To ask the Secretary of State for Transport after the emergency landing at Heathrow on 24 April 2004 by Boeing 747-132, registration N481 EV, whether the aircraft was boarded by any official from a UK agency; and whether the cargo was inspected. [64058]

The Boeing 747-132, call sign Evergreen, was diverted to Heathrow after encountering engine trouble on 24 April 2004. Only the police, immigration and customs officials have powers to board aircraft in situations such as this.

I am advised by my colleagues at the Home Office and Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs that neither immigration service nor customs officials boarded the Evergreen aircraft or inspected its cargo.

I understand that police at London Heathrow are searching their records to determine whether this aircraft was boarded by uniformed officers, but that this process can take some time. The Home Secretary has undertaken to write to the hon. Gentleman with the relevant information once these investigations have been completed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many air freight flights were recorded (a) to and (b) from (i) Heathrow, (ii) Gatwick and (iii) Stansted airports in each of the last five years; and what freight tonnage this represented in each case. [71350]

The number of cargo flights and freight tonnage recorded to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted for last five years are as follows:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2006, Official Report, column 1462W, on airports, how many of the near misses that were recorded over Northern Ireland airspace in each of the last five years related to flights into or out of (a) Belfast International, (b) Belfast City and (c) Londonderry airports. [70495]

During the five years from 2001 to 2005 inclusive seven Airprox incidents involving commercial air transport aircraft in airspace over Northern Ireland were reported to the UK Airprox Board for assessment. These can be broken down as follows.

All seven events were reviewed and categorised by the UK Airprox Board as being Category C (where no risk of collision existed). The Airprox reference number for each incident is given in the table. Final reports on each event are available, if required, on the UK Airprox Board's website at www.airproxboard.org.uk .

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the answer of 2 May 2006, Official Report, column 1462W, on airports, how many near misses were recorded in mainland Great Britain airports relating to flights departing from Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [70496]

During the five years from 2001 to 2005 inclusive there were nine Airprox incidents recorded over Great Britain relating to flights departing from airports in Northern Ireland.

These can be broken down by year as follows:

All nine events were reviewed by the UK Airprox Board. The Airprox reference number and risk category for each incident is given above. Of the nine incidents, two were categorised as "risk bearing" Airprox in which safety was not assured (a "risk bearing" Airprox is one that falls into category A or B). Final reports on each event are available, if required, on the UK Airprox Board's website at www.airproxboard.org.uk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the British Transport police authority on its financial management; whether he plans changes thereto; and if he will make a statement. [71555]

Ministers meet the chair of the British Transport police (BTP) authority as necessary to discuss issues affecting the BTP.

Since its establishment on 1 July 2004, the authority has provided funds to BTP to enable it to review and update its key central support systems, policies, and processes including risk management, business continuity, procurement, human resources and payroll.

As part of this review, BTP's finance department has been reorganised, restructured, and strengthened with the objective of improving financial management throughout BTP.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what action he is taking to improve the financial management arrangements of the executive agencies that report to his Department; and if he will make a statement. [71429]

holding answer 17 May 2006

Agency accounting officers are responsible for financial management under the terms of their agreed framework documents. The Department has taken a number of steps to co-ordinate and encourage improvement initiatives, including the establishment of a Group Finance Committee, a new shared services centre providing finance and human resources services for the whole organisation, and Group Internal Audit Assurances.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the European Union on China's involvement in the Galileo service. [71571]

There have been no discussions at ministerial level specifically about Chinese involvement. Officials at the Department for Transport regularly discuss the involvement of non-European Union countries, including China, in meetings with the Commission and other member states.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans his Department has to consult on the ending of mixed-mode landings and runway alternation at Heathrow; and if he will make a statement. [72187]

I refer to the statement made by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport my hon. Friend the Member for Halton (Derek Twigg) on 17 March 2006, Official Report, column 117WS.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much funding Staffordshire county council received from his Department (a) in total, (b) per mile of road and (c) per head of population in each year since 1997-98. [71227]

The following table shows the total funding allocated to Staffordshire county council in the local transport capital settlements between 1997-98 and 2005-06 (inclusive) in terms of totals, per mile of road, and per head of population.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings officials in his Department have had with representatives of the public relations company Portland PR; what contracts Portland PR has with his Department and agencies for which he has responsibility; and what the nature of the contract is in each case. [70043]

The Department does not maintain a central list of such meetings. Civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and business delivery. All such meetings are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code and Guidance for civil servants on contacts with lobbyists and people outside Government.

The Department does not currently have any contracts with Portland PR.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what opportunities exist for people to work beyond retirement age in his Department. [69086]

Currently departmental staff below the Senior Civil Service may retire up to the age of 65 or at any time from the date of their 60^(th) birthday.

The Department has the discretion, in exceptional circumstances, to invite staff to continue in service beyond the date on which they would normally retire if

this is the best way of meeting the Department's staffing needs;

recruitment and promotion arrangements will not be adversely affected;

they continue to meet the normal requirements of health, efficiency and conduct.

Any approvals will be for a specified period and subject to review. If staff are allowed to continue, they must retire if it is decided to give them notice of retirement. No employee may continue in service beyond the age of 70.

The Cabinet Office is responsible for setting the retirement age of staff in the Senior Civil Service. This is currently 60 unless the Department and the Cabinet Office allow them to stay longer.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the public expenditure per head of population for public transport was in each of the English regions in each of the last 10 years calculated on the same basis as HM Treasury's public expenditure statistical analysis for all transport expenditure. [69162]

holding answer 8 May 2006

The information requested on public expenditure for public transport is not collected centrally in the form requested. Information on the Department's identifiable expenditure by region per head for years from 2000-01 is published in the Department's Annual Report 2005 (Cm 6527), Table A8; and separate figures for local public transport and railways for 2003-04 in Table A9; but these do not include payments to local authorities or local authorities' own expenditure. Information on total transport identifiable expenditure per head, which includes local authority expenditure, is given in Table 8.11 of PESA 2005 for years from 1999-2000. Figures for earlier years are given in earlier PESA publications and DfT Annual Reports, although these are not strictly comparable due to changes in data coverage and classification changes.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport

(1) if he will list the train franchise contracts that have (a) protection, (b) partial protection and (c) no protection against loss of revenue from new open access operators over the course of the franchise; and if he will make a statement; [67269]

(2) what assessment he has made of the potential impact on their lines of the shortfall in premium payments to the Exchequer from train operating companies subject to open access operators; and if he will make a statement. [67482]

No train operator is explicitly provided with a guarantee or indemnity against loss of revenue arising from new open access operators.

The SRA did give certain protection to theTransPennine Express franchisee in 2003 in the event that SRA changed its policy of opposing an open access application which was under discussion at that time.

When proposals for new open access services are submitted to the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), the Department for Transport will routinely make an assessment of the financial impact that those services will have on the railway as a whole. These assessments are used to inform the Government response to any consultation that the ORR undertakes in relation to the proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the Government have altered their growth target for heavy rail; what implications the alteration has for future rail expansion and improvement plans; and if he will make a statement. [71556]

The Government set out their strategy for the railway in the Future of Rail White Paper published in July 2004. This new strategy is designed to control costs, improve reliability and deliver sufficient capacity to meet forecast demand.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether (a) he and (b) his officials discussed with Central Trains the cancellation of train services in the West Midlands on 18 December 2005; and if he will make a statement. [71895]

As part of the franchise management, regular discussions take place between Department for Transport officials and Central Trains, which has included the cancellation of train services in the West Midlands on 18 December 2005.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions search and rescue helicopters based at Sumburgh and Stornoway have been used for air ambulance evacuations in each of the last five years; and what charges have been made to the Scottish ambulance service for the service. [71906]

The following tables show for each of the last five financial years the number of occasions, the total hours and total amount invoiced when the air ambulance has been used. The amounts shown are where the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has invoiced the Scottish ambulance service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many road traffic accidents in 2005 resulted in the death of children of school age. [72611]

Information on personal injury road accidents reported to the police in 2005 is not available until first release on 29 June.

In 2004 (the latest year in which figures are available), there were 186 personal injury road accidents in Great Britain reported to the police involving death of one or more children aged five to 16.

To ask The Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate (a) the revenue implications and (b) the additional number of people who would pay tax if the capital gains tax threshold were reduced to (i) £1,000, (ii) £2,500 and (iii) £5,000; and if he will make a statement. [71659]

The total estimated yield on an accruals basis from abolishing Capital Gains Tax Annual Exempt Amount (AEA) for individuals and trusts in 2005-06 is published in Table A3.1 in the Budget Report 2006. This excludes any behavioural response to the tax change.

Estimate of the total yield on an accruals basis, and additional number of resultant taxpayers, from reducing the Capital Gains Tax AEA for individuals to (i) £1,000, (ii) £2,500 and (iii) £5,000 in 2006-07 are set out in the following table.

The figures are consistent with the assumptions made in Budget 2006 on future asset prices, and take into account the likely taxpayer behavioural responses to the tax change. The Annual Exempt Amount for Trusts is assumed to be half that of individuals.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury's statement in the debate on future EU finances and own reserves on 8 May 2006, Official Report, column 135W, if he will list the net UK contribution from all sources to the EU for each year of the current financial perspective and the projected contribution for each year of the next financial perspective. [70995]

I refer the hon. Member to footnote 3 of the amended table C11 (Total managed expenditure 2004-05 to 2007-08) in the 2006 Financial Statement and Budget Report for net contributions to the EU Budget 2004-05 (outturn), 2005-06 and 2006-07 (estimated projections).

For estimated net contributions to the EU budget over the next financial perspective I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 31 January 2006, Official Report, column 399W.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment has been made of the effect on public expenditure in the West Midlands region of immigration from EU accession countries since May 2004; and if he will make a statement. [71275]

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Peterborough (Mr. Jackson) on 12 May 2006, Official Report, column 619W.

The West Midlands region has received 6.8 per cent. of the total number of applications for income-related benefits made by nationals from the accession countries between May 2004 and December 2005.

To ask The Chancellor of the Exchequer what the revenue implications would be of (a) a 1p cut and (b) a 1p rise in the lower rate on (i) savings income and (ii) (A) the basic rate and (B) the higher rate of income tax for each year from 2006-07 to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [71658]

The latest information on expected yields from changing the lower rate on savings income, the basic rate and higher rates of income tax by 1p is available in Table 1.6 "Direct effects of illustrative tax changes" which is available on HM Revenue and Customs website;

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/1_6_apr06.xls

The information is for the years 2006-07 to 2008-09. Similar information for 2009-10 and 2010-11 is not available.

To ask The Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue implications of raising the inheritance tax threshold in line with house price inflation for each year to 2010-11; and if he will make a statement. [71656]

Raising the inheritance tax according to house price inflation assumptions, starting in 2007-08, would have the following effect on forecast revenue:

The house price inflation figures were obtained by assuming a constant house price to earnings ratio together with earnings growth consistent with the Treasury assumptions for trend growth.

In Budget 2006 the Chancellor announced that the inheritance tax threshold will continue to increase above expected statutory indexation for all years up to 2009-10, when it will reach £325,000.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the revenue implications for each year to 2010-11 of raising the inheritance tax threshold to £500,000; and if he will make a statement. [71657]

Raising the inheritance tax threshold to £500,000 with effect from 2007-08 would have the following effect on forecast revenue.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much financial assistance was provided by HM Revenue and Customs to voluntary organisations in the West Midlands region to assist the public on tax credit issues in each year in which such assistance has been provided. [71277]

Most financial support provided by HMRC has been targeted at national organisations. Although no funds have been specifically provided to voluntary organisations in the West Midlands, national campaigns have included support for the West Midlands.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he will resolve the tax credit case of Mrs. Charlotte Rosetti of Brixham following communication with his Department between 15 March 2004 and 30 March 2006; what the reasons are for the continued delay in resolving the case; and if he will make a statement. [71655]

HMRC replied to the hon. Gentleman's most recent letter on 16 May.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the likely total income in capital receipts from the sale of council housing under the right-to-buy scheme in 2005-06. [58667]

I have been asked to reply.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 May 2006, Official Report, columns 815-18W to my hon. Friend the Member for Great Grimsby(Mr. Mitchell).

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what funds were distributed to Coventry to increase efficiency in local government in each of the last three years. [70955]

holding answer 17 May 2006

Funding to support efficiency in local authorities is distributed to nine Regional Centres of Excellence (RCEs). Each RCE has its own local governance arrangements for supporting authorities across the region.

Funding for individual projects, many of which operate across local authority boundaries, is decided by the RCE Board. Since 2004-05, funding made available to the West Midlands RCE in relation to taking forward the Efficiency Agenda is as follows:

For 2005-06, the West Midlands Improvement Partnership was awarded a Capacity Building grant of £5.95 million from which Coventry will be able to access support. Capacity building funds are granted to support local authorities in their improvement activities and performance. The West Midlands RCE has joined the West Midlands Improvement Partnership to form the Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership. Local authorities in the region can access both RCE and CBF funds through the partnership.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the responsibilities of her Department are. [70581]

The Department for Communities and Local Government has responsibility for local government, housing and planning, social exclusion, neighbourhood renewal, communities, race, faith and equalities.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on the regionalisation of the fire service; and what the timetable is for the process. [70572]

We have no plans to regionalise the Fire and Rescue Service. As set out in the National Framework for the Fire and Rescue Service we believe in a regional approach where fire and rescue authorities work collaboratively in a way that will deliver the best possible service to the public. This approach is based on the National Framework for the Fire and Rescue Service which requires fire and rescue authorities to collaborate in six key areas of work through the regional management boards. Outside London, the regional management boards (RMBs) are responsible for delivering improvements in procurement, training, human resources, specialist services, regional control centres and resilience, through regional collaboration. Individual fire and rescue authorities (FRAs) in each region continue to be accountable for the day-to-day operation of their local fire and rescue service in line with their Integrated Risk Management Plan; and are accountable to their local electorates.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the number of people on the register for social housing in England in each year from 1979-80 to 2005-06; and if he will make a statement. [59346]

I have been asked to reply.

Information on the number of people on housing waiting lists in England is not collected centrally. The number of households on councils' housing waiting lists in England has been collected centrally only from 1986 onwards. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 17 May 2006, Official Report, columns 991-92W to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones).

There are wide variations in how often local authorities update their waiting lists, including how quickly they remove people from the list who no longer want social housing.

Local authority waiting lists are only a broad indicator of housing need and not everyone on the list will necessarily be in urgent housing need.

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will take steps to ensure that sports trusts operating services and facilities on behalf of local authorities are subject to the same rules in respect of public access to information as local authority leisure services departments. [67668]

I have been asked to reply.

We have no plans to extend the provisions relating to public access to local authority information to information held by non-local authority bodies.

Where services are operated on behalf of local authorities, information relating to the body operating those services may be open to inspection and inquiry by those authorities' overview and scrutiny committees, to whose meetings and documents public access is provided for under the Local Government Act 1972. In addition, many sports trusts have charitable status and will be subject to legislation relevant to charities, which includes provision for examination of accounts.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what financial value is used by the Atomic Energy Authority for a human life lost or saved in cost-benefit analysis of a proposed subject; and if he will make a statement. [71122]

holding answer 15 May 2006

UKAEA bases any cost benefit analysis on guidelines issued by the Health and Safety Executive (and its Nuclear Installations Inspectorate). These use a similar baseline figure to that recommended in the Treasury Green Book for the 'Value of a Prevented Fatality or Prevented Injury', of around £1.2 million. However, UKAEA also applies the ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) principle in setting dose levels for its employees. ALARP introduces a further factor of safety, and subject to the circumstances, this financial limit may be increased by a factor of between two to 10 if the proposed solution is judged by safety authorities to be reasonably practicable.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the amount of carbon dioxide created from (a) the mining of uranium, (b) ore milling, (c) uranium hexafluoride conversion, (d) fuel enrichment, (e) the making of fuel rods and (f) the treatment, transportation and deposition of nuclear waste. [70254]

In the context of the Energy Review, the DTI is considering a range of assessments covering the life cycle carbon emissions of generating electricity from nuclear power plants, including the recent analysis by the Sustainable Development Commission—"The role of nuclear power in a low carbon economy". We are aware of various external studies in this area, of which we are taking account.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support his Department is giving to the European Commission and the EU Space Agency Respond Programme within the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security Initiative; and if he will make a statement. [71041]

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has the policy lead in this area.

The DTI has taken a close interest in the RESPOND project within the European Space Agency (ESA) Earth Watch programme, Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) Service Element (GSE) and contributed 12mEuro in 2002 towards this element of the GMES programme. We will closely monitor the progress of RESPOND as the project develops.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much funding was transferred from the Guarantee's Fund into the miners' pension schemes and British Coal Special Superannuation Scheme in (a) 2003-04, (b) 2004-05 and (c) 2005-06. [71409]

Following completion of the September 2002 actuarial valuation of the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme (MPS) £355 million was transferred from the Scheme's Investment Reserve within the scheme's funds to make good a deficit in the Guaranteed Fund, from which members' guaranteed pensions are paid. Similarly, following completion of the March 2003 actuarial valuation of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) £220 million was transferred from the Investment Reserve to the Guaranteed Fund within that scheme. There have been no other such transfers since.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

(1) if he will consider linking cash in lieu arrangements under the National Concessionary Fuel Arrangements directly to the price of electricity and gas; [70941]

(2) whether he plans to review the arrangements for paying cash in lieu to former miners under the National Concessionary Fuel Arrangements to take account of recent increases in fuel costs. [70940]

holding answers 15 May 2006

There is a long standing agreement within the National Concessionary Fuel Scheme whereby former miners (and their widows) who receive cash in lieu of concessionary fuel will have their benefit increased every October in line with any increase in the Heating and Lighting element of the retail prices index for the 12 month period ending in the July of that year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he plans to meet officials of the National Union of Mineworkers to discuss his proposed changes to the concessionary fuel entitlement received by recipients under the present scheme. [69422]

I have recently written to the General Secretary of the Union agreeing to meet to discuss concessionary fuel issues.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 8 May 2006, Official Report, column 54W, on the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation Fund, if he will summarise the legal argument which led him to agree with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in October 2004, that funds in the Non-Fossil Fuel Obligation Fund were hereditary revenues of the Crown. [70309]

Legal advice from the Treasury is that the funds representing the element of the NFFO surplus referred to in my answer of 8 May are hereditary revenues and so are required by law to be paid into the Consolidated Fund. As indicated in my answer of 8 May 2006, Official Report, column 54W, the legal advice in question is confidential and subject to legal professional privilege. It would therefore not be appropriate to provide details of the legal advice.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

(1) when his Department first became aware of the possible implications that the proposed EU Directives on Restriction of Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment might have for organ building in the United Kingdom; [70975]

(2) when his Department first received representations on the concerns of organ builders about the implementation of the proposed EU Directives on Restriction of Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment; [70976]

(3) what discussions with representatives of organ builders in the United Kingdom his Department initiated on the implications of the proposed EU Directives on Restriction of Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment for organ building in the United Kingdom; and when the first discussions took place; [70977]

(4) what discussions he has had with his (a) Danish and (b) German counterparts on the implications of the proposed EU Directives on Restriction of Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment for organ builders; [70978]

(5) on what date his Department first raised with the European Commission concerns of United Kingdom organ builders regarding the proposed EU Directives on Restriction of Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. [70979]

The Department has been working with the pipe organ industry for some time and will continue to do so in order to secure a favourable outcome on this issue.

The UK Government do not consider that pipe organs fall within the scope of this Directive, a view widely accepted across Europe. The DTI is working closely with the European Commission and other EU member states to obtain agreement at a European level. Our aim is to reach a successful conclusion before the Directive comes into force on the 1 July.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will place in the Library copies of the correspondence between his Department and (a) the European Commission and (b) representatives of organ builders on the effects on organ building in the United Kingdom of the proposed EU Directives on Restriction of Hazardous Substances and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. [70980]

Yes. As requested, I have made arrangement to place copies of the relevant correspondence since the Institute of British Organ Building's campaign on this issue was initiated.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry

(1) when he expects the sixth report of the energy security of supply working Group to be published; and if he will make a statement; [68085]

(2) whether he expects the energy security of supply working group to continue to report on a twice yearly basis; [68086]

holding answer 3 May 2006

The sixth report of the Joint Energy Security of Supply (JESS) working group was published on Tuesday 16 May.

As of last year the Secretary of State's report to Parliament on security of gas and electricity supply as provided for under section 172 of the Energy Act 2003 replaced one of the two bi-annual JESS reports. The Department will be laying before the House the Secretary of State's second Annual Report to Parliament later in the year.

The JESS working group will be looking this year at how best to take forward its reporting responsibilities in the light of feedback from users of its reports and the introduction of the Secretary of State's Annual Report.

To ask the Prime Minister in what circumstances the Minister for Europe will attend Cabinet; and if he will make a statement. [71854]

I refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by my official spokesman on 8 May, a copy of which is available on the No. 10 website.

To ask the Prime Minister how much has been received from (a) the ITV group, (b) Sky, (c) the BBC and (d) non-UK based television companies in payment for airfares for journalists accompanying him on overseas trips in each of the last five years. [71746]

The information is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on the Knowledge Network in each year since 1997. [72026]

The costs of the Knowledge Network for each financial year since its inception in 1999 are shown in the table.

Up until 2003-04 the Cabinet Office funded the development and operational costs; since that time the Cabinet Office has recovered the majority of the costs from those government departments who are key users of the service.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children attending (a) primary and (b) secondary schools in (i) Southend-on-Sea, (ii) Essex, (iii) each local authority in Hertfordshire and (iv) England received free school meals in each year since 1990; and what estimate he has made of the number of children who will receive free school meals for each of the next five years. [69623]

The available information is shown in the table.

Information on school meals is only available on a consistent basis from 1993 onwards and has also been affected by local government reorganisation since then.

The Department does not produce projected numbers of pupils who will be in receipt of free school meals in the future.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many whole-time equivalentstaff there were in each (a) (i) customer-facing and (ii) benefit-processing district and (b) call centre (A) before customer management service (CMS) was implemented and (B) after full or partial CMS implementation. [69577]

holding answer 11 May 2006

The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Lesley Strathie:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many whole time equivalent staff there were in each (a) (i) customer facing and (ii) benefit processing district and (b) call centre (A) before Customer Management Service (CMS) and (B) after full or partial CMS implementation. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

Our staffing information is not held in a format that allows any specific distinction between customer facing and benefit processing functions, as the majority of our benefit delivery staff have regular contact with customers.

I attach a table which provides a breakdown of the number of Full Time Equivalent staff for the period ending 30 September 2003, immediately prior to the commencement of implementation of CMS in October 2003, and in March 2006. It differentiates between Jobcentres (including Jobcentre Plus offices), Social Security Offices and Contact Centres. The data includes some Districts for which Jobcentre Plus implementation is not yet complete.

A number of factors have contributed to the changes in staffing volumes over the period, including progress towards the Government's efficiency challenge. The implementation of Jobcentre Plus introduces significant process changes, such as the introduction of work-focussed interventions for all new claims, which attracts additional resource in Jobcentres, but also some transfer of new claims work to Contact Centres. Comparisons of staffing numbers pre and post CMS implementation cannot therefore be directly attributable only to the introduction of the new information technology.

I hope this is helpful.