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Written Answers

Volume 473: debated on Wednesday 12 March 2008

Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 12 March 2008

Leader of the House

Regional Government: Select Committees

To ask the Leader of the House what progress has been made on the establishment of regional select committees; and if she will make a statement. (193298)

This matter is being examined by the Select Committee on the Modernisation of the House of Commons, chaired by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House. Proposals will be brought to the House in due course in the light of the Committee’s report.

Solicitor-General

DNA: International Co-operation

To ask the Solicitor-General when the Crown Prosecution Service’s inquiry into its treatment of a Dutch request to check DNA data will be completed; and if she will make a statement. (192784)

As soon as she was made aware of an issue surrounding the disk containing the 2,159 crime scene profiles from unsolved crimes submitted by the Dutch authorities, my right hon. and learned Friend the Attorney-General ordered the CPS to conduct an urgent inquiry as to what happened and to report to her as soon as possible. The CPS is working closely with the police on this issue and the inquiry is not yet complete. The inquiry has three strands and it is expected that two of these strands will be completed by the end of March 2008.

Northern Ireland

Departmental Cost Effectiveness

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress his Department has made in its zero-based budget review under the Comprehensive Spending Review. (191482)

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the annex pertaining to my Department in Meeting the aspirations of the British people: the 2007 pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review (Cm 7227).

I would also refer to the Department's Value for Money Delivery Agreement

www.nio.gov.uk/final_published_vfm_-_feb_08.pdf

which outlines plans to deliver £108 million of savings by March 2011. The first update on progress will be published by the Department in its autumn performance report.

Departmental Hospitality

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many receptions were held at 11 Millbank in each of the last five years. (187221)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 September 2007, Official Report, columns 2148-249W. There have been no further receptions subsequent to this answer.

Departmental Impact Assessments

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many regulatory impact assessments his Department has conducted in the last 12 months. (191260)

The Northern Ireland Office has conducted three regulatory impact assessments in the last 12 months:

1. Draft Criminal Justice Order 2008;

2. PSNI (Conduct) (Amendment) Regulations 2008; and

3. The Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records) (Registration) Regulations (Northern Ireland). Although this is a 1997 policy it has not yet been implemented.

Departmental Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether consideration has been given to applying gender responsive budgeting to his Department's budget. (192105)

The UK Government are supportive of efforts to achieve gender equality and continue to work very closely with both the Women's National Commission and the Women's Budget Group on promoting gender equality within the UK.

In 2004, HM Treasury undertook a pilot project on gender analysis of expenditure with the Women's Budget Group. The project demonstrated the value of gender analysis in some areas and identified what tools and expertise were necessary within Government to carry out gender analysis, but that further work was needed before gender responsive budgeting could be implemented.

In 2008, HM Treasury will be conducting further work that will determine whether it is prudent and feasible to disaggregate departmental expenditure statistics by gender.

Written Questions

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many written questions to his Department had not received an answer as at 25 February 2008 for (a) between two and four, (b) between four and six, (c) between six and eight and (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer. (193395)

As at 25 February 2008 10 questions remained unanswered for between two and four weeks and three questions remained unanswered for between six and eight weeks. None of these questions were for Named Day answer.

Sexual Offences

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many category (a) 1, (b) 2 and (c) 3 sex offenders there are (i) in custody and (ii) resident in the community in each district council area in Northern Ireland. (190032)

As of 1 February 2008 the number of sex offenders in custody assessed under the multi-agency sex offender risk assessment and management (MASRAM) arrangements is shown in the following table.

Number

Category 1 (low risk)

6

Category 2 (medium risk)

79

Category 3 (high risk)

30

The following table updates the information provided in the annual report ‘Managing the Risk’ published last year by the Northern Ireland Sex Offender Strategic Management Committee. It also provides information on risk categories of offenders assessed under the MASRAM arrangements resident in police command areas as at 26 February 2008.

Sex offenders by police command area assessed under the MASRAM arrangements

Police command area

Category 1 (low risk)

Category 2 (medium risk)

Category 3 (high risk)

Total

Antrim

18

4

0

22

Ards

19

6

0

25

Armagh

14

6

0

20

Ballymena

21

5

0

26

Ballymoney

8

3

0

11

Banbridge

10

2

0

12

Carrickfergus

8

1

0

9

Castlereagh

9

5

0

14

Coleraine

20

12

0

32

Cookstown

2

3

0

5

Craigavon

26

13

0

39

Down

26

8

1

35

Dungannon and South Tyrone

6

3

0

9

East Belfast

23

12

0

35

Fermanagh

13

13

0

26

Foyle

29

22

0

51

Lame

7

1

0

8

Lisburn

29

12

0

41

Limavady

6

8

0

14

Magherafelt

3

4

0

7

Moyle

3

2

0

5

Newtownabbey

13

6

0

19

Newry and Mourne

18

10

0

28

North Belfast

38

16

2

56

North Down

23

14

0

37

Omagh

13

9

1

23

South Belfast

64

50

2

116

Strabane

11

4

0

15

West Belfast

14

3

0

17

Olympics

Olympic Games 2012: Essex

To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to her answer of the 4 March 2008, Official Report, column 2309W, on Olympic Games 2012: Essex, how many times the Nations and Regions Group has met since it was established. (193687)

The Nations and Regions Group first met in May 2004, before London was confirmed as the location for the 2012 games. Its role then was to bring substance to our bid commitment that we would spread the benefits from the 2012 games across the UK, and also to generate support within the UK for London’s bid. It met a total of four times before July 2005, when London’s success was confirmed.

Since July 2005, the group has continued to meet and has developed more formal operating and governance arrangements. It has met a further 12 times and will continue to meet quarterly. The group’s purpose is to deliver against the bid commitment to maximise the levels of engagement and benefit across the UK from the 2012 games, which was a key component of our bid success.

Olympic Games 2012: Landscaping

To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many companies she expects to undertake work on landscaping contracts for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (192446)

The Olympic Delivery Authority will appoint three main contractors to undertake the management of landscaping for the 2012 Olympic Park—the North Park contract, the South Park contract and the Greenway contract. For off-park venues, the responsibility for landscaping will rest with the main contractor appointed to each venue. The ODA would then expect each main contractor to use subcontractors and suppliers to carry out the required works.

Until the main contractors have been appointed, I cannot say how many companies will be involved, as this will depend on how the works are then phased and split with each contractor.

To help businesses access 2012-related contracts, the London 2012 Business Network was launched in January of this year. A key part of this is CompeteFor, an online brokerage service matches the profiles of suppliers and buyers, enabling businesses to directly compete for contracts, including landscaping contracts. I would encourage companies in your constituency to take advantage of this opportunity.

Olympic Games 2012: Railways

To ask the Minister for the Olympics what steps the Olympic Delivery Authority is taking to ensure a satisfactory interchange between the international and domestic stations at Stratford; and what specific measures will be in place at the time of the commencement of new high-speed domestic services. (192965)

The passenger interchange between Stratford international and regional stations is a matter for London and Continental Railways (LCR) and the developers of zone 1 of the Stratford City site, Westfield. Their obligation around providing this interchange is laid down by a Transport and Works Act Order 2001 from the Secretary of State for Transport and section 106 obligations from the London borough of Newham.

The Olympic Delivery Authority’s independent planning committee will consider and determine the applications made by Westfield including any specific measures that are put in place for the commencement of the domestic services where those measures differ to the permanent interchange proposal.

It is expected currently that the high-speed domestic services to Stratford international will commence commercial operations in late 2009. The DLR extension between Stratford regional and Stratford international is programmed to commence services in mid-2010.

The Olympic Delivery Authority has also sought to facilitate better interchange between the stations by co-funding a new entrance to Stratford international at the eastern end of the station. This scheme is being funded with the Department for Transport and Union Railways North (a subsidiary of London and Continental Railways) and is due for completion in time for the commencement of high-speed domestic services.

Terrorism: Victim Support Schemes

To ask the Minister for the Olympics what contingency plans she has made to provide assistance to those who survive a future terrorist attack in the UK. (192522)

The Humanitarian Assistance Unit is working closely with regional and local resilience teams to ensure that their plans for future emergencies include the provision of humanitarian assistance. We have published guidance and research which reflects the lessons we have learnt from previous incidents and identifies good practice around the country.

Culture, Media and Sport

Community Fund: Tamworth

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which projects in Tamworth constituency have received community fund grants. (193605)

Grants totalling £3,401,356 have been awarded by the Community Fund to the Tamworth constituency and are listed in the following table.

The information is location specific. That is, the list includes only grants that are specific to locations in the constituency and excludes grants that might have gone to addresses in the constituency—to headquarters offices for example—but are not otherwise related to it. The Department's lottery grants database is searchable at:

www.lottery.culture.gov.uk

and uses information supplied by the lottery distributors.

Grants awarded by the Community Fund to the constituency of Tamworth

Recipient

Award date

Award amount (£)

Shenstone Day Care Centre

19 December 1995

2,500

Housing Community Chest - Tamworth

17 December 1996

13,000

Tamworth Sea Cadets

18 September 1997

181,014

South East Staffordshire Centre for Integrated Living

18 September1997

197,130

Stonnall Village Hall

30 October 1998

15,000

1st Hopwas Scout Group

7 January 1999

152,000

Tamworth Male voice Choir

20 April 1999

5,000

Shenstone Village Hall

27 April 1999

23,462

Mercian Ward Community Association

17 June 1999

2,387

Mile Oak Sea Scout Group

17 June 1999

3,065

The Dark Ages Charitable Trust

9 September 1999

5,000

Hopwas Playing Field Committee

11 November 1999

5,000

Harlaston Village Hall Management Committee

26 November 1999

4,000

Bancroft Community Association

26 November 1999

5,000

Tamworth Council for Voluntary Service

2 December 1999

182,187

Argyle Pre-School Nursery

27 January 2000

750

The National Association for Special educational Needs NASEN

27 January 2000

5,000

Tamworth Division Guide Association

27 January 2000

2,018

Staffordshire Scouts International Friendship Camp 2000

31 March 2000

5,000

Pre-School Learning Alliance (PLA)

31 March 2000

2,357

Tamworth Talking Newspaper

31 March 2000

5,000

4th Tamworth (St. Editha's) Scout Group

31 March 2000

4,616

Tamworth Third Age

31 March 2000

4,490

Edingdale Pre-School Playgroup

15 June 2000

500

Colon Green Community Hall Association

15 June 2000

5,000

Fazeley Pre-School

15 June 2000

1,000

Mile Oak Munchkins Pre School

15 June 2000

3,450

Tamworth Community Service Council

13 July 2000

134,097

Shenstone Playing Fields Management Committee

6 September 2000

3,755

Lichfield and District PLA Branch Exec Sub-Committee

6 September 2000

4,998

Tamworth Sea Cadets

25 September 2000

5,000

1122 (Marmion) Air Training Corps

25 September 2000

5,000

Age Concern Tamworth

1 November 2000

153,494

Shropshire County Scout Council

5 April 2001

5,000

Stonnall Pre-School Playgroup

5 April 2001

2,499

Colon Green Pre-School Nursery

5 July 2001

5,000

Wigginton (St. Leonard's) Scout Group

5 July 2001

4,993

Harlaston Village Hall Management Committee

5 July 2001

5,000

1st Hopwas Seoul Group

5 July 2001

5,000

54lh Birmingham Guides

5 July 2001

1,962

Home Start Tamworth

19 July 2001

82,146

Edingale Village Hall

14 September 2001

3,778

Glascote Advice Shop

21 November 2001

4,716

Parochial Church Council of Glascote and Stonydelph

24 January 2002

445,280

Stonnall Village Hall

31 January 2002

3,041

Glascote Platoon ‘A’ Coy Warwickshire ACF

18 April 2002

4,703

Tamworth Community Service Council

18 April 2002

4,275

Age Concern Tamworth

18 July 2002

86,551

Tamworth & District Citizens Advice Bureau

19 September 2002

200,991

Age Concern Tamworth

28 November 2002

32,614

Tamworth Council for Voluntary Service

20 March 2003

323,851

Tamworth Cornerstone Housing Association

18 July 2003

216,480

Age Concern Tamworth

30 January 2004

23,364

Tamworth Council for Voluntary Service

30 January 2004

260,131

Edingale Village Hall

30 January 2004

26,385

Parochial Church Council of Glascote & Stonydelph

10 May 2005

60,000

Home Start Tamworth

10 May 2005

78,467

The Manna House (Tamworth) Company

10 May 2005

104,819

Elford Village Hall

8 August 2005

204,350

The Manna House (Tamworth) Company

8 August 2005

64,690

Departmental Studies

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with reference to the answer of 16 July 2007, Official Report, column 38W, on departmental studies, when each study began; when each was expected to be completed; what the current estimated completion date of each is; and when the results of each study will be published. (186357)

With reference to the answer of 16 July 2007, Official Report, column 38W, on departmental studies, all studies are now complete and details outlined in the following table.

 Study

Date study commenced

Original expected date of completion

Estimated publishing date

Date published

Economic impact of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s cultural investment (renamed “A Framework for Evaluating Cultural Policy”)

May 2006

September 2006

 —

May 2007

Assessing the readiness of the social housing sector for digital switchover (renamed “Communal TV systems and Preparation for Digital Switchover”)

August 2006

December 2006

 —

January 2007

Governance of non-departmental government bodies1

November 2005

January 2006

n/a

n/a

Casino impacts scoping study (the Lancaster study)

July 2006

November 2006

 —

February 2008

Sport's contribution to achieving wider social benefits

July 2006

October 2006

 —

August 2007

Measuring elasticity of tourism demand

May 2006

May 2007

July 2008

International dimension of the creative economy (renamed “ Framework for Understanding International Demand for the Creative Industries”

January 2007

June 2007

 —

September 2007

Exploring creative industry spillovers

November 2006

June 2007

 —

September 2007

Museums indicators revisions (renamed “Review of Performance Indicator Framework for National Museums and Galleries”)

October 2006

December 2006

 —

August 2007

Review of evidence base for delivering SP2/ PSA3—Culture on Demand”

September 2006

January 2007

 —

July 2007

1 The document ‘Governance of non–departmental government bodies’ has been placed in the Libraries of the House for information although not formally published.

National Lottery: Tamworth

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which projects were awarded funding by the Big Lottery Fund in Tamworth constituency in each of the last five years. [Official Report, 31 March 2008, Vol. 474, c. 5MC.] (193604)

Grants awarded by the Big Lottery Fund and its predecessors, the Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund, in each of the last five completed financial years to the Tamworth Constituency are listed in the following table.

The information is location specific. That is, the list includes only grants that are specific to locations in the constituency and excludes grants that might have gone to addresses in the constituency, to headquarters offices for example, but are not otherwise related to it. The Department's Lottery Grants Database is searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk and uses information supplied by the Lottery distributors.

Grants awarded by the Big Lottery Fund and its predecessors the Community Fund and The New Opportunities Fund during each of the last five completed financial years to the constituency of Tamworth

There are no grants made by the Big Lottery Fund to the constituency of Tamworth in any of the last five completed financial years.

Community fund financial year 2002-03

Recipient

Award date

Award amount(£)

Glascote Platoon ‘A’ Coy Warwickshire ACF

18 April 2002

4,703

Tamworth Community Service Council

18 April 2002

4,275

Age Concern Tamworth

18 July 2002

86,551

Tamworth and District Citizens Advice Bureau

19 September 2002

200,991

Age Concern Tamworth

28 November 2002

32,614

Tamworth Council for Voluntary Service

20 March 2003

323,851

Community fund financial year 2003-04

Recipient

Award date

Award amount (£)

Tamworth Cornerstone Housing Association

18 July 2003

216,480

Age Concern Tamworth

30 November 2004

23,364

Tamworth Council for Voluntary Service

30 January 2004

260,131

Edingale Village Hall

30 January 2004

26,385

There were no grants made by the Community Fund to the constituency of Tamworth in the financial year 2004-05.

Community fund financial year 2005-06

Recipient

Award date

Award amount (£)

Parochial Church Council of Glascote and Stonydelph

10 May 2005

60,000

Home Start Tamworth

10 May 2005

78,467

The Manna House (Tamworth) Company

10 May 2005

104,819

Elford Village Hall

8 August 2005

204,350

The Manna House (Tamworth) Company

8 August 2005

64,690

There are no grants made by the Community Fund to the constituency of Tamworth in the financial year 2006-07.

New opportunities fund 2002 -03

Recipient

Award date

Award amount (£)

Argyle Pre-School Nursery

18 April 2002

1,750

Oakhill Primary School

19 December 2002

10,000

There are no grants made by the New Opportunities Fund to the constituency of Tamworth in the financial year 2003-04 or 2004-05.

New opportunities fund 2005-06

Recipient

Award date

Award amount (£)

Tamworth Council for Voluntary Service

10 October 2005

149,935

New opportunities fund 2006-07

Recipient

Award date

Award amount (£)

Hodge Lane Conservation Group

9 October 2006

3,328

House of Commons Commission

Members’ Visitors

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, if the Commission will review the green card system used to alert hon. and right hon. Members about visitors to assess its effectiveness as a messaging tool; and if the Commission will take steps to ensure hon. Members’ offices are alerted by telephone as soon as a green card is submitted. (192479)

I will ask the Serjeant at Arms to review the green card system and report back to the House of Commons Commission.

When a visitor submits a green card during a normal business day, a Doorkeeper will endeavour to reach the Member or his/her staff by telephone.

During mass lobbies, when the number of green cards submitted can exceed 1,000, it is not possible to make a personal telephone call in each case. The hon. Member may wish to be aware that when green cards are received in Members’ Lobby during mass lobbies there are a number of options for being informed about the arrival of constituents.

Messages can be sent via:

pager

text to mobile phone

e-mail

fax

illumination of a red flashing light on the Member’s desk telephone, or the Member’s staff telephone, indicating that there is an item on the Message Board in Members’ Lobby.

Additionally, a Doorkeeper will take the green card messages around the Palace and the Portcullis House atrium to try to deliver them to Members personally. For further information, and to confirm how they wish to receive messages, Members are invited to contact the Messaging Administrator on extension 5678. Leaflets about this service are also available from the Doorkeepers in the Members’ Lobby.

Security

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was spent on security in the Palace of Westminster in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. (192541)

The resource cost of security for the whole of the parliamentary estate is only available from 2001-02 following the introduction of resource accounting in that year. The figures are:

Cost (£000)

Commons

Lords

Total

2001-02

12,896

5,913

18,809

2002-03

15,319

6,928

22,247

2003-04

16,655

7,511

24,166

2004-05

18,110

8,122

26,232

2005-06

19,917

9,112

29,029

2006-07

20,292

9,313

29,605

In addition, there has been cash expenditure on a number of security related projects as follows:

Cost (£000)

2001-02

199

2002-03

1,961

2003-04

1,201

2004-05

1,304

2005-06

3,719

2006-07

8,172

Costs are shared between the two Houses.

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission under what circumstances a Palace of Westminster pass may be (a) suspended and (b) revoked; and if he will make a statement. (192543)

The information is as follows.

(a) A pass will be suspended if the Serjeant at Arms or her Deputy has reason to believe that a pass-holder who is not a Member has been convicted of a criminal offence or has engaged in behaviour or associations which create an expectation that the pass-holder’s access to the parliamentary estate could be detrimental to the security or reputation of the House of Commons.

(b) A pass may be revoked if, following consultation with appropriate authorities or individuals, the expectation referred to in paragraph (a) is confirmed or, in the balance of probabilities, is considered to be likely.

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many (a) males and (b) females, broken down by age group, were (i) arrested, (ii) prosecuted and (iii) convicted of trespass in the Palace of Westminster in each of the last three years for which information is available. (192617)

The Palace of Westminster became a designated site relating to Trespass under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 on 1 June 2007.

The only persons arrested for trespass have been the demonstrators on the roof on 27 February 2008. Five persons were arrested: female aged 20; female aged 23; male aged 27; male aged 34 and male aged 31.

Visitor Management

To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what progress has been made in introducing an improved visitor management system; and if he will make a statement. (192542)

The new visitor management system is being trialled at the Derby Gate entrance to the estate. The system will be installed at two further entry points (1 Parliament Street and Black Rod’s Garden) during March, with the full programme of installation due for completion by July 2008.

Communities and Local Government

Departmental Advertising

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of her Department's expenditure was on advertising in each year since establishment. (182989)

Communities and Local Government was established in May 2006. The advertising spend in the financial year 2006-07 was 0.12 per cent. of the Department's programme spend. The information for 2007-08 is not yet available.

Departmental Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether consideration has been given to applying gender responsive budgeting to her Department's budget. (192112)

The UK Government are supportive of efforts to achieve gender equality and continue to work very closely with both the Women's National Commission and the Women's Budget Group on promoting gender equality within the UK.

In 2004, HM Treasury undertook a pilot project on gender analysis of expenditure with the Women's Budget Group. The project demonstrated the value of gender analysis in some areas and identified what tools and expertise were necessary within government to carry out gender analysis, but that further work was needed before gender responsive budgeting could be implemented.

In 2008, HM Treasury will be conducting further work that will determine whether it is prudent and feasible to disaggregate departmental expenditure statistics by gender.

English Partnerships: Vacant Land

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of land owned by English Partnerships is unused; and if she will make a statement. (193012)

At English Partnerships’ (EP) last annual valuation in April 2007, EP owned 8,500 hectares of land. EP plans to dispose of around 400 hectares for development during the 2007-08 financial year, mostly through market competition, as well as 565 hectares that have no potential for housing or commercial use, as amenity land.

English Partnerships brings forward its land for development in the usual way through the statutory planning regime, working with local authorities and other partners in both public and private sectors to support high quality sustainable growth in England by creating well-served mixed communities. EP also has a programme which purchases and sells Surplus Public Sector Land, including redundant hospital sites. This is in line with last year’s Housing Green Paper, making a contribution towards the Government’s ambition to see three million new homes built by 2020.

Health and Safety Executive

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 778W, on the Health and Safety Executive, for what reasons the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister did not communicate the warnings of the Health and Safety Executive in relation to certain water heaters to social landlords and private householders following the 2002 fatality. (178623)

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister received information about the 2002 fatality following an approach by its officials to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). This information comprised a copy of the HSE factual report into the accident and a covering letter.

HSE has made it clear that at the time of the fatality, it considered the circumstances which led up to the accident to be very rare. The information passed to ODPM was taken into account in our work with relevant trade and industry bodies to develop minimum standards of competence for the Building Regulations Competent Persons Schemes and in our preparations for a planned review of part g of the building regulations to fully consider all aspects of hot water safety.

Neither HSE nor CLG took any further action to disseminate the information from the report of the 2002 accident more widely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2008, Official Report, column 788W, on the Health and Safety Executive, if she will issue guidance to social landlords on the risks arising from the type of water heater involved in the death of Rhianna Hardie. (178624)

The Health and Safety Executive issued a safety alert in July 2007 detailing the causes of the accident and the typical warning signs to watch out for. This alert was sent to a wide range of stakeholders including housing associations, local government and local authority housing departments. We are working with HSE and others to ensure that any gaps there may be in awareness of this particular risk are closed. In particular we intend to formally ask the Housing Corporation to bring the HSE alert and advice to the attention of housing associations and are working with HSE to re-issue the HOUSE advice and alert to all local authorities both in their capacity as an enforcement authority and as a landlord.

Housing: Disabled

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent by Tamworth Borough Council on improving homes for disabled people in each of the last three years. (193602)

Over the last 3 years, Tamworth borough council spent the following amounts on improving homes for disabled people:

2005-06: £203,871.30;

2006-07: £186,872.73; and

2007-08: £125,162.51 has been spent so far this year, with a further £131,987.00 committed, giving a total of £257,149.51.

Housing: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby of 17 December 2007, Official Report, columns 1140-1W, on housing: finance, for what reasons her Department's capital investment in (a) council-owned housing stock and (b) home ownership schemes in relation to housing associations was less in 2006-07 than in each of the previous three years. (182177)

The overall investment in housing has increased year on year up to and including 2006-07. There are a number of reasons why there was a reduction in the level of capital investment in council owned stock in 2006-07: reduced stock numbers; a separation of monies for private sector renewal from the funding stream that previously combined this funding with that for council housing stock; and the recommendations of regional assemblies on the allocation of available resources for new build affordable housing (including low cost home ownership schemes) and investment in existing stock.

Housing: Local Government Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether all funding from local authorities for redistribution under the Housing Revenue Account programme is ring-fenced for housing projects led by her Department; and if she will make a statement. (192795)

Currently, all assumed surpluses that are captured by the housing revenue account subsidy system are redistributed to authorities with assumed deficits and paid into individual authorities’ housing revenue accounts. The housing revenue account is ring-fenced and authorities can only use these resources for the upkeep of their own housing stock. In the current year Government are forecast to make a net contribution to the overall subsidy system.

Housing: Low Incomes

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2008, Official Report, column 583W, and 1 February 2008, Official Report, column 690-91W, on housing: low incomes, what types of home improvement the householder cannot request be excluded from any equity uplift share with the mortgage lender and Homebuyer Agent; (189237)

(2) what types of home improvement require prior permission from the mortgage lender in order to be excluded from the mortgage lender and Homebuy Agent sharing in the equity uplift.

All home improvements such as building an extension or altering the layout of the home require the prior agreement of the HomeBuy Agent and lender.

Local Government: Reorganisation

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the results of the consultation on local government reorganisation in Cheshire; and how many and what proportion of responses indicated a broad cross-section of support for two unitary councils. (193213)

Local Government: Standards

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government further to the publication by her Department of National Indicators for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships: Update on publication of the final definitions for the national indicator set, which best value performance indicators and other old performance measures which are not included in the national indicator set will continue to be collected as data returns from local authorities by central government after 1st April 2008. (193862)

All best value and other performance indicators which are not included in the national indicator set will cease as performance indicators from 1 April 2008. We are working with other Government Departments to identify those data collections which are to be discontinued, in line with the commitment made in the Local Government White Paper to limit data collection to that which is necessary for reasons such as financial management and policy development, and to meet the 30 per cent. target for reduction in data burdens announced on 9 October 2007 as part of the comprehensive spending review.

Unitary Councils: Cheshire

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which respondents to the consultation on local government reorganisation in Cheshire expressed support for two unitary councils. (192470)

I refer my hon. Friend to my statement to the House on 26 February 2008, Official Report, column 1050, and the publication, ‘Proposals for Future Unitary Structures: Stakeholder Consultation—Summary of Reponses’, published by my Department on 19 November 2007.

Children, Schools and Families

Children: Day Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment he has made of the quality of childcare and early years education in (a) deprived areas and (b) affluent areas; and if he will make a statement. (187146)

The 2006-07 Ofsted Schools Inspection1 Annual Report presents information on the quality of childcare and nursery education settings. Of the 27,236 settings inspected, overall childcare quality was outstanding in 3 per cent. of settings, good in 54 per cent., satisfactory in 39 per cent. and inadequate in 4 per cent. The standard of early education in 6,343 settings was rated as outstanding (5 per cent.), good (55 per cent.), satisfactory (37 per cent.) and inadequate (2 per cent.). The report also found that of 16,512 childminders overall childcare quality was of an outstanding quality for 3 per cent. of providers, 54 per cent. were of good quality, 39 per cent. were of satisfactory quality and 3 per cent. were of inadequate quality.

These findings are supported by this Department’s evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative (NNI), published in March 2007, which provides information on the quality of childcare and early years education in disadvantaged areas. The study found that 93 per cent. of settings were rated as at least of adequate quality and 70 per cent. were providing provision quality that was of an adequate but just below a good standard of care, 23 per cent. were offering a good to excellent standard of provision. Settings were most successful at providing children with pleasant and appropriate staff-child interactions that were warm and respectful. Although there is no comparable data on settings in more affluent areas, the study found that families from very different backgrounds and with different needs were being offered comparable quality of provision. Nurseries providing for high proportions of disadvantaged families offered comparable quality services to settings serving less disadvantaged families.

1 For inspection purposes, provision quality in UK childcare and early years settings is explored through professional judgements captured through the recently developed Ofsted Inspection Framework. The framework is used to assess whether settings meet the minimum standards of providing quality provision. The framework measures quality based on the effective delivery of the Every Child Matters Outcomes, for children: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving and making a positive contribution. Settings are rated on a four point grading scale, where 1 = outstanding, 2 = good, 3 = satisfactory, 4 = inadequate.

Christmas

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its agencies have spent on Christmas (a) cards, (b) parties and (c) decorations in each of the last five years. (171434)

The Department spent £2,653 on Christmas cards and £460 on a Christmas tree at the headquarters building. The Department does not fund Christmas parties. Records are not kept centrally for its non-departmental public bodies’ spend on Christmas cards or decorations.

Departmental Advertising

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of his Department's expenditure was on advertising in each year since establishment. (182990)

Promotional campaigns, including those using advertising, are funded from the Department's central advertising and publicity budget and from individual programme budgets held by policy directorates.

Spend on advertising for 2007-08 is not yet available. However, advertising spend constitutes approximately 20 per cent. of the total Departmental budget for marketing and communications for the 2007-08 financial year.

Departmental Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what requirements his Department places on contractors in relation to audit of personal data and IT equipment. (176629)

The Department's contract templates include clauses for use where a contractor is required to process information on individuals in any way, either electronically or on paper, that ensures data protection, confidentiality and prevent the loss of data.

Where a contractor's employees are required to have access to, or knowledge or custody of, Government assets such as documents, IT equipment and the Department's premises, the contractor must meet the Government-wide personnel security standard, which requires employee checks on identity, employment history, nationality and immigration status and the declaration of unspent criminal records.

Contractors are also bound by the requirements of the Data Protection Act and will operate in accordance with their corporate governance, security and audit arrangements.

Departmental Databases

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what databases are (a) owned and (b) maintained by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies. (185424)

The information requested is not readily available centrally within the Department for Children, Schools and Families. To respond fully would involve an extensive internal and external information collection exercise which would exceed the recommended disproportionate cost threshold.

Departmental Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what efficiency savings his Department was required to make as part of its Spending Review 2004 (SR04) targets; what efficiency projects have been undertaken in the Department in pursuit of those targets; on what date each was initiated; and how much each was predicted to contribute to the SR04 target. (162320)

The Department is jointly committed with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to the efficiency target set originally for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES).

The DfES target is 2.5 per cent. a year over the spending review 2004 period. This means being able to demonstrate cumulative gains against our baseline of £1.45 billion in 2005-06, £2.9 billion in 2006-07 and £4.35 billion in 2007-08.

Details of the specific initiatives which contribute to our Gershon efficiency target are set out in our Efficiency Technical Note, which is available on the Department’s website.

Departmental Internet

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Wikipedia entries have been (a) created and (b) amended (i) by (A) special advisers, (B) Ministers and (C) communications officials and (ii) from IP addresses of (1) special advisers, (2) Ministers and (3) communications officials in (x) his Department and (y) its predecessor since August 2005. (185535)

No Wikipedia entries have been created by anyone in the Department or its predecessor. One entry has been amended by a Minister. It is not possible to obtain IP address information without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Leave

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many staff in his Department are (a) on leave, (b) suspended, (c) on sick leave, (d) retained and (e) otherwise inactive. (192847)

At the end of February 2008, 91 staff were on sick leave and 162 staff were retained or inactive (i.e. those on maternity leave, special leave without pay or career breaks).

Central records are not kept for staff on leave, or those who have been suspended, and figures could be collected at only disproportionate cost.

Departmental Manpower

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many (a) staff and (b) full-time equivalent staff under 18 years of age are employed by his Department. (189070)

The Department employs (a) two staff who are under 18 years of age. Both are full-time so this equals (b) two full-time equivalents. This is out of a total of 2,871 staff (2,722 full-time equivalents) currently employed in the Department.

Departmental Older Workers

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people over the age of 55 have been recruited by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last three years. (191514)

The information on recruits to the current Department and its predecessors is given as follows:

Recruits over the age of 55 years

Number

2005

10

2006

15

20071

9

20082

0

1 DFES and DCSF

2 To date

Departmental Sick Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the cost of sickness pay to staff within his Department was in the most recent year for which figures are available. (187510)

It is not possible to provide information for a whole year as my Department was created as part of the Machinery of Government changes on 28 June 2007. However, I am able to tell you that for the six months ending 31 December 2007 the cost of sickness pay to staff within the Department amounted to £1.52 million.

The Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and keeping it to a minimum. Effective preventative measures, including maintaining a healthy work environment, are in place, supported by prompt action when people become sick.

Health Insurance

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many officials in (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies have private health insurance provided as part of their employment package. (167937)

The Department does not offer private health insurance as part of the employment package.

The Department has no agencies.

Intimidation

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many cases of bullying have been reported in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last 12 months. (182839)

No complaints of bullying were reported in the Department or its agencies in the last 12 months.

The Department has no agencies.

Primary Education: Nutrition

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what procedures are in place to monitor nutritional standards in primary schools. (192332)

As part of their regular inspections of schools Ofsted expect schools to present evidence about their general approach to food and healthy eating and will report any issues which arise out of self-assessment or as a result of their inspection visit.

Our aim is that all schools will have attained Healthy School status, or be working towards it, by 2009. One of the success criteria is healthy eating and, as part of this, schools will need to show adherence to the new standards.

Young People: Suicide

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people under the age of 21 years committed suicide in 2007; and what research has been undertaken by his Department on suicide risk factors and methods of prevention of suicide among young people. (192333)

I have been asked to reply.

The number of deaths from suicide and undetermined injury among people aged under 20 in England in the latest available year, 2006, was 128. Data from the Office for National Statistics is provided in five-year age bands, not single years, so information on suicides by those under 21 is not available.

Research conducted by a number of organisations, including the Department, outline many of the risk factors associated with suicide and these helped form the basis of the suicide prevention strategy for England.

The Department has also funded, through the National Institute for Health Research, a programme entitled “Collaborative learning on the web. The role of online communities in public and professional health education: an exploration based on self-harm”. This study aims to support collaboration between young people and health professionals in the production of health information to young people who self-harm.

Home Department

Animal Experiments

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to regulate animal testing; and how many animals (a) were used in and (b) died during testing in the last (i) 10 years and (ii) 12 months. (191771)

The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 makes provision for the protection of animals used for experimental or other scientific purposes which may have the effect of causing pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm. The production, as well as the use, of genetically modified animals is also regulated by the Act. The Act puts into effect, and in some ways exceeds, the requirements of European Union Directive 86/609/EEC and of Council of Europe Convention ETS 123. The Act is administered by the Home Office in England, Scotland and Wales and by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland.

The Act has a three-level licensing system: those carrying out scientific procedures must hold personal licences, which ensures that they are qualified and suitable; the programme of work must be authorised in a project licence; and the place at which the work is carried out must hold a certificate of designation. Home Office inspectors appointed under the Act monitor compliance with the terms and conditions of licences and certificates.

Comprehensive statistics on the use of animals under the Act are published annually. Copies are deposited in the House Library. For convenience the numbers of animals used between 1996 and 2006 (the last year for which figures are available) are shown in the table. We do not collect information about the disposal of animals but the majority of animals used in procedures regulated under the 1986 Act are humanely killed on completion of the work in which they are involved in accordance with the requirements of the Act and relevant project licence conditions. Animals taken into brief captivity for the performance of minor regulated procedures are released to the wild provided that the animals will not be at a biological disadvantage as a result of the regulated procedure performed or of its time in captivity and provided that the animals are certified as fit to be released by a veterinary surgeon or a suitably qualified person.

Living animals used in scientific procedures regulated by the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986

Total animal usage

1996

2,646,026

1997

2,573,088

1998

2,593,587

1999

2,569,295

2000

2,642,993

2001

2,567,713

2002

2,655,876

20Q3

2,791,781

2004

2,778,692

2005

2,812,850

2006

2,946,624

Animal Experiments: Licensing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many companies were project licence holders for the conduct of scientific procedures on living animals in each of the last 10 years. (192615)

Under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, project licences are granted to named individuals and not to companies. Comprehensive statistics of scientific procedures on living animals in Great Britain regulated by the 1986 Act are published annually and are placed in the House Library. These include details of project licences in force at the end of each year in various categories of designated establishment, one of which is commercial. The following table gives full details from 1996 to 2006 (the latest year for which figures are available).

Licensees reporting procedures by type of establishment (England, Scotland and Wales) 1996-2006

Public health labs

Universities

Quangos

NHS hospitals

Government Departments

Non-profit making

Commercial

Total

1996

24

2,270

276

58

97

80

444

3,249

1997

32

2,281

286

45

90

95

503

3,332

1998

28

2,354

288

40

90

87

439

3,326

1999

23

2,012

259

39

88

86

424

2,931

2000

23

1,956

248

36

81

86

412

2,842

2001

21

1,908

245

30

79

95

388

2,766

2002

26

1,899

252

36

89

111

404

2,817

2003

23

1,953

273

34

85

96

365

2,829

2004

18

1,766

254

26

102

93

328

2,587

2005

15

1,693

30

85

236

105

313

2,477

2006

26

2,365

294

40

105

88

478

3,396

Crime: Young People

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responsibilities her Department has in relation to tackling youth crime and antisocial behaviour. (167109)

The Home Office is the lead department responsible for reducing all crime, including youth crime, and tackling anti-social behaviour. We work closely with other Government Departments, including the Department for Children, Schools and Families on parenting interventions, youth crime prevention, and early intervention; with the Crown Prosecution Service on prosecuting offences; and with the Ministry of Justice on the courts and the use of custody and other disposals. To do so, we provide funding, guidance and leadership to frontline services, such as the police and local authorities, in partnership with other agencies.

Specifically, the Home Office has supported crime prevention programmes, including;

Positive Futures - Around 22,000 young people are currently involved in Positive Futures projects nationwide

Safer Schools Partnerships (SSPs) a joint DCSF/Home Office initiative which provides a successful mechanism for ensuring structured joint working between schools and police - there are now over 500 SSPs across the country.

Youth Offending Team prevention programmes, which are estimated to have engaged with more than 50,000 children and young people at on the cusp of offending and 11,000 parents since 2006. Programmes include:

114 youth inclusion programmes (YIPs), which engage hard-to-reach young people from deprived neighbourhoods who are identified as most at risk of offending through positive activities

220 youth inclusion and support panels (YISPs), which seek to ensure access to mainstream services;

84 parenting support services.

Deportation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) removals following a deportation order and (b) administrative removals there were from the United Kingdom in each of the last five years for which figures are available. (178682)

The breakdown has not been available since 2002, but information prior to 2003 has been published in Table 6.2 of the “Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 2006” Command Paper.

Members: Correspondence

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she plans to answer Question 172036 tabled by the hon. Member for North West Cambridgeshire on 3 December 2007, on the identity card scheme. (181951)

National Security

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Prime Minister's statement of 14 November 2007, Official Report, column 670, on national security, on the establishment of a new unit bringing together police and security intelligence and research, what estimate has been made of the cost of the unit; whether it will replace the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre; and what steps have been taken in the establishment of the unit to date. (185107)

The establishment of a new team within JTAC to help support Government’s Prevent strategy will enhance the work of JTAC not replace it. The team is in the process of being established and the costs will be met from the Home Office's counter-terrorism budget set out in the recent CSR.

Passports

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long it took on average for each of the passport issuing offices in the United Kingdom to process a passport to applicants in 2006. (183930)

[holding answer 1 February 2008]: Average processing time for straightforward properly completed postal passport applications by issuing office in 2006 is as follows:

Regional office

Average working days

London

2.85

Liverpool

4.41

Peterborough

4.24

Newport

3.39

Glasgow

4.71

Belfast

5.30

Durham

3.92

The London regional office were processing small volumes of postal work during January and February in 2006. However, London deal primarily with applications made in person.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports were processed in regional passport offices per week (a) in the latest year for which figures are available and (b) in each of the previous five years. (187571)

The table placed in the House Library shows the weekly output of each regional passport office for each week from 2002 until 2007.

Passports: Belfast

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports were issued by the Belfast Passport Office in 2007. (192352)

[holding answer 7 March 2008]: The number of passports issued by the Identity and Passports Service (IPS) Belfast office in calendar year 2007 was 380,455.

Passports: Glasgow

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many passports the Glasgow Passport Office processed per week in peak periods (a) in the latest year for which figures are available and (b) two years previously. (187576)

The following tables show output for Glasgow during the peak periods.

Glasgow, 2002

Week ending

Number

17 March

14,628

24 March

11,077

31 March

14,051

7 April

8,267

14 April

13,374

21 April

15,517

28 April

16,049

5 May

13,214

12 May

10,531

19 May

16,310

26 May

13,593

2 June

12,971

9 June

6,962

16 June

16,226

23 June

14,227

30 June

12,030

7 July

14,087

2003

Week ending

Number

2 March

16,542

9 March

15,050

16 March

14,447

23 March

12,658

30 March

16,029

6 April

15,532

13 April

14,174

20 April

12,594

27 April

10,527

4 May

12,118

11 May

11,010

18 May

13,499

25 May

16,353

1 June

11,082

8 June

14,179

15 June

14,653

22 June

19,623

29 June

13,753

6 July

12,405

13 July

18,518

2004

Week ending

Number

29 February

18,114

7 March

13,700

14 March

12,383

21 March

14,384

28 March

10,902

4 April

12,451

11 April

11,614

18 April

7,490

25 April

15,043

2 May

14,357

9 May

12,458

16 May

13,235

23 May

21,568

30 May

15,167

6 June

13,500

13 June

16,207

2005

Week ending

Number

10 April

14,118

17 April

8,431

24 April

11,655

1 May

13,752

8 May

7,027

15 May

16,539

22 May

16,767

29 May

12,329

5 June

8,318

12 June

17,198

19 June

8,502

26 June

14,588

3 July

12,817

10 July

9,760

17 July

14,377

2006

Week ending

Number

12 March

12,794

19 March

12,678

26 March

11,850

2 April

11,586

9 April

9,397

16 April

9,227

23 April

7,748

30 April

12,767

7 May

11,486

14 May

12,154

21 May

15,127

28 May

15,397

2007

Week ending

Number

11 March

12,084

18 March

10,496

25 March

10,957

1 April

9,902

8 April

5,902

15 April

8,044

22 April

12,735

29 April

11,972

6 May

9,115

13 May

8,490

20 May

11,135

27 May

11,987

3 June

9,198

10 June

11,073

17 June

9,758

24 June

10,764

Police: Disclosure of Information

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there is external review of the type and quality of information held by the police and released by chief constables under the enhanced disclosures procedure. (190615)

Sir Rhys Davies QC is the Independent Monitor of information released from local police records as part of the Criminal Records Bureau Enhanced Disclosure procedure. Chief constables are required under Part V of the Police Act 1997 to disclose any information held in local police records that they consider relevant to an Enhanced Disclosure application. The Independent Monitor’s main role is to scrutinise such information to ensure that a proper balance is struck between the rights of an individual and those of vulnerable groups.

Safegarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people subject to registration if open age sport is included in the Safegarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006. (185746)

[holding answer 18 February 2008]: I have been asked to reply.

We have received useful feedback on the issue of under 18 year olds playing in open age sport from stakeholders in the sports sector while developing policy in this area. It is not our intention to make any activity a regulated activity unnecessarily, particularly if that means children could be denied access to a wide range of sporting activity.

As a consequence of feedback from stakeholders we consulted on the proposal that activities relating to the teaching, training and instruction of children aged 16-17 years should not be considered to be regulated activity, where the 16 or 17 year old is part of an activity aimed at mixed age groups which include adults. The consultation closed on 20 February 2008 and we will be analysing the responses including those from the sports sector to feed into the formal Government report. It would be wrong to pre-empt the results of this process.

The Department for Children Schools and Families, the Department of Health and the Home Office will continue to consult widely with stakeholders including sports bodies and will continue working with the Department for Culture Media and Sport to help inform Regulations and prepare for implementation of the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006.

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2008, Official Report, column 1848W, on animals: diseases, what the animal health and welfare budget is for (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2010-11. (192031)

The Animal Health and Welfare budget for 2007-08 is £404 million and the indicative figures for 2008-09 are £394 million. Detailed figures for 2009-10 and 2010-11 are not yet available.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 February 2008, Official Report, column 1848W, on animals: diseases, what proportion of the £121 million reduction to his Department’s animal health and welfare budget will be made up of (a) efficiency savings and (b) transfers and charges. (192032)

Based on our current plans, we estimate that around two thirds of the annual saving of £121 million by 2010-11 should be achieved through efficiency savings, with the remaining third through transfers and charges.

Bluetongue Disease

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to fund research into blue tongue vaccines other than those for the BTV-8 strain. (192489)

DEFRA currently has no plans to invest in vaccines for use in bluetongue serotypes other than serotype 8 (BTV-8). This strain arrived in East and South East England in September 2007.

We will keep this under active review in the light of vaccine developments and veterinary risk assessment of the likely spread of other serotypes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent mild winter on the likely prevalence of blue tongue. (192490)

Bluetongue disease is spread from animal to animal via the bites of midges.

During the winter, midge activity is at its lowest, and low temperatures mean that virus does not replicate in the midges. Therefore, because of a very low risk of disease transmission, we declared a vector-free period on 20 December 2007. Based on the assessment of meteorological data and historic vector (midge) trapping, this period will end on 15 March. As temperatures increase and midges become more active, we may expect to see the disease re-emerge this year.

Experiences in Northern Europe in 2007 showed that the virus reappeared in June/July. Given our similar climate, we are preparing on the basis of a similar scenario in the UK this year. Cases of bluetongue identified during the winter, and subsequent amendments to the restricted zones mean that we are confident that the disease is currently contained within the protection zone.

Further information about our control and vaccination strategy is available on the DEFRA website.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department’s strategy is for informing livestock owners that blue tongue vaccines will be available if there is a deterioration in the current blue tongue situation. (192491)

The UK’s Bluetongue Emergency Vaccination Delivery Plan, published on 18 February, sets out how mass vaccination can be achieved through a voluntary approach. This is coupled with an industry-led campaign promoting the importance of vaccination.

DEFRA will play an active role in supporting the communications strategy.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was received by his Department from the sale of meat from cattle slaughtered as a result of bovine tuberculosis testing in each of the last three years. (192798)

[holding answer 10 March 2008]: The amount of money received by the Government from the sale of the cattle slaughtered in England, as a result of bovine tuberculosis control measures from 2004-05 to 2006-07 is set out in the following table.

Financial year

Amount received (£ million)

2004-05

3.1

2005-06

4.9

2006-07

1.1

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid by his Department to (a) abattoirs and (b) others for the slaughter and disposal of cattle slaughtered under bovine tuberculosis testing in each of the last three years. (192799)

[holding answer 10 March 2008]: DEFRA does not pay abattoirs directly for the slaughter and disposal of cattle under TB control measures. Abattoirs take a payment from the money received from the sale of slaughtered cattle.

The following table sets out the amount paid to others by DEFRA for the haulage, slaughter and disposal of cattle slaughtered in England under bovine tuberculosis control measures from 2004-05 to 2006-07.

Financial year

Amount paid (£ million)

2004-05

1.2

2005-06

1.7

2006-07

1.1

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on each budgetary heading for (a) bovine tuberculosis measures and (b) animal health and welfare in each of the last three years; and how much it plans to spend on each heading in each year of the new Comprehensive Spending Review period. (192800)

Annual expenditure by DEFRA on bovine tuberculosis (bTB) from 2004-05 to 2006-07 is set out in the following table.

£ million

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Cattle testing

36.4

36.7

37.8

Randomised Badger Culling Trial

7.2

6.2

1.6

Compensation

35.0

40.4

24.5

Surveillance activity by the Veterinary Laboratory Agency

4.9

7.5

6.4

Other Research

5.7

6.5

7.8

HQ/Overheads

1.3

1.8

1.7

We are unable to provide an accurate forecast of expenditure on bTB in each year of the new comprehensive spending review period as budgets have not yet been finalised.

The amount spent by DEFRA on animal health and welfare in each of the last three years can be found in the 2007 departmental report. This is available on the DEFRA website.

Departmental Data Protection

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether personal data for which his Department is responsible are (a) stored and (b) processed overseas; and if he will make a statement. (176021)

Departmental Databases

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) companies based in the United States and (b) UK subsidiaries of US companies have been contracted by his Department and its agencies to provide services involving the use, storage, processing or analysis of databases of personal information held by the Government on UK citizens in the last five years. (188224)

My Department, including its agencies, has no contract with US registered service providers or a UK subsidiary of a US registered service provider for information storage, processing or analysis.

Departmental Public Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which of his Department's activities will be discontinued following the recent budget pressures referred to by the Minister for Sustainable Farming, Food and Animal Welfare in evidence to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on 3 March 2007. (192083)

In setting a balanced budget for 2008-09 DEFRA has prioritised all its activities. The need to prioritise activities necessitates a review of the extent, timing and way we deliver our services in order to maximise value for money within the available budget. Hence we shall be reviewing the support we provide to business, consumers and the public sector in the drive towards a low carbon and resource efficient economy.

Departmental Public Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether consideration has been given to applying gender responsive budgeting to his Department's budget. (192104)

The UK Government are supportive of efforts to achieve gender equality and continue to work very closely with both the Women's National Commission and the Women's Budget Group on promoting gender equality within the UK.

In 2004, HM Treasury undertook a pilot project on gender analysis of expenditure with the Women's Budget Group. The project demonstrated the value of gender analysis in some areas and identified what tools and expertise were necessary within Government to carry out gender analysis, but that further work was needed before gender responsive budgeting could be implemented.

In 2008, HM Treasury will be conducting further work that will determine whether it is prudent and feasible to disaggregate departmental expenditure statistics by gender. DEFRA will engage in this HM Treasury-led work as required.

Departmental Retirement

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff in his Department retired on grounds of stress-related illness in each of the last three years. (187500)

Fewer than five staff in DEFRA retired due to stress-related illness in each of the last three years. The precise numbers cannot be supplied on grounds of confidentiality.

The current sickness absence management policy with supporting procedural documentation is also being redeveloped to ensure that it supports employee attendance at work as effectively as possible. A StressWeb is available for employee information through the health and safety intranet based website. It includes a stress policy and it is planned to update this document during 2008. DEFRA is currently in the process of revising its policies for managing attendance.

In addition, there is a wide range of support available to staff both via the Intranet and through the outsourced Occupational Health and Employee Support Service which provides a range of support services including telephone and face to face counselling.

Departmental Sick Leave

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of working days lost by his Department's staff was attributed to stress-related conditions in the most recent year for which figures are available. (187873)

In the year ending on 31 December 2007, 7.7 per cent. of the working days lost by DEFRA staff were recorded as being due to stress.

The current sickness absence management policy with supporting procedural documentation is also being redeveloped to ensure that it supports employee attendance at work as effectively as possible. A StressWeb is available for employee information through the health and safety intranet based website. It includes a stress policy and it is planned to update this document during 2008. DEFRA is currently in the process of revising its policies for managing attendance.

In addition, there is a wide range of support available to staff both via the Intranet and through the outsourced Occupational Health and Employee Support Service which provides a range of support services including telephone and face to face counselling.

Departmental Temporary Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what average hourly rate his Department and its predecessors paid to employment agencies for agency staff in each year since 1999, broken down by employment agency. (187915)

DEFRA came into being in June 2001. The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. For the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 the core Department holds the following average hourly charge rate data:

Hourly rate (£)

Adecco

Office Angels

Brook Street

Kelly Services

2007

10.23

10.56

n/a

n/a

2006

9.47

110.33

11.72

10.75

2005

9.33

n/a

10.74

8.04

1 October to December.

The average hourly rate charge varies from firm to firm because it is dependent on the total charge(s) divided by the total numbers of hours worked.

Departmental Travel

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to answer questions (a) 181609 and (b) 181524 on departmental travel, tabled on 21 January 2008 by the hon. Member for Taunton; and what the reason for the time taken to respond is. (191407)

Departmental Written Questions

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of Parliamentary questions for answer on a named day to his Department received a (a) holding and (b) substantive answer on the named day in each year since 2001. (190285)

Records for the parliamentary sessions 2001-02 and 2002-03 were not maintained in such a way as to enable the Department to extract the information requested without incurring disproportionate costs.

Session

Total named day parliamentary questions

Holding answers issued

Substantive answer on the due date

2003-04

626

524

102

2004-05

269

187

82

2005-06

934

619

315

2006-07

791

406

385

My ministerial colleagues and I aim to ensure that hon. Members receive a substantive response to their named day questions on the due day. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many written questions to his Department had not received an answer as at 25 February 2008 for (a) between two and four, (b) between four and six, (c) between six and eight and (d) more than eight weeks; and how many in each category were tabled for named day answer. (193386)

Our records are not maintained in such a way as to enable the Department to extract the information requested without incurring disproportionate costs.

However, our records show the following:

Parliamentary questions received by 25 February 2008

Written

Named day

Total PQs

1,618

395

PQs answered on time

1,050

165

1 day late

119

56

2-5 days late

229

124

6-10 days late

129

25

11 days late

91

25

My ministerial colleagues and I aim to ensure that hon. Members receive a substantive response to their named day questions on the due day. Unfortunately, this is not always possible.

Environmental Stewardship Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received on the removal of management plans from the Entry Level Stewardship schemes; how many farmers he estimates have been affected; and what alternative schemes he plans to bring forward to encourage environmentally-friendly farming. (192345)

Four management plan options—for nutrients, soil, crop protection products and manure—were removed from the list of 62 available options under Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) following discussions with the EU Commission as part of the process of EU approval of the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), under which ELS is funded. This was in response to concerns that these options did not require agreement holders to do more than would be required of them under cross compliance or part of good agricultural and environmental practice and would not therefore justify additional payment.

However, ELS agreements entered into before 1 January 2007 will not be affected by the change and these management plans will continue to attract appropriate payments for the remaining life of agreements.

A number of industry stakeholders have since raised concerns, including the National Farmers Union (NFU), Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Agricultural Industries Confederation, Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) and Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG).

Of the 5,400 provisional agreements entered into from 1 January 2007, around 2,600 include management plans options and around 1,800 of these will no longer have sufficient surplus points to meet the points threshold now that management plan options are not available. Natural England, which delivers the scheme, has contacted all agreement holders and is working closely with those affected to help ensure that they are able to remain in ELS. The latest advice from Natural England suggests that most agreement holders want to remain in the scheme and will choose new options to achieve the required threshold.

It is important to bear in mind that even with the removal of management plans, ELS remains largely unchanged and, with over 30,000 farmers already signed up covering 50 per cent. of farmland in England, the scheme should continue to deliver key environmental outcomes. And with 58 options remaining available, farmers wanting to join ELS should still be able to do so.

Nature Conservation: Biodiversity

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what plans he has to replace the Countdown 2010 Biodiversity Action Fund; and what guidance he is providing to organisations that were in receipt of financial assistance from the fund on alternative funding streams; (192679)

(2) if he will make an assessment of the likely effect on (a) landscapes important for biodiversity and (b) employment of the ending of the Countdown 2010 Biodiversity Action Fund.

Natural England will make an announcement about any successor scheme to Countdown 2010 in April. However, Natural England will shortly launch Access to Nature, a £25 million grant scheme jointly funded with the Big Lottery. Many projects previously funded by Countdown 2010 will be eligible for this new scheme and guidance about the grant scheme can be found on Natural England’s website. Natural England is also seeking to identify additional funding for priority biodiversity habitats and species.

I expect Natural England to evaluate the likely impact on landscapes rich in biodiversity, which results from the end of the Countdown 2010 grant scheme. This evaluation will help to inform how Natural England determines priorities for its grant-in-aid in 2008-09.

As all existing Countdown 2010 projects were for a two-year period, I do not anticipate that their conclusion will have any effect on permanent employment.

Orders and Regulations

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to business of complying with his Department’s regulations in each of the last five years. (192033)

In accordance with the Better Regulation Executive’s guidance, the Department ensures that published regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) and impact assessments (IAs) are accessible via its website at:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/regulat/impact-assessment/index.htm

RIAs/IAs include a cost and benefit analysis and information on individual regulations is therefore available from the DEFRA website. The Department does not currently aggregate that data but is looking to improve both data collation and analysis, as well as post implementation reviews, in the context of introducing an updated policy-cycle framework.

However, it needs to borne in mind that policy costs, in isolation, give a distorted picture of the impact of regulations as they need to be weighed against likely benefits to business, society, the environment, biodiversity, and animal health and welfare, and these will be different in each case.

Waste Disposal: Domestic Wastes

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers waste collection authorities conducting pilot studies have to require the use by residents of (a) receptacles and (b) bags for the collection of household waste that the authority provides and charges for; and if he will make a statement. (192312)

Under section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 local authorities can serve notices requiring residents to use specified receptacles. Local authorities running waste incentive pilot schemes will be able to use their existing powers to specify the type of bin or bag in which residents must put their waste. The same powers of enforcement for non-compliance for such requirements will also be available to pilot authorities: i.e. an authority could bring a prosecution or, more likely, offer an individual the option of paying a fixed penalty notice. Experience shows that the most effective means of encouraging compliance with any waste collection scheme is good engagement and communications with local residents.

Work and Pensions

Child Support Agency

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-resident parents registered with the Child Support Agency are living abroad; and what proportion of them were making payments to the parent with care in each of the last 10 years for which information is available. (185917)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-resident parents registered with the Child Support Agency are living abroad; and what proportion of them are making payments to the parent with care in each of the last 10 years for which information is available. [185917]

The requested information is provided in the attached table.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Number of cases where the non-resident parent is living abroad

Cases where the non-resident parent lives abroad

Percentage of cases making a payment

December 2004

9,800

18

December 2005

7,600

21

December 2006

6,700

24

December 2007

6,200

25

Notes:

1. The figures in the table show the number of cases where the non-resident parent is living abroad. This includes all cases where there is either a nil or positive assessment in place in the quarter to December.

2. The Agency’s Quarterly Summary of Statistics (table 25) sets out the number of non-resident parents that are recorded on CS2 as living abroad. These figures include all cases where the Agency is aware that the non-resident parent is living abroad.

3. The percentage of cases making a payment includes those cases where the non-resident parent is making a payment via the Agency or where a maintenance direct agreement is in place in the quarter to December.

4. The figures in the table include cases on the CS2 computer system only. No information is available on CS2 for cases where the non-resident parent was living abroad prior to 2004.

5. No information is available for cases recorded on the CSCS computer system where the non-resident parent lives abroad.

6. The table details the number of cases where the non-resident parent lives abroad. A non-resident parent may have more than one case with the Agency.

7. The figures in the table are rounded to the nearest 100.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of repayment schedules agreed with the Child Support Agency have been over (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30 and (d) 50. (185878)

The information requested is not available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Child Support Agency acknowledges requests from the non-resident parent for a change of circumstances review; what the target time is for completion of such a review from the date of receipt; and what the average time taken was for completion of such a review from date of receipt in the latest period for which figures are available. (183899)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Support Agency acknowledges requests from the non-resident parent for a change of circumstances review; what the target time is for completion of such a review from the date of receipt; and what the average time taken was for completion of such a review from date of receipt in the latest period for which figures are available. [183899]

The Agency has recently begun to publish data concerning change of circumstances requests by case in Table 29 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_dec07.asp.

Change of circumstances requests cover a number of different areas including change of address, change of employer, changes to income, number of people living in the household and whether a parent is in receipt of benefits. Only around 10 per cent of changes of circumstances affect collection schedules. As a change of circumstance can potentially affect more than one case, and a case can have multiple changes of circumstances outstanding, the Agency records the number of requests and not cases.

The Agency does not record whether the request was generated by the non-resident parent or the parent with care.

On average the Agency receives almost 190,000 requests per month and so is unable to acknowledge receipt of a change of circumstance request.

The Agency does not currently have a published target for the time taken to clear a change of circumstance. Robust information concerning the average time taken to clear a change of circumstance is not available. However, since March 2003, 97 per cent. of the changes of circumstances requests received by the Agency have been cleared.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median child maintenance liability as assessed by the Child Support Agency was in each of the last 13 years. (177204)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median child maintenance liability as assessed by the Child Support Agency was in each of the last 13 years. [177204]

The attached table shows the median positive weekly maintenance liability for the period November 1995 to December 2007. Data prior to this is not available. The overall Agency median weekly liability has decreased since 2003 as a result of the increased proportion of new scheme cases, which have lower maintenance liabilities, relative to the old scheme. There has also been an increase in the proportion of cases assessed as having no maintenance liability across both schemes. Despite the decrease in median weekly liability, the Agency collected or arranged nearly £975 million in maintenance in the twelve months to December 2007 meaning that more children in more cases now benefit from maintenance than ever before.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Median positive weekly maintenance liability

Median positive weekly liability (£)

Proportion of nil assessed cases (percentage)

Month

Old scheme

New scheme

Overall agency

Old scheme

New scheme

Overall agency

November 1995

47.00

n/a

47.00

23

n/a

23

November 1996

44.00

n/a

44.00

32

n/a

32

November 1997

44.00

n/a

44.00

39

n/a

39

November 1998

43.00

n/a

43.00

44

n/a

44

November 1999

42.00

n/a

42.00

45

n/a

45

November 2000

41.00

n/a

41 .00

47

n/a

47

November 2001

41.00

n/a

41.00

47

n/a

47

November 2002

41.00

n/a

41.00

48

n/a

48

December 2003

42.00

27.00

40.00

50

17

48

December 2004

42.00

26.00

37.00

51

14

45

December 2005

41.00

24.00

33.00

52

16

43

December 2006

41.00

23.00

31.00

55

18

41

December 2007

41.00

25.00

30.00

58

19

40

Notes:

1. Includes all cases with a positive assessment as at end of December each year from 2003 and at end of November each year prior to this.

2. Median weekly liability is at month end for each relevant month.

3. Weekly liability rounded to the nearest £.

4. The latest available data is at December 2007. Data prior to November 1995 is not available.

Child Support Agency: Compensation

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid in compensation for Child Support Agency maladministration in each of the last 10 years; and how many cases were involved in each year. (185592)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was paid in compensation for Child Support Agency maladministration in each of the last 10 years; and how many cases were involved in each year. [185592]

Financial redress is made to clients in cases where maladministration has occurred. The table below provides information on the total consolatory payments made to clients in each of the last ten years. This information has been published in the Child Support Agency Annual Report & Accounts. The number of cases for 1997/98 to 1999/2000 were not separately disclosed in the Child Support Agency Annual Report and Accounts.

Financial year

Compensation to clients (including interest payments) (£ million)

Number of cases

1997-98

1.101

1998-99

4.351

1999-2000

3.075

2000-01

3.053

8,908

2001-02

2.590

10,006

2002-03

2.478

10,090

2003-04

2.331

6,863

2004-05

3.009

9,118

2005-06

4.138

13,991

2006-07

3.709

15,420

I hope you find this answer helpful.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants owed compensation by the Child Support Agency (CSA) are awaiting payment of compensation from each of the last five years; and how much the CSA owes in such compensation for each of those years. (192694)

[holding answer 7 March 2008]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants owed compensation by the Child Support Agency (CSA) are awaiting payment of compensation from each of the last five years; and how much the CSA owes in such compensation for each of those years. [192694]

The Child Support Agency operates a discretionary, non-statutory scheme providing financial redress for maladministration. Awards may be made to redress any financial losses incurred and can include consolatory payments made by way of an apology for delay, inconvenience, worry and distress caused.

The Agency will consider whether such payments are appropriate either by request or in the course of resolving a complaint. As such, there is only a short delay between the decision to make a payment and any such payment being made.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency: Complaints

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many telephone complaints have been received by the Child Support Agency from people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997; (184837)

(2) how many written complaints have been received by the Child Support Agency from people in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997.

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many telephone complaints have been received by the Child Support Agency by people in (a) Jarrow constituency (b) South Tyneside (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997 [184837], and;

How many written complaints have been received by the Child Support Agency by people in (a) Jarrow constituency (b) South Tyneside (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [184838]

Information on the number of complaints received is not collated at parliamentary constituency, local authority or regional level. Information on the total number of written and telephone complaints received is set out in the attached tables. Written complaints include complaints received by letter, fax or email.

It should be noted that it is difficult to use this information to make meaningful comparisons over time due to changes in the way that information has been recorded. In particular, whilst the volume of complaints undoubtedly rose between 2002-03 and 2003-04, this is likely to have been due in part to more rigorous recording of complaints received at the time, and the introduction by the Agency of a three tier complaints process during 2003-04.

Since April 2006, as a result of the improvements to client service made under the Operational Improvement Plan the number of complaints received has fallen. In addition the Agency revised and simplified the complaints process from April 2007, removing a tier from the resolution process and introducing specialist case workers responsible for resolving all aspects of our clients' complaints.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency complaints—number of complaints received in the Agency 1997 to 2007

1997-98

1998-99

1999-2000

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Stage 1 complaints received (Written)7

27,875

28,073

21,015

19,634

15,493

15,182

24,809

29,213

27,344

21,719

Stage 1 Complaints received (telephone)7

1

1

1

1

1

2

7,458

10,570

10,660

7,560

Chief Executive Complaints

3

3

3

4,096

4,555

7,096

4

5

5,887

3,769

Treat Official Complaints6

3

3

3

2,609

2,869

1,344

1,521

1,108

1,278

998

MP Complaints

3

3

3

4,175

4,818

4,537

5,317

8,871

9,729

9,151

1 Whilst the Agency did receive telephone complaints prior to 2002-03, their volumes were not recorded.

2 Although 671 stage 1 telephone complaints were recorded between December 2002 and March 2003, their volumes were not recorded throughout the whole year, thus preventing meaningful comparison with later years.

3 Whilst the Agency did receive complaints directly to the chief executive, treat official complaints, and MP complaints to business units prior to 2000-01, their volumes were not recorded.

4 During 2003-04 complaints sent directly to the chief executive were not recorded separately from those complaints that were escalated to him as part of the 3-stage process. Therefore, although 7,183 complaints in total were received during 2003-04, it is not possible to separate out those complaints received by the chief executive directly (as opposed to those escalated via the complaints process), thus preventing meaningful comparison with data for earlier years.

5 In April and May of 2004, the chief executive received a total of 1,447 complaints however, is not possible to separate out those complaints received by the chief executive directly, as opposed to those escalated to stage 3 of the complaints process). From June 2004-March 2005, after which time such complaints were recorded separately, the chief executive received 4,393 direct complaints and 2,594 complaints escalated upwards from stage 2. Again, these recording issues prevent meaningful comparison of this category with earlier years.

6 Treat official letters are those received by a Minister from a member of the public, and referred for initial consideration to an official of the Agency.

7 Changes to how the Agency recorded complaints over the years means that comparisons of the numbers of complaints received are not easily made. The Agency initially operated a two tier complaints process to deal with escalated complaints. A third tier was introduced in 2003, - see notes 4 and 5. In the year ending March 2006, 7167 stage 1 complaints required escalation to resolve and 4,673 in year ending March 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints have been made about the Child Support Agency (a) by people in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) nationally in the last two years. (191956)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints have been made about the Child Support Agency (a) by people in Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) nationally in the last two years. [191956]

Information on the number of complaints received is not collated at parliamentary constituency, local authority or regional level. Information on the number of complaints received nationally by the Agency is set out in the attached tables.

Since April 2006, as a result of the improvements to client service made under the Operational Improvement Plan the number of complaints received has fallen. In addition the Agency revised and simplified the complaints process from April 2007, removing a tier from the resolution process and introducing specialist case workers responsible for resolving all aspects of our clients' complaints.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency—number of complaints received by the Agency 2005 to 2007

2005-06

2006-07

Stage 1 complaints received1

38,004

29,279

Chief Executive Complaints

5,887

3,769

Treat Official Complaints2

1,278

998

MP Complaints

9,729

9,151

1 The agency operated a three tier complaints process throughout 2005-06 and 2006-07. In the year ending March 2006, 7,167 stage 1 complaints required escalation to resolve and 4,673 in year ending March 2007.

2 Treat official letters are those received by a Minister from a member of the public, and referred for initial consideration to an official of the agency.

Note:

Under the Operational Improvement Plan, the agency introduced a new complaints resolution process from April 2007. This simplified process has just two stages; the number of complains received for 2007-08 will be published in the agency's annual report and accounts.

Child Support Agency: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the running costs of the Child Support Agency were in each of the last 10 years. (185127)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the running costs of the Child Support Agency were in each of the last 10 years. [185127]

The information requested is provided in the attached table.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Child Support Agency’s running costs years 1997-98 to 2006-07

Financial year

£ million

1997-98

225.9

1998-99

231.2

1999-2000

266.7

2000-01

298.3

2001-02

361.9

2002-03

428.9

2003-04

451.6

2004-05

425.6

2005-06

465.2

2006-07

520.3

Notes:

1. All information from the 2005-06 and earlier years is sourced from the Child Support Agency Annual Report and Accounts.

2. In 2005-06 following National Audit Office advice the agency’s accounting, boundaries were changed resulting in the inclusion of Child Support Reform Programme costs in the Agency’s Annual Accounts. The 2005-06 accounts and the 2004-05 comparatives were changed accordingly. In line with this policy the table includes Child Support Reform costs from 1999-2000 onwards.

3. 2005-06 and 2006-07 includes investment for the Operational Improvement Plan.

Children: Maintenance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will break down the number of non-resident parents from whom the Child Support Agency is seeking to collect maintenance arrears by (a) age of their debt and (b) the amounts owed within each age of debt band. (181253)

The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter of the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 12 March 2008:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of Sate promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will break down the number of non-resident parents from whom the Child Support Agency is seeking to collect maintenance arrears by (a) age of their debt and (b) the amounts owed within each of debt age band.

The Agency reports the amount of outstanding debt in its Annual Report and Accounts, the latest version of which is held in the House of Commons library. The information requested is supplementary to that reported and therefore the additional analysis provided in the attached table does not include the provisions applied as a result of the annual debt analysis exercise within the Agency's accounts.

The original Child Support Computer System (CSCS) does not record the age of outstanding arrears. This means that the age of any debt accrued on that system including debt on cases subsequently migrated to the new computer system (CS2) can not be reported. The tables provided therefore are restricted to a breakdown of debt accrued on CS2, and summary totals for debt held on CSCS and for debt accrued on CSCS which has since been migrated from CSCS to CS2.

I hope you find this answer helpful.

Number of non resident parents with outstanding debt accrued on CS2, and amount of debt outstanding by age band: November 2007

Age of debt

Amount of debt outstanding (£ millions)

Number of non resident parents

0-3 Months

93

1411,900

3-6 Months

75

1306,400

6-9 Months

69

1282,100

9-12 Months

66

1260,300

12-18 Months

123

1271,100

18-24 Months

118

1239,200

24-36 months

202

1222,800

36-48 Months

158

1142,000

48 Months+

134

172,800

Total

1,038

1 Each non-resident parent may be included in several lines.

Number of non resident parents with outstanding debt migrated from CSCS to CS2 and amount of debt outstanding: November 2007

Amount of debt outstanding (£ millions)

622

Number of non resident parents

55,900

Number of non resident parents with outstanding debt on CSCS and amount of debt outstanding: November 2007

Amount of debt outstanding (£ millions)

2,125

Number of non resident parents

349,200

Notes:

1. A non resident parent has been recorded within each time band in which they have debt outstanding in e.g. if they have debt that is less than three months old, debt that is 3-6 months old, and debt that is 6-9 months old they will be counted in all three age bands. Therefore the number of NRPs given in the answer cannot be totalled to show the number of NRPs with outstanding debt.

2. If a NRP also has debt which has migrated from CSCS to CS2, they will be counted again in this category.

3. The number of NRPs has been rounded to the nearest hundred; the amount of outstanding debt has been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.

4. The Agency reports the amount of outstanding debt in its Annual Report and Accounts. The information set out in these tables is supplementary to that reported and therefore does not include the provisions applied as a result of the annual debt analysis exercise within the Agency's accounts.

5. The Agency conducts an annual debt analysis exercise to estimate the collectability of the amounts outstanding at the end of each year. The Agency estimates that of the £3.7 billion total debt outstanding at March 2007, £1.5 billion is classed as collectable.

Departmental Computer Software

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2008, Official Report, column 1012W, on departmental computer software, the source code of which software (a) is and (b) is not held in escrow. (192647)

The Department has 212 applications contracted for maintenance and support. Of these, source code for applications that are bespoke to DWP and considered mission critical, i.e. considered absolutely essential for the Department’s business, are held in escrow. These are list (a). Source code for applications that are not bespoke or considered mission critical are not currently held in escrow. These are list (b).

The information in lists (a) and (b) has been placed in the Library (Annex 1).

Homelessness: Departmental Coordination

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what policy co-ordination takes place between his Department and the Department for Communities and Local Government to ensure that the housing benefit system supports the Government's objectives on homelessness prevention. (190310)

The Department for Work and Pensions works closely with Communities and Local Government on a wide range of issues, including the impact of housing benefit (HB) policy on homelessness.

HB enables tenants to pay their rent when they are not working or are living on a low income. This helps to avoid households being evicted from their accommodation as a result of rent arrears and subsequently becoming homeless.

In November last year, the two departments signed a groundbreaking cross-departmental agreement to work together in partnership. The two departments agreed to focus on working together on a number of shared priority outcomes—to ensure full employment and reduced welfare dependency; make Britain a more equal society, promoting equality (including employment equality); reduce levels of poverty and social exclusion, particularly child poverty and poverty among older people; build strong, empowered local communities; tackle worklessness amongst social sector tenants and homeless people, and promote greater independence and well being in later life.

Prevention of homelessness has a key part to play in the achievement of these outcomes.

Housing Benefit

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment has been made of the likely effect of restricting the back-dating of (a) housing benefit and (b) pension credit on (i) homelessness, (ii) eviction levels and (iii) pensioner poverty. (190306)

Before any changes to pension credit, housing and council tax benefit are presented to Parliament we will complete a full equality impact assessment as we required to do by law in respect of disability, race and gender. This assessment will consider the likely impact on various client groups.

The results will be published and should be available in spring 2008. We will carefully consider the outcome of the assessment and determine what further action, if any, might be appropriate.

Income

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of UK households living below (i) 60 per cent., (ii) 50 per cent. and (iii) 40 per cent. of the median household income are eligible for, but not in receipt of, child maintenance payments; (185910)

(2) what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of children who are living in households below (i) 60 per cent., (ii) 50 per cent. and (iii) 40 per cent. of the median household income which are eligible for, but not in receipt of, child maintenance payments;

(3) how many households (a) where child maintenance is due but has not been paid and (b) where child maintenance arrears are owed, have incomes below (i) 60 per cent., (ii) 50 per cent. and (iii) 40 per cent. of the median household income.

The Family Resources Survey is used to identify households below the different poverty thresholds. However, it is not possible to identify those households eligible for child maintenance payments from the Family Resources Survey. Only those households where child maintenance is paid can be identified, and consequently the information requested is not available.

Income Support: Polygamy

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the internal departmental review on polygamy and income support. (191004)

The internal review took the form of a number of submissions to Ministers. Advice to Ministers on the development and formulation of Government policy is not made public.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to collect statistics on the number of (a) three person and (b) four person polygamous unions where the members are in receipt of income support. (191005)

No; the cost of collecting and analyzing such statistics would far outweigh their usefulness. Collecting information would require significant changes to the information technology system, and the way our staff record information.

Additionally, as current immigration rules make it very unlikely that new polygamous households could be formed in the UK, and have done so since 1988, we know that the number of such households must be decreasing over time.

Jobseeker's Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what factors account for the recent changes in the number of jobseeker’s allowance sanctions or disallowances; (192922)

(2) what guidance was issued to Jobcentre Plus in 2006-07 on the application of sanctions or disallowances; and what effect this has had on numbers of such sanctions or disallowances.

In his Budget report of 2006 the Chancellor announced a strengthening and refocusing of jobsearch reviews to make sure jobseeker’s allowance is paid only to people who are able to demonstrate they have undertaken their responsibilities to look for work.

Following that announcement, guidance was issued to Jobcentre Plus staff, stressing the importance of ensuring all contacts with people claiming jobseeker’s allowance include a discussion about what they have been doing to find work. Where this raises a doubt about the adequacy of their jobsearch, a Jobcentre Plus decision maker is obliged to consider whether jobseeker’s allowance is payable.

Following the issue of this guidance there has been an increase in associated sanctions and disallowances.

Pension Education Fund: Finance

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on the Pension Education Fund since the initial 26 contracts were awarded; what the duration of each of these contracts was; how much he estimates his Department will allocate to the Fund in each of the next 10 years; and how much was spent on the Fund in each year since its inception. (189831)

The total spend on the Pensions Education Fund to 31 January 2008 is £4.5 million.

The duration of each of the contracts is shown in the following table:

Organisation

Contract Period

Age Concern Birmingham

January 2006 to December 2007

Age Concern Camden

January 2006 to March 2008

Age Concern Ealing

January 2006 to March 2008

Age Concern England

January 2006 to March 2008

British Chambers of Commerce

January 2006 to March 2008

Campaign for Learning

January 2006 to March 2008

Community—the Union for Life

January 2006 to March 2008

CVS Northampton and County

January 2006 to March 2008

GFTU

January 2006 to March 2008

Golden Gates Housing

January 2006 to March 2008

Humber and Wolds Rural Community Council

January 2006 to March 2008

Life Academy

January 2006 to March 2008

NAPF

January 2006 to March 2008

NIACE

January 2006 to March2008

North Liverpool CAB

January 2006 to March 2008

Pakistan Pendle Welfare Association

January 2006 to March 2008

PRIME

January 2006 to March 2008

QED UK

January 2006 to March 2008

RNIB

January 2006 to March 2008

Royal Bath and West of England

January 2006 to March 2008

SAFE

January 2006 to March 2008

Sahara Communities Abroad

January 2006 to March 2008

Scottish Transport Credit Union

January 2006 to March 2008

TUC

January 2006 to March 2008

USDAW

January 2006 to March 2008

WEETU

January 2006 to March 2008

The Fund was established as an exploratory time bound initiative to develop and test innovative approaches to ensuring individuals, particularly those who are at risk of under saving, have impartial and accurate information on pensions and retirement planning to make an informed choice about the retirement income they want and how they can achieve it. The Fund has been independently evaluated and a report will be published in spring of this year. The lessons learnt and evaluation findings will form part of the evidence base underpinning the development of the information strategy for pensions reform and the introduction of automatic enrolment and personal accounts from 2012.

The spending in each financial year since the start of the Fund in January 2006 is shown in the following table:

Spend (£ million)

2005-06

1.2

2006-07

1.6

2007-08

12.0

1 Estimated end of year outturn.

Pensions

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many persons becoming entitled to state retirement pensions opted to defer their pension payments during the latest period for which figures are available; how many of them opted for (a) an increased weekly pension and (b) a lump sum; how many lump sum payments were delayed for over two weeks; and whether interest is payable in such cases. (187692)

Such information as is available is set out as follows.

In the 12 months to March 2007, there were a total of 50,800 people who successfully claimed either a lump sum or extra pension due in respect of a deferred state pension. This figure can be broken down further: 42,300 opted for an increased weekly pension, 4,300 opted for a lump sum payment only, and 4,100 opted to combine both increments and a lump sum.

The Pension Service has a policy to make payments as quickly as possible and does not have details of any payments subject to delays of more than two weeks. However, it is our policy that compensation in the form of interest is considered for any period of unnecessary or unreasonable delay beyond that for normal processing of the claim.

Notes:

1. Data are taken from 5 per cent. extract of PSCS , therefore figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall case load from the WPLS.

2. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest hundred, totals may not sum due to rounding

3. Includes overseas cases.

4. Figures include inherited increments and lump sums.

5. The option to take a lump sum was introduced in April 2006 but only for those deferring for a minimum of 12 months.

Poverty: Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what further steps his Department plans to take to tackle child poverty; and if he will make a statement. (192390)

The first Departmental Strategic Objective in our Three Year Business Plan, published on 28 February 2008, and available in the Library, is to reduce the number of children living in poverty. The focus will be on children living in workless households and children benefiting from child maintenance, particularly those living in low income households.

The Government are supporting families to escape poverty by increasing employment and raising incomes for those who can work; improving parents’ access to training in and out of work, and helping lone parents with older children prepare for and actively seek work. The rising trend of child poverty has already been halted; there are 600,000 fewer children living in relative poverty than in 1998-99. A further 300,000 children will be lifted out of poverty as a result of last year’s Budget and comprehensive spending review.

In December 2007, we published ‘Ready for Work: full employment in our generation’, which sets out the next phase of welfare reform. Lone parents who can work will be required to actively seek work, helped by a flexible system of pre-work and in-work support. This will commence for lone parents whose youngest child is 12 or over from October 2008, 10 or over from 2009, and seven or over from 2010. The Government also published the Children’s Plan in December 2007 which sets out policies and measures to improve children’s life chances and help to alleviate child poverty.

As a result of changes to the personal tax and benefit system since 1997, by April 2009, families with children in the poorest fifth of the population will be, on average, £4,000 a year better off in real terms.

The child element of Child Tax Credit will rise by £25 a year above earnings indexation in April 2008, in addition to the Budget 2007 commitment to increase the child element by £150, and it will rise by a further £25 above indexation in April 2010. The child maintenance disregard in the main income-related benefits will be doubled from £10 to £20 by the end of 2008, and doubled again from £20 to £40 in April 2010.

Compared to 2007-08, by 2010-11 the Government will be investing an additional £2 billion a year in public services to alleviate child poverty and break cycles of deprivation, including spending on child care, schooling in deprived areas, educational attainment, health inequalities, emotional well being, disabled children and school transport.

Social Security Benefits: Employment

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what barriers to work for benefit claimants his Department has identified; and how his Department defines barriers to work. (190308)

The Department does not have an official definition of a barrier to work. In operational terms, barriers are often considered to be those factors which research shows are highly correlated with long durations on benefit.

Those with the biggest barriers to work include:

older workers,

lone parents,

people with disabilities, and

long-term jobseeker’s allowance claimants.

Other groups facing significant barriers include:

refugees,

ex-offenders,

recovering drug users,

people with learning difficulties,

people of no fixed abode,

people on probation,

people leaving care, and

people in contact with secondary mental health services.

Former members of HM forces also often face considerable barriers to work. In many cases individuals will have more than one of these barriers influencing their ability to gain employment.

In addition, a key barrier to work is that many benefit claimants are not actually looking for work. An important part of the Government’s Welfare Reform policy is to incentivise and encourage claimants to actively return to the labour market.

The December 2007 report “Ready for work, full employment in our generation” and the January 2008 report “Ready to work, skilled for work: unlocking Britain’s talent” set out our plans to address many of these barriers. Having previously focused on specific groups with lower employment rates, and having been largely successful in raising them, the Government are now increasingly moving to an individualised, flexible approach to ensure as many people as possible have the support they need to get into, and stay, in work.

Social Security Benefits: Essex

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families received state benefits in excess of £15,000 in (a) Romford, (b) Essex and (c) Greater London in 2007. (181688)

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions into what categories his Department classifies types of benefit fraud. (185919)

The categories of benefit fraud used by DWP are listed in ‘Fraud and Error in the Benefits System October 2005 to September 2006’. Copies are available in the Library.