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TRANSPORT
Detective Agencies
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will give the latest cost of using detective agencies in connection with road building schemes in the last five financial years; and what has been the cost in respect of each scheme.
Mr. Watts: This is an operational matter for the Highways Agency. The cost to date, encompassing the last five financial years, is £563,450. The expenditure on individual schemes is as follows:
|£
----------------------------------------------------
M3 Bar End-Compton |267,000
A12 Hackney Wick M11 link |185,000
A4/A46 Batheaston/Swainswick bypass |109,000
A11 Besthorpe-Wymindham |450
M65 Blackburn southern bypass |2,000
Rail Privatisation
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has yet received either (a) an oral or (b) a written agreement from any City of London institution that it will support the privatisation of Railtrack; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Watts: Marketing of shares in Railtrack has not yet commenced and expressions of interest from investors have not been sought.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those items of expenditure and receipts, included under the heading "UR/EPs" in the table accompanying his Department's press notice No. 457, issued on 29 November, which are not included under the heading "Union Railways" in table 1.1 in his Department's Transport Report 1994, Cm 2506, and vice versa.
Mr. Watts: The external finance for UR/EPs set out in the table accompanying the Department's press notice No. 457 now includes provision for European Passenger Services Ltd. EPSL became a separate
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Government-owned company in May 1994, before which it was part of British Rail.Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) if he will update the figure in tables 1.1 and 5.1 of his Department's Transport Report 1994, Cm 2506, to take account of the revised expenditure totals outlined in his Department's press notice, No. 457, issued on 29 November; and if he will show the revised figures alongside the original figures;
(2) if he will update the figures in tables 5.3 and 5.4 of his Department's Transport Report 1994, Cm 2506; and if he will add columns for 1995 96 plans to these updated tables, to take account of the revised expenditure totals outlined in his Department's press notice No. 457, issued on 29 November.
Mr. Watts: The Transport Report 1995 will contain details of the expenditure plans announced in press notice No. 457 on 29 November.
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those items of expenditure and receipts, included under the heading "other railway related" in table 1.1 in his Department's Transport Report 1994, Cm 2506; and under what heading these items appear in the table accompanying his Department's press notice No. 457, issued on 29 November.
Mr. Watts : Those items of expenditure included in table 1.1 of the Transport Report 1994 under the heading "other railway related "are listed in table 5.1. These items are included in the table accompanying the Department's press notice No. 457 under the heading, "other departmental programmes and services".
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
Crown Prosecution Service
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Attorney-General what plans he has to disband the Crown Prosecution Service and put the provision of prosecution solicitors out to competitive tender and provide for payment by results.
The Attorney-General: As I announced to the House on 27 April 1994, Official Report, column 234, all my departments are considering the question of prior options and the possibility of agency status. In line with general Government policy, these questions involve consideration of privatisation, contracting out and market testing, but no decisions have yet been made. An inter-departmental group of officials including representatives of the Home Office, the Lord Chancellor's Department, the Treasury and the Office of Public Service and Science are at present examining these options and the possibility of agency status in respect of both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office.
I expect the group to report to me around the end of the year and that I should then consult ministerial colleagues with the intention of reaching decisions in the earlier part of next year.
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SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits Agency (Wales)
Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will estimate the cost of the proposed reorganisation and reduction in number of district benefit offices in Wales; (2) whether in the proposed reorganisation of the Benefits Agency in Wales (a) any public outlet will close and (b) a full service will continue to be given at each outlet.
Mr. Roger Evans: The structure and operation of the Benefits Agency in Wales are matters for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member. Letter from Michael Bichard to Dr. John Marek, dated 1 December 1994:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about reorganisation of the Benefits Agency (BA) in Wales.
The latest estimated costs attributable to the reorganisation of BA Districts in Wales is £277,400. In addition, the estimated cost of services provided by the Information Technology Services Agency is £303,800. These latter notional costs are subsumed within a fixed service charge for planned mainframe computer service provision. Resulting savings in management and administrative costs arising from economies of scale will be redirected to enhance service provision to our customers. The estimated resource which will be available for reinvestment as a result of the reorganisation is £700,000 year on year.
No offices will close as a result of the reorganisation of District boundaries in Wales, nor will there be any reduction in the standard of service provided. Indeed, the redirecting of resources saved will enhance the service already provided.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what factors led the Benefits Agency to give notice to Property Holdings that it intends to vacate all the offices it presently occupies in Clwyd.
Mr. Roger Evans: The structure and operation of the Benefits Agency in Wales are matters for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member. Letter from Michael Bichard to Dr. John Marek, dated 1 December 1994:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the factors that led to the Benefits Agency giving notice to Property Holdings to vacate all the offices it presently occupies in Clwyd.
As part of its ongoing Estates Strategy, the Benefits Agency keeps the need for maintaining all of its accommodation under regular scrutiny. Local management in Clwyd are considering customer service delivery issues across all offices presently occupied as part of the ongoing business requirement.
The main factor to be considered in respect of future business needs for accommodation is the requirement to ensure that accommodation matches need and that there is no unnecessary and wasteful expenditure on public funds on unsuitable, excessively costed, or overspaced buildings. It is considered essential that full value for money is obtained in delivering the best possible service. A further factor of great importance is the requirement to deliver a One Stop Service to our customers.
Initial research in Clwyd has shown that the amount of accommodation exceeds needs, although no decisions have yet been taken regarding which, if any, accommodation will be vacated and which will be retained. In view of the duration of notice periods required, to ensure that as many options are kept open as possible, and as a precautionary measure to protect public funds, Property
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Holdings were initially advised that all properties were to be vacated. Discussions are still on-going and clearly not all properties will be vacated and some properties may be replaced by more suitable ones.I can assure you that whatever conclusions are reached the prime consideration will be to ensure that customer service outlets are retained in all the current locations in Clwyd and wherever possible the service will be enhanced.
I have arranged for the District Manager to let you know when decisions are reached.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Child Support
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many parents with care in receipt of income support at each child support agency reporting centre have received reduced maintenance payments as a result of changes to the maintenance arrangements which came into force on 7 February 1994;
(2) how many parents with care not in receipt of benefit at each Child Support Agency reporting centre have received reduced maintenance payments as a result of changes to the maintenance arrangements which came into force on 7 February 1994;
(3) how many parents with care in receipt of family credit at each Child Support Agency reporting centre have received reduced maintenance payments as a result of changes to the maintenance arrangements which came into force on 7 February 1994;
(4) what is the average reduction in child maintenance payments made as a result of the changes to the maintenance arrangements which came into force on 7 February 1994.
Mr. Burt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Adam Ingram, dated 2 December 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security concerning the effects of the changes to maintenance arrangements which came into force on 7 February 1994.
The Agency only keeps details of the total number maintenance assessments that were reduced. Information showing the number of assessments reduced following computerised reassessment of the Agency's Great Britain caseload is shown in the table below.
Maintenance reduced by more than £1 following automated
reassessment
|Maintenance
|assessments reduced
CSAC |by more than £1
------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast |5,219
Birkenhead |5,806
Dudley |7,799
Falkirk |6,299
Hastings |4,474
Plymouth |5,586
Total |35,183
The average reduction in maintenance, based on the cases which were automatically reassessed and where the assessment actually changes, is £9.00 a week.
In a further 4,000 cases, maintenance was not reduced at this stage as the change was less than £1. Another 2,062 cases had maintenance reduced following a clerical reassessment. Also, as at
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30 April 1994, 1,031 absent parents had successfully applied for transitional protection. It is not a requirement of the Agency to record specific information by client group on clients who had their maintenance reduced.I hope that this reply is helpful.
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many maintenance application forms have been returned to each Child Support Agency area reporting centre to date (a) from parents with care in receipt of income support, (b) from parents with care in receipt of family credit, (c) from parents with care in receipt of disability working allowance and (d) from parents with care not on benefit;
(2) how many non-custodial parents at each Child Support Agency reporting centre have (a) been issued with a maintenance inquiry form, (b) returned a maintenance inquiry form, (c) been assessed to pay maintenance and (d) actually paid any maintenance either to the Child Support Agency or direct to the parent with care; (3) how many maintenance application forms have been issued by each Child Support Agency reporting centre to date (a) to parents with care in receipt of income support, (b) to parents with care in receipt of family credit, (c) to parents with care in receipt of disability working allowance and (d) to parents with care not on benefit.
Mr. Burt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Adam Ingram, dated 2 December 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about maintenance application forms and maintenance enquiry forms.
I am unable to provide you with all the information you require. The information available is shown below.
Maintenance application forms issued to September 1994
|Parents with
|care in receipt |Parents with
|Parents with |of family |care not in
|care in receipt |credit/disability|receipt of a
Child Support |of income |working |prescribed
Agency centre |support |allowance<1> |benefit
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast |33,508 |4,064 |1,481
Birkenhead |25,687 |10,464 |682
Dudley |24,502 |6,796 |500
Falkirk |29,029 |26,254 |397
Hastings |26,836 |6,017 |1,160
Plymouth |25,855 |8,185 |382
1993-94<2> |604,565 |61,880 |4,602
Total |769,982 |285,677 |24,351
<1> Family credit and disability working allowance (DWA) figures are aggregated as DWA
clients represent only 0.01 per cent. of the total number of the Agency's clients.
<2> Figures for 1993-94 are not available broken down by CSAC.
Maintenance applications forms returned to the end of
September 1994<1>
|Number
Child support agency |returned
centre
---------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast |31,355
Birkenhead |25,297
Dudley |23,570
Falkirk |30,738
Hastings |22,261
Plymouth |23,945
1993-94<2> |628,531
Total |785,697
<1> A breakdown of these figures by client group is not
available.
<2> Figures for 1993-94 are not available broken down by CSAC.
Maintenance Enquiry Forms issued and returned to the end of September 1994 CSAC |MEFs Issued |MEFs returned --------------------------------------------------------- Belfast |30,599 |23,037 Birkenhead |25,371 |17,964 Dudley |23,737 |15,516 Falkirk |26,651 |17,690 Hastings |23,765 |15,752 Plymouth |24,635 |15,706 1993-94<1> <2> |459,905 |297,997 Total |614,663 |403,661 <1>Breakdown of these figures by client group is not available. <2>Figures for 1993-94 are not available broken down by CSAC.
Figures on the number of absent parents who have been assessed to pay and those who are actually paying maintenance are currently being collated; there is no business need for the Agency to collate them in the form you requested. I shall write to you further when the figures are available.
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many parents with care at each Child Support Agency reporting centre have (a) had a reduced benefit direction served against them and (b) suffered a benefit penalty.
Mr. Burt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Adam Ingram, dated 2 December 1994 : I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of reduced benefit directions issued and implemented.
Figures for the number of reduced benefit directions issued are given below. All but 627 of these have been issued since April 1994. Figures are not available for the number implemented.
*
CSAC |Number issued
------------------------------------------
Belfast |744
Birkenhead |1,204
Dudley |995
Falkirk |2,774
Hastings |678
Plymouth |1,302
Total |7,697
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many non-custodial parents at each Child Support Agency reporting centre have (a) had deductions made from income support, (b) had wage arrestments made against them and (c) actually had their wages arrested.
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Mr. Burt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr Adam Ingram, dated 2 December 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about enforcement action taken against absent parents by the Child Support Agency.
Since the Agency's launch an estimated 31,000 absent parents have had child maintenance deducted from their benefit.
In 1993 94, 2,600 deduction from earnings orders (DEO) were issued. The information for this period was collected on a national basis only and is not broken down by Child Support Agency Centre. Figures for DEOs issued from April 1994 to September 1994 are shown below:
DEO's |Number ------------------------- Belfast |2,006 Birkenhead |1,981 Dudley |1,296 Falkirk |2,162 Hastings |2,323 Plymouth |1,702 Details of the number of DEO's implemented are not required as part of the Agency's business requirements and are not collected.
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average maintenance payment at each Child Support Agency reporting centre.
Mr. Burt: The administration of Child Support Agency is a matter for Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. Adam Ingram, dated 2 December 1994: I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the average maintenance payment at each Child Support Agency Centre.
Collection of data on the average amount of maintenance paid is not required to support the business needs of the Agency, and is consequently not collected by it, however the DSS conducts sampling exercises from time to time and at the end of October the national average weekly child maintenance liability is £44 a week.
Mustard Gas
Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pension awards have been made in recognition of disablement resulting from exposure to mustard gas during national service.
Mr. Arbuthnot: War pensions are payable for any disablement that is due to service in the armed forces, including national service. However, information relating to awards--if any--arising from exposure to mustard gas during national service is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Incapacity Assessment Panel
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether, in seeking the agreement of members of the panel on assessment of incapacity to publication of their names as mentioned in his answer of 3 November, Official Report, column 1377, he informed them of the statements made by the Minister for Social Security and Disabled People (a) in a written answer on 20 January 1994, Official Report, column 802, that the report on the proposed medical test would include the membership of
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the panel and (b) to Standing Committee E on 1 February 1994, that their names would be publicly available.Mr. Hague: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him on 25 November, Official Report, column 421.
EMPLOYMENT
Training
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what has been the total training budget in each of the last 10 years in (a) cash terms and (b) real terms;
(2) what was the total amount spent on training in each of the last 10 years; and what that figure represents per unemployed person.
Mr. Paice: The table shows expenditure on the Department's training and education programmes:
£ million
Year |Cash |Real
--------------------------
1984-85 |1,171|1,942
1985-86 |1,289|2,025
1986-87 |1,474|2,250
1987-88 |1,650|2,391
1988-89 |2,044|2,776
1989-90 |2,606|3,309
1990-91 |2,463|2,894
1991-92 |1,995|2,205
1992-93 |1,683|1,790
1993-94 |1,910|1,967
Notes:
Expenditure up to and
including 1990-91 is for
Great Britain.
Expenditure in 1991-92 is
England/Wales and
expenditure from 1992-93
is England only.
Real terms figures are at
1994-95 levels.
Mr. Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the amount spent on training by
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his Department per unemployed person in each of the last 10 years.Mr. Paice: The information requested is shown in the table:
|Real Terms
|(1994-95
|Amount |Prices)
Year |£ |£
--------------------------------------------
1984-85 |110 |180
1985-86 |140 |220
1986-87 |180 |280
1987-88 |220 |320
1988-89 |480 |650
1989-90 |980 |1,240
1990-91 |950 |1,120
1991-92 |560 |620
1992-93 |430 |460
Notes:
1. Expenditure up to and including 1990-91
is for Great Britain. Expenditure in
1991-92 is England/Wales and expenditure
from 1992-93 is England only.
2. The amounts are a crude calculation
which takes the total amount spent on
training, education and administrative
costs and divides that by the average
number of unemployed people aged 18 and
over.
3. For consistency, expenditure on youth
programmes has been excluded from the
calculations.
4. Employment measures and labour market
services are excluded from the
calculations.
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many weeks training were (a) offered and (b) undertaken in respect of (1) employment training, and (2) youth training by training and enterprise councils in Lincolnshire and Humberside in the last year for which figures were available; what element of this was provided by (i) a further education college, (ii) any other public sector college, (iii) an outside training provider and (iv) an employer, or prospective employer.
Mr. Paice: The information requested on training weeks offered and undertaken is shown in the table and relates to 1993-94. Information on training providers is not available.
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Youth training Training for work
TWs TWs
|Offered |Undertaken|Offered |Undertaken
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lincolnshire TEC |209,998 |204,945 |<1>- |91,057
Humberside TEC |324,575 |303,099 |149,625 |147,500
<1> In April 1993 Lincolnshire TEC became a training for work funding
pilot and was contracted to deliver output only and not training weeks.
Prior Options Review Group
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment which consultants have been engaged by the prior options review group; at what cost; and when they will report.
Miss Widdecombe: As part of the review, and following a competitive tendering process, Ernst and Young were commissioned to carry out a detailed examination of the potential and existing external markets in relation to the delivery of the services under review. They reported their findings on 28 October 1994. The cost for this research is commercial in confidence.
Employment Service (Deptford)
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many permanent staff employed by the
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Employment Service covering the parliamentary constituency of Lewisham, Deptford have been instructed to take unpaid leave or work shorter hours; for what reasons; and if he is able to estimate the impact on the time taken to process applications and appeals.Ms Widdecombe: 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 Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 2 December 1994:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about the number of permanent staff employed by the Employment Service (ES) covering the parliamentary constituency of Lewisham,
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Deptford instructed to take unpaid leave or to work shorter hours, for what reasons and the time taken to process applications and appeals.The exercise you refer to is an entirely voluntary one. A note has been circulated to all staff within the London and South East Region which sets out our current staffing position in an open and honest manner and offers staff the opportunity to take special unpaid leave or to shorten their hours should they wish to do so. No pressure has been placed on any staff member to take up either of these options. Nor will it be.
Staff wishing to take leave or shorten working hours have been asked to complete a simple stencil, setting out the period of leave or hours preferred. These stencils are returned by the individual directly to a central point within the Region. Due to the simple design of the stencil, it is anticipated that applications can be cleared speedily, and certainly each form should not take no more than a few minutes to action.
Unemployment has fallen by almost 14% within London and the South East over the last twelve months, and by almost 30% in a number of Travel To Work Areas within the Region. Three quarters of ES staff are directly employed in the payment of unemployment benefit. Obviously, lower levels of unemployment mean that fewer staff are required. The offer of unpaid leave and shortened hours is one way in which we can ensure that we are not using more staff time than is required to deliver our service. We very much hope that voluntary measures of this kind will suffice since the alternatives, of reducing overall numbers, would obviously be less attractive to staff concerned. Employing more staff than are required to deliver our services would not be good value for money.
Deptford Employment Service Jobcentre is the only ES office which falls within the boundaries of the constituency of Lewisham Deptford. The Deptford office currently employs 39 permanent staff. As of 29 November, no -one from the Deptford office had applied for either special leave or shortened hours.
I hope this is helpful.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many casual staff are currently employed by the Employment Service covering the parliamentary constituency of Lewisham, Deptford; and what intention there is to cut back on their numbers before the end of the financial year otherwise than to replace them with permanent staff.
Miss Widdecombe: 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 Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 2 December 1994:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about how many casual staff are currently employed by the Employment Service (ES) covering the parliamentary constituency of Lewisham, Deptford and what intention there is to cut back on their numbers before the end of the financial year otherwise than to replace them with permanent staff.
Deptford Employment Service Jobcentre is the only ES office which falls within the boundaries of the constituency of Lewisham, Deptford. The Deptford office currently employs 39 permanent staff. There are no casual staff employed at the office.
I hope this is helpful.
Remploy
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what targets Remploy has been set in its 1994 95 annual performance agreement.
Miss Widdecombe: I have written to the chairman of Remploy approving the 1994 95 annual performance agreement between the Department and the Company. This agreement covers the year from 1 April 1994. It has been negotiated by the chief executive of the Employment
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Service, on behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. The targets are:the average number of disabled people employed by Remploy Ltd. will be at least 8,900;
of which no more than 7,450 on average must be employed in factories;
at least 74 disabled employees will move from Remploy factories to Interwork having been employed there for at least one year, or from Interwork or factories to open employment;
the unit cost of Interwork should be no more than the supported employment voluntary maximum grant or £4,420;
Remploy Ltd. will keep within a unit cost target or operating deficit per disabled worker of £9,650;
Choices programme to be in place in at least 50 factories by the end of March 1995.
I have today arranged for the text of the annual performance agreement to be placed in the Library.
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