To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 3 July 2006, Official Report, column 25WS, on the UN Licensing System, for how many individuals his Department instructed the Department for Work and Pensions to suspend benefit payments in each month since July 2006. (133237)

I have been asked to reply.

Following the Economic Secretary to the Treasury’s statement about counter terrorism and the licensing system, in which he announced that benefit paid to members of the households of listed persons fall within the prohibitions on making funds available to listed persons, four spouses of persons listed by the UN under the Al-Qaida and Taliban financial sanctions regime had their benefit suspended in mid July 2006. To date, there have been no further suspensions of benefit of the spouses or household members of listed persons. All four spouses whose benefit was suspended now have it paid under licence, three of whom have it paid into an account set up and controlled by the Treasury.

In addition, four individuals who have themselves been listed under United Nations legislation or designated by the Treasury under the Terrorism (United Nations Measures) Order 2006 have had their benefits suspended—one in August 2006, one in December 2006, one in January/February 2007 and one in March/April 2007. Some of these have applied or are applying to the Treasury for a licence to enable benefit to be reinstated.

A significantly greater number of individuals than this have been listed or designated under the Terrorism Order but no current action is required because they are not in receipt of benefit. This is commonly because the individual is being held on remand in prison.