents/page/dft_transstats_041493.pdf.
Roads Funding
The average cost for constructing a mile of motorway is £29.9 million. I refer the hon. Member to my previous answer of 13 June 2006, Official Report, column 1116W, for the cost of an additional kilometre of lane of motorway in the period of 2005-06 as the latest available. The equivalent rate per mile is £10 million. The average cost for trunk roads of constructing a mile of dual carriageway is £16.2 million and single carriageway £10.6 million.
Shiplake Level Crossing
The Office of Rail Regulation's Her Majesty's Railways Inspectorate (HMRI) has inspected the crossing both before and after the recent incident, of 24 July 2006, involving a train collision with a road vehicle. HMRI found that the protective measures for the crossing were in line with published guidance for this type of crossing and that there were no significant irregularities.
The Office of Rail Regulation and the industry continue to work to improve safety at all level crossings by addressing the root causes of accidents. However, as an estimated 96 per cent. of all level crossing accidents are caused by user misuse, level crossing users also have a role to play.
Speed Humps
Local authorities have the power to introduce or modify traffic calming schemes without approval from the Department. As such there are no central records which contain this information.
Thameslink 2000
Network Rail, in their Initial Strategic Business Plan (July 2006) has estimated the cost of the Thameslink Programme to be £3.5 billion (at 2006 prices).
However, a funding decision will be considered over the next few months in the light of the emerging conclusions of the cross-government Comprehensive Spending Review and the development of the new High Level Output Specification for Network Rail.
A funding decision on the Thameslink programme cannot be made in isolation and will be considered over the next few months in the light of the emerging conclusions of the cross-government Comprehensive Spending Review and the development of the new high level output specification for the railway.
Transport Security
The Government take the security of all transport systems very seriously. Protective security programmes exist for the aviation, maritime and land transport sectors. These security programmes are kept under continuous review. Regular meetings are held with each of the industries about the measures and procedures in place.
Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing
[holding answer 26 October 2006]: The Government have already put in place policy for the provision and protection of open spaces and play areas. Planning Policy Guidance Note 17: “Open Space, Sport and Recreation” requires local planning authorities to make rigorous assessments of the existing and future needs of their communities for open space, including play areas. They should set standards in their plans which ensure adequate provision for open space as part of new housing developments.
Planning Policy Statement 3: “Housing”, when it is published later this year, will further emphasise the need for local planning authorities to assess the extent to which new housing development provides, or enables access to, community green space and open space, as well as private outdoor areas such as gardens. It will also emphasise that local planning authorities should take account of the need to provide play space for family housing in determining the size and type of affordable housing needed for their areas.
Age Discrimination
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has a personnel information system which holds staff records and therefore DCLG is aware of the age breakdown of its workforce.
There is no default age for retirement for staff below the senior civil service grades allowing an individual to continue work providing they receive satisfactory reports and have a good attendance and conduct record.
All staff irrespective of age are encouraged to access the learning portal which is available on their desks via the intranet to help them identify their development needs and select a suitable learning intervention.
Staff of any age may apply to work more flexibly and DCLG currently offers the following wherever practicable:
Reduced hours
Working at home
Condensed hours
Part year working
Term time working
Job share
This is in addition to the normal flexi time arrangements which are also available to all staff.
Building Standards
Earlier this year the Government amended the Building Regulations to increase the mandatory standards for energy efficiency. The new measures taken together with changes to strengthen Building Regulations in 2002 improve standards by 40 per cent. These tough new standards which came into effect on 6 April 2006 apply to all new buildings and when building work is carried out in existing buildings
The Building Regulations set minimum standards, but in addition from 1 April 2006, all new homes receiving Government funding will have to meet the new Ecohomes Very Good 2006 standard.
Departmental Expenditure
The Department for Communities and Local Government has not spent any money on external speechwriters.
(2) how much the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister spent on taxi fares in 2005-06.
In 2005-06, the most recent year for which figures are available, the Department of Communities and Local Government spent £148,080 on taxi fares.
Departmental Redundancies
Information prior to the creation of the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on 5 May 2006 is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
From 5 May 2006 there have been no compulsory redundancies in DCLG. DCLG has employed 74 temporary staff. 221 staff from outside organisations have been seconded into DCLG.
Deputy Prime Minister
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister on 9 October 2006, Official Report, column 72W.
Disabled Facilities
The interdepartmental report “Reviewing the disabled facilities grant programme” was published in October 2005. This was an independent report on the operation of DFG prepared by Bristol University. The Government undertook to respond to this report’s recommendations in the form of a consultation paper, which will be published shortly.
Empty Dwellings
An unoccupied dwelling that is the principal residence of a person who is temporarily resident elsewhere is exempt from the legislation on Empty Dwelling Management Orders by virtue of exceptions in the Housing (Empty Dwelling Management Orders) (Prescribed Exceptions and Requirements (England) Order 2006. Second homes are also exempt. Where a dwelling is not exempt by virtue of the order the decision whether to make an Empty Dwelling Management Order is at the discretion of the local authority and is subject to approval by a Residential Property Tribunal.
Energy Efficiency (Building Regulations)
[holding answer 25 October 2006]: Amended Building Regulations were introduced in April 2006 to improve mandatory standards for energy efficiency and encourage the use of low energy technologies. In advance of this amendment a comprehensive review took place, including a formal public consultation exercise, involving a wide range of stakeholders. Improving compliance with the requirements of the Building Regulations featured prominently in this review.
EU Directive 2002/91/EC
I apologise that administrative oversight meant that a copy of the National Energy Services report “An accreditation scheme for energy inspectors Phase 1: Scoping Study” was not placed in the Library on 10 July as we had intended. The report was correctly placed in the Library on 16 October
Home Condition Reports/Information Packs
The promotion of voluntary home condition reports from June will be informed by the area trials beginning next month.
More than 15,500 partial home information packs have been produced since the first phase of the home information pack dry-run commenced in November 2005.
The Department has not provided any funding to the Association of Home Information Pack Providers and has no plans to do so.
We will be using local media to inform sellers of the opportunity to have a Home Information Pack (HIP) and the benefits of doing so. We would also expect participating estate agents to explain the benefits of HIPs when discussing new instructions with clients.
More than 200 organisations have come forward to participate in the dry run. Of these, more than 70 are involved already. A list of organisations participating in the national dry run is available on our website and we will shortly be publishing details of participants in the six area trials. Both of these websites will be updated on an ongoing basis.
Home Ownership Schemes
Our new HomeBuy scheme offers three products based on equity sharing. Social HomeBuy enables tenants of local authorities and housing associations to buy a share in their current home at a discount, New Build HomeBuy enables people to buy a share of a newly built property paying a rent on the remainder, (including the First Time Buyers Initiative, which uses public sector land) and Open Market HomeBuy enables people to buy a property on the open market with the help of an equity loan.
Priority groups for our HomeBuy products are social tenants, key workers as defined under the Key Worker Living Programme and other first time buyers nominated by the Regional Housing Boards. We aim to help 35,000 people into homeownership through our HomeBuy programme over the next two years with increased investment of £970 million through the Housing Corporation's Affordable Housing Programme.
The average grant rate for Open Market HomeBuy and New Build HomeBuy products in the Corporation's 06-08 programme at the time of allocation was £26,828.
Between 1999 and 2005 Low Cost Home Ownership assistance enabled 40,000 people to buy their own home. In 2005-06 the average household income of those purchasing homes under our equity loan and shared ownership schemes, on which our new HomeBuy products are based, was £30,000 and £26,000 respectively.
Homelessness
Information about local authorities’ actions under homelessness legislation is collected in respect of households, rather than persons, and at local authority rather than constituency level.
This is summarised in a quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, the latest of which was published by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 11 September. A supplementary table presents key information at local authority level, including the number of households accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need (and therefore owed a main homelessness duty) during the most recent quarter (April to June 2006), and the number of households in temporary accommodation arranged by the authority under homelessness legislation as at 30 June. This is available on the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/777/Supplementarytables_idl502777.xls
The duty owed to a person accepted as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need is to secure suitable accommodation. If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority may secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available. As an alternative to the provision of temporary accommodation some authorities arrange for households to remain in their current accommodation (homeless at home), until a settled solution becomes available.
Financial year data from 1997-98 to 2005-06 on the number of acceptances and households in temporary accommodation, at local authority level, has already been placed in the Library in response to a question from the hon. Member for the Vale of Clwyd (Mr. Ruane) on 23 October 2006, Official Report, columns 1663-64W.
Information is also collected separately by the Department on the number of people who sleep rough, that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night. This information, from 1998 onwards and at local authority level, is also presented in the tables already placed in the Library.
Household Numbers
Updated estimates of the number of households in England in each year from 1991 to 2004 will be published on the Department for Communities and Local Government website in November 2006. Projections of household numbers from 2003 to 2026 were published on the DCLG website on 14 March 2006:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l002882&PressNoticeID=2097
Housing
The percentages of affordable housing units provided by registered social landlords as a result of section 106 agreements in England in the financial year 2004-05 are tabulated as follows. Information on section 106 agreements in 2005-06 is being finalised and will be made available on the Department for Communities and Local Government website shortly.
Total affordable housing units provided Number of affordable units with contributions through S106 agreements Percentage North East 728 186 26 North West 2,220 483 22 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,360 592 44 East Midlands 1,880 1,165 62 West Midlands 3,153 1,531 49 East 3,818 2,569 67 London 9,388 3,634 39 South East 8,020 5,038 63 South West 3,304 1,756 53 England 33,871 16,954 50 Notes: 1. Affordable housing is defined as social rent and low cost home ownership. 2. Units includes dwellings and bed spaces. 3. Information refers to registered social landlords only and excludes other housing associations not registered with the Housing Corporation. Source:Housing Corporation. Annual returns (HSSA) from local authorities to DCLG.
The Government are already taking forward many of the recommendations of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission. Its proposals are being fed into a series of processes, including the Comprehensive Spending Review and the forthcoming planning policy statement on housing. We have also set up a website to report on the progress we are making towards improving access to affordable housing in rural areas, including examples of best practice, in response to the Affordable Rural Housing Commission’s report.
Land Use
The Department made a contribution of £35,000 in October 2004 to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council sponsored project Sustainability of Land Use and Transport in Outer Neighbourhoods.
Muslim Council of Britain
[holding answer 20 October 2006]: Since its creation in May 2006, the Department for Communities and Local Government has not given any financial support, or support in kind, to the Muslim Council of Britain.
Omega
[holding answer 26 October 2006]: The planning application referred to is for the development of part of a site known as Omega, situated in Warrington. It covers approximately 100 hectares and lies on either side of the M62 motorway. The application includes the provision of offices, light industry, warehousing and distribution facilities, and makes up the first two phases of the proposed development of the whole Omega site, which covers some 230 hectares in total. Warrington borough council resolved on 19 October that it was minded to approve the application, and in accordance with the terms of a Direction made under Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995, the council has consulted the Secretary of State and sought her authorisation to grant planning permission for the application. A decision on how the Government will proceed (about whether it will call in the application for further public scrutiny and determination by the Secretary of State, or alternatively allow the council to determine the application itself) will be made in the near future.
[holding answer 26 October 2006]: The planning application referred to is for the development of part of a site known as Omega, situated in Warrington. It covers approximately 100 hectares and lies on either side of the M62 motorway. The application includes the provision of offices, light industry, warehousing and distribution facilities, and makes up the first two phases of the proposed development of the whole Omega site, which covers some 230 hectares in total. Warrington borough council resolved on 19 October that it was minded to approve the application. The nature and scale of this proposal is such that it raises significant strategic planning and transport issues. They are of a type which require a decision to be made as to whether the application should be called-in for further public scrutiny and determination by the Secretary of State, or alternatively left with the council for determination. It was for this reason that a Direction was made under Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995—the Direction requires the council not to grant permission for the application unless and until authorised by the Secretary of State.
Pensions
The amount spent on the local government pension scheme (LGPS) involving contributions paid by employers and employees, plus investment income, and the amount spent annually on pension benefits between 1995-96 and 2004-05 is shown at columns two and three respectively in the following table. Information before 1995-96 is not available.
Total income Expenditure on benefits 1995-96 4.2 2.6 1996-97 4.7 2.7 1997-98 5.0 2.9 1998-99 5.5 3.0 1999-2000 5.9 3.1 2000-01 6.3 3.3 2001-02 6.7 3.5 2002-03 7.0 3.6 2003-04 7.6 3.8 2004-05 8.3 4.0
No forecasts have been made of how much will be spent between 2007-08 and 2050-51. Future pension liabilities, and the amount of employer contributions, taking into account the expected level of investment returns needed to match future liabilities, are determined by fund actuaries every three years. The next fund valuation exercise takes place in England and Wales on 31 March 2007.
At 31 March 2005, the number of active members, pensioners with deferred benefits and pensioners in the local government pension scheme was 1.6 million; 757,000 and 952,000 respectively. All the above data are derived from annual returns submitted to the Department by LGPS administering authorities in England and Wales.