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Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what number and proportion of persons who have failed the all work test for incapacity benefit have registered for employment; [25807]
- (2) how many and what proportion of persons who have failed the all work test for incapacity benefit have subsequently become entitled to unemployed benefit.[25808]
Mr. Forth: I have been asked to reply.
Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Robert Horne to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 25 April 1996.
25 Apr 1996 : Column: 259
Ms Armstrong:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much is owed to his Department in overpayment of benefits; and how much his Department has had to write off in each of the last five years. [26799]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The amount owed to the Department due to the overpayment of benefits, as at the end of March 1996, is £462 million.
The amounts written off in each of the last five years are set out in the list:
Mr. Maclennan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress his Department has made towards obtaining a photocopying licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency to ensure compliance with copyright law. [26717]
Mr. Burt:
This Department is currently considering an approach from the copyright licensing agency to decide whether it is necessary to obtain a photocopying licence, and, if so, the basis for determining the fee payable.
Mr. Bradley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people found capable of work have subsequently signed on as unemployed for (a) February and (b) March 1996. [26367]
Mr. Forth:
I have been asked to reply.
Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Robert Horne to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 25 April 1996.
25 Apr 1996 : Column: 260
14. Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about Operation Bumblebee and Operation Eagle Eye. [25050]
Mr. Maclean:
Both operations are proving their worth. The commissioner tells me that the clear-up rate for domestic burglary has doubled and street robbery has fallen to 2,587, a drop of over 27 per cent.
15. Mr. Tipping:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has undertaken into the consistency of sentencing across different courts. [25052]
Mr. Maclean:
No specific research project has been undertaken on this topic. However, information on sentencing variations between courts is published annually and a new publication has recently been issued showing the variations graphically between magistrates' courts.
16. Mrs. Bridget Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the partnership approach to crime prevention. [25053]
Mr. Maclean:
Partnership in all its forms has made a significant contribution to the fight against crime in recent years. We remain firmly committed to the concept and will continue to do all we can to encourage it.
17. Mr. Sweeney:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he intends to take to ensure that sentences passed on persistent criminals more accurately reflect the time actually served in prison. [25054]
Mr. Maclean:
I believe that there should be greater honesty in sentencing. Accordingly, I propose that the present parole and early release arrangements should be abolished and the term served would match more closely the term of imprisonment imposed by the court.
18. Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from fire authorities during the past two months on their budgets for 1996-97; and if he will make a statement. [25055]
Mr. Sackville:
There has been a number of such representations. Responsibility for deciding what level of financial provision should be made available to fire brigades rests with the local fire authorities. They are obliged to set budgets which will enable them to comply with their statutory duties under the Fire Services Act 1947.
25 Apr 1996 : Column: 261
19 Mr. Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received on the impact of the measures contained in the Asylum and Immigration Bill on charities dealing with the destitute and homeless.[25056]
Miss Widdecombe:
We have received a number of representations expressing concern about the impact of the Bill's housing provisions. The Government consider it wrong that people who are present without valid leave or have been admitted on the basis that they will have no recourse to public funds should be able to claim housing assistance form local authorities. Clause 9 will enable that anomaly to be removed.
Mr. Loyden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the impact on the employment of members of ethnic minorities of the Asylum and Immigration Bill. [25059]
Miss Widdecombe:
We believe that the Asylum and Immigration Bill will improve the employment position of members of the ethnic minorities lawfully resident in the United Kingdom and entitled to work here. Illegal working damages them just as it does everyone else who is entitled to work here.
21. Mr. Waterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has evaluated as to the effectiveness of CCTV in combating crime. [25058]
Mr. Maclean:
My Department has published a number of research papers looking at various aspects of CCTV effectiveness as part of its series of crime prevention unit papers and the successor series of crime detection and prevention papers. The most recent of these--published on 29 December 1995--is paper number 68--"CCTV in Town Centres: Three Case Studies". Copies of all these papers are held in the Library.
23. Mrs. Anne Campbell:
To ask the Secrtary of State for the Home Department how many robberies were recorded in Cambridgeshire (a) in 1979 and (b) in 1995. [25061]
Mr. Maclean:
There were 46 offences of robbery recorded in Cambridgeshire in 1979 and 352 offences recorded in 1995.
24. Mr. Devlin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the trend in the incidence of recorded crime since 1993. [25062]
Mr. Maclean:
Recorded crime in England and Wales has been falling since 1993, with recorded crime in 1995 down 468,000 offences on 1992 levels. The recent falls have been nationwide, with 35 out of 43 police forces recording falls in 1995. This demonstrates that the police, along with law-abiding members of the community, can make a real difference in helping to prevent crime.
25 Apr 1996 : Column: 262
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me, in the absence of the Chief Executive, to reply to your questions about the number and proportion of persons who have failed the All Work Test have registered for employment and subsequently been entitled to unemployment benefit.
In the period April 1995 to February 1996, 84,518 people have been disallowed Incapacity Benefit (IB) following the All Work Test. In the same period, 33,454 (43%) disallowed IB following the All Work Test made a claim for unemployment benefits and thereby registered for employment. No figures are available as to whether these people proved to be entitled to unemployment benefit or whether they received Income Support instead.
I hope this is helpful.
1990-91: £51,573,000
1991-92: £63,404,000
1992-93: £77,914,000
1993-94: £92,743,000
1994-95: £107,887,000.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me, in the absence of the Chief Executive, to reply to your question about the number of people found capable of work under the All Work Test, who have subsequently signed on as unemployed in February and March 1996.
In the months of February and March 1996, 5,735 and 6,803 people respectively made a claim for unemployment benefits, having been disallowed Incapacity Benefit (IB) following the All Work Test.
I hope this is helpful.
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