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Nursery Education
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about future developments in the provision of nursery education.
Mr. Forth : I refer the hon. Member to the second of my replies to the hon. Member for Rochdale (Ms. Lynne) on 19 February at col. 416 .
Schools (Fundraising)
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make a statement about the amount of money raised by parents for schools in the last two years where figures are available.
Mr. Forth : Information on the amount of money raised by parents for schools is not collected centrally.
Education Inspectors
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many registered inspectors operating in the Office for Standards in Education have recent knowledge and experience of special education provision.
Mr. Forth : The registration of inspectors for the purpose of carrying out inspections under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 is a matter for Ofsted.
I have asked Professor Sutherland, the chief inspector, to write to the hon. Member.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Absent Parents
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much child support maintenance will be payable by an absent parent with one child aged under 11years, the child living with a parent who has not got a partner and is receiving £10 child benefit, if (a) the absent parent has a net income of £300 per week before paying superannuation contributions of £50 net, or (b) the absent parent is a member of a non-contributory pension scheme provided by his employer and receives a wage of £250 net per week, assuming housing costs are identical in both cases.
Mr. Burt : In order to provide the calculation it has been assumed, in each case, that the parent with care is in receipt of income support, and the absent parent lives alone and has housing costs of £40 per week. The amount of child support maintenance payable will be £79.55 for (a) and £73.30 for (b) .
The figures given are estimates for a specific set of circumstances and would be different if the level of earnings, superannuation contributions or the absent parent's housing costs were different.
Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the additional contribution required by the Child Support Agency for each £1 of additional income of an absent parent above the protected income level.
Mr. Burt : The assessed amount of maintenance an absent parent pays will increase by 90p for each £1 of
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additional income received while he is subject to the protected income provisions. Otherwise a deduction rate of 50p in the pound applies to assessable income until the maintenance requirement is met. A lower deduction rate of 25p in the pound applies to the balance of any assessable income remaining after the maintenance requirement is met.Pension Age
Mr. Ainger : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many members of the Social Security Advisory Committee which produced "Options for Equality in State Pension Age : A Case for Equalising at 65", were pensioners or retired people.
National Insurance Contributions (Avoidance)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make it his policy to take punitive action against companies which make bonus payments to staff in cocoa beans, gold bullion or other commodities to avoid national insurance contributions.
Miss Widdecombe : The question of avoidance is kept under careful review. Regulations were introduced in 1991, to extend national insurance liability to shares, unit trusts and other financial instruments. Further action to tighten the law may be taken at any time as and when it is necessary to do so.
From April 1993 employers may be liable to pay interest on any national insurance class 1 contributions which are not paid by the due date.
Pensioners
Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give an estimate of the trend in pensioners' real income since 1979.
Miss Widdecombe : Between 1979 and 1989 the total net average income of pensioner units increased, in real terms, by 30 per cent. before housing costs are taken into account and by 37 per cent. after housing costs. Both single pensioners and pensioner couples enjoyed increases in their real net incomes of 29 per cent. before housing costs and 33 per cent. and 36 per cent. respectively after housing costs are taken into account.
Source : Family Expenditure Survey 1989.
Note :
Pensioner units are defined as single people over state pension age and couples in which the husband is over state pension age.
Benefits Agency (Staff Transport)
Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the costs of the transport contract to carry his Department's staff from Leeds station to the Benefits Agency's head office at Quarry hill, Leeds.
Mr. Burt : The cost to the Benefits Agency is £424 a week.
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Disability Payments
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision he proposes in the period up to 31 March for those requiring assistance equivalent to that provided by the independent living fund up until 31December 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The provision of domiciliary care for all disabled people is a matter for local authorities and for my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health. However, as previously announced and subject to parliamentary approval, two new funds will come into existence on 1 April. The independent living (extension) fund will manage the existing ILF case load of some 21,000 disabled people and the independent living (1993) fund will, in co-operation with local authorities, provide extra cash help for some of the most severly disabled people.
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision he is making for those of pensionable age who require assistance equivalent to that provided by the independent living fund up to 31December ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : The provision of domiciliary care for all disabled people, including those of pensionable age, is a matter for local authorities and for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health.
Mr. Dewar : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what organisations representing the disabled will be invited to become trustees of the trust for the new independent living fund.
Mr. Scott : Mr. John Shepherd, an ex-financial director of Remploy, and Mr. Robin Wendt, secretary of the Association of County Councils, have been appointed as the first two trustees.
I am still considering further candidates for appointment as trustees of the independent living fund successor bodies. A full announcement will be made as soon as possible.
Mr. Tipping : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for an ex-gratia payment towards telephone expenses arising from delays in the Benefits Agency dealing with disability allowance claims have been made ; how many ex-gratia payments have been paid ; what is the maximum and minimum ex-gratia payment paid ; and how claimants are advised of the facility to claim an ex-gratia payment.
Mr. Scott : The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Paddy Tipping, dated 8 March 1993.
Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions raised about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking how many claims for an ex-gratia payment towards telephone expenses arising from delays in the Benefits Agency dealing with disability allowance claims have been made ; how many ex- gratia payments have been made ; what is the maximum and minimum ex-gratia payment paid ; and how claimants are advised of the facility to claim an ex -gratia payment.
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Up to 3 March 1993, 79 claims have been received for ex-gratia payments towards telephone expenses arising from delays in the Benefit Agency dealing with Disability Living Allowance claims. Forty-one such payments have been made and four requests have been refused. There are 34 claims presently being considered. The maximum ex- gratia payment made has been £116.24 and the minimum £4.33. Customers are not individually advised about the facility to claim ex- gratia payments, but there is advice within the Benefits Agency Customer Charter which advises what to do "If things go wrong". If the customer feels this to be applicable, contact with the Customer Service Manager is advised. The Benefits Agency Customer Charter was distributed to Welfare Organisations, other organisations representing customer interests, and to staff of the Benefits Agency. It is readily available from Disability Benefits Centres and District Offices.The DLAU has issued written instructions to its staff, detailing the procedures to be followed when a claim for an ex-gratia payment is received. These instructions were recently updated and circulated to staff. A reminder is to be issued to staff about the update in the near future.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the library.
EMPLOYMENT
Jobcentres
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will list all those constituencies which do not have a jobcentre within their boundary.
Mr. McLoughlin : Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Mr. John Battle, dated 9 March 1993.
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question about constituencies which do not have a Jobcentre within their boundary. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
Unfortunately the information you requested is not readily available, as the areas served by Jobcentres do not correspond with Parliamentary Constituencies. Therefore it will take some time to compile the details. However, I will reply fully to your question as soon as I receive the information.
As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Skills and Qualifications
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement giving the details of those policies which have been introduced by her Department in each of the last five years in order positively to encourage individuals to improve their skills and qualifications.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Government have taken a number of significant steps in the last five years to encourage individuals to improve their skills and qualifications.
These steps include : introduction of youth training and youth credits ; introduction of employment training and employment action which merge into training for work from 1 April 1993 ; continued rapid development of the
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system of national vocational qualifications and other measures to secure parity of esteem with academic qualifications ; and introduction of training and enterprise councils.Further details for each year can be found in the relevant departmental report.
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to meet representatives of the Engineering Employers Federation, the Confederation of British Industry or the Manufacturing and Construction Industries Alliance to discuss ways in which her policies can more effectively encourage individuals to improve their qualifications or skills.
Mr. McLoughlin : I will continue to hold frequent meetings with industry representatives to discuss policies relating to skills and qualifications, and the way individuals might make best use of them.
Industrial Relations Code
Mr. Clapham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when she plans to introduce a new code of good industrial relations practice in place of the one that was withdrawn in June 1990.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I have no such plans.
Training
Mr. Nicholas Winterton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make it her policy to encourage small and medium- sized employers to take on trainees by allowing them to offset the employment costs of those trainees against the employers' national insurance account ; and if she will make a statement.
Mr. McLoughlin : The Government keep their policies to stimulate employers to train under constant review. They already make a substantial contribution to the training costs of employers of all sizes through youth training and employment training.
Employers can also generally deduct the cost of training employees when calculating business profits for income and corporation tax purposes.
Training (Wales)
Mr. Fishburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will make a statement about the responsibility for training in Wales.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The Government will take further steps towards greater policy and financial devolution to Wales in the field of training. In particular, the determination of future public expenditure provision for training programmes in Wales will, from next year, become a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales.
The establishment of a network of training and enterprise councils in Wales has put a sharper focus on the economic demands of local areas, and this has ensured that training programmes are better tailored to local needs. In view of this, and in view of the creation of an integrated training, education and enterprise department in the Welsh Office, the Government believe that there is now greater scope for the separate determination of training policy for Wales. Accordingly, responsibility for
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determining training policy in Wales will be transferred to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales as from 1 April 1994, within the framework of the overall strategic priorities, initiatives and policies developed by myself, in consultation with colleagues and collectively agreed.ENVIRONMENT
Consultants
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many contracts for consultancies were awarded by his Department over (a) the last 12 months and (b) 1991-92.
Mr. Howard : My Department awarded 224 consultancy contracts in the financial year 1992-93--to the end of February--and 274 consultancy contracts in 1991-92.
Ms Mowlam : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the contracts awarded by his Department to (a) Coopers and Lybrand management consultants, (b) Touche Ross management consultants, (c) Price Waterhouse management consultants, (d) Ernst and Young management consultants, (e) Chrichton Roberts Ltd, (f) KPMG management consultants and (g) Leopold Joseph management consultants, with the total cost of the contracts with each contractor, for (i) the past 12 months and (ii) 1991- 92.
Mr. Howard : Coopers and Lybrand management consultants were awarded five contracts by my Department in 1991-92 and five to date in 1992-93. These were :
1991-92
Information Systems Division Study
Information Systems Division : Information Management Strategy Review
Business Analysis Studies of the Government Car Service and Internal Delivery Service
Property Holdings : Review of Special Services Group Security Furniture, Procedures and Systems
Works Bill Paying System and Invoicing
The total cost of these contracts was £1,593,000
1992-93
Review of Local Authority Recycling Plans
Information Systems Division Study Implementation
Implementation of Recommendations from Studies of the Government Car Service and Internal Delivery Service
Property Services Businesses : Finance Support, Contract Costing and New Payments Arrangements
Landfill Costs and Prices : Correcting Possible Market Distortions The total cost of these contracts was £1,035,362.
Touche-Ross Management Consultants were awarded five contracts by my Department in 1991-92 and two to date in 1992-93. These were : 1991-92
Framework for a system of Recycling Credits
Information Systems Division : Information Management Consultancy Planning Inspectorate : Accountancy Consultancy
The Links between MINIS, Line Management Systems and
Job-Descriptions.
Environment Policy Analysis
The total cost of these contracts was £121,940
1992-93
Registry Services : Advice to the Department of the Environment In-House Bid Team
HMIP Financial Management Review
The total cost of these contracts was £80,500
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Price Waterhouse Management Consultants were awarded four contracts by my Department in 1991-92 and two to date in 1992- 93. These were : 1991-92Resource Implications of Sections 149-151 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Dog-Control)
The Hulme Study
Empirical Study into Costs of Local Authority Housing Management Training Package on Accounting Software
The total cost of these contracts was £191,249
1992-93
Review of Rural Development Commission Business Advisory Services Recruitment of Head of DOE Accounting Services
The total cost of these contracts was £40,500
Ernst and Young Management Consultants were awarded four contracts by my Department in 1991-92 and three to date in 1992-93. These were :
1991-92
Planning Frameworks Call-Off Contract
1991 Population Census
Local Authority Statistics : Initial Options Study
Housing Revenue Account : Subsidy Payment System
The total cost of these contracts was £180,402
1992-93
New Computer System Operational Requirement
Property Services Businesses Special Services Group Business Analysis
Review of PSA Projects : Completion of Balance Sheets
The total cost of these contracts was £133,549
KPMG Management Consultants were awarded eight contracts by my Department in 1991-92 and four to date in 1992-93. These were : 1991-92
Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust : Finance Advice
Waltham Forest Housing Action Trust : Structure and Organisation Advice in relation to EC small combustion plants Directive Cost Assessment of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 Royal Parks Division : Management System
Property Holdings : Accounting for Portfolio Management Property Holdings Contract Costing System
Consultancy Assistance in relation to Part II of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
The cost of these contracts was £1,993,888
1992-93
Relocation of DOE HQ Staff in London
Planning Inspectorate Executive Agency Independent Business Advisor
DOE Re-Location : Consultancy on Advanced Office Support System Proposal for the Wirral Business Enterprise Centre
The cost of these contracts was £255,300
No contract has been awarded to Leopold Joseph Management Consultants or to Crichton Roberts Ltd. since 1 April 1991. All contract costs are exclusive of VAT.
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