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Agricultural Schemes

Mr. Tyler: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list, for each of his Department's regions, the annual expenditure figures and forecasts for (a) countryside access schemes, (b) countryside stewardships, (c) environmentally sensitive areas, (d) farm and conservations grant schemes, (e) farm woodland premium schemes, (f) habitat schemes, (g) nitrate sensitive areas, (h) moorland schemes and (i) organic aid schemes for each year between 1990-91 and 1998-99. [33995]

Mr. Boswell [holding answer 24 June 1996]: The following table provides the information. For the farm and conservation grant scheme, I am able to provide the expenditure by region for the years 1989-90 to 1995-96. The information for the other schemes is not available on a regional basis.

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Expenditure under the farm and conservation grant scheme£ million

RSC	1989-90	1990-91	1991-92	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96
Carlisle	930,712.42	3,416,402.65	5,153,773.52	5,808,194.55	5,225,671.53	3,584,591.38	1,117,503.12
Northallerton	729,074.65	2,436,188.82	3,089,841.60	3,472,513.95	3,441,871.56	2,420,960.29	707,016.71
Nottingham	309,858.18	1,252,212.67	2,312,156.01	2,623,115.86	2,245,973.29	2,028,193.54	362,502.62
Crewe	1,381,944.28	4,724,433.39	4,485,964.49	3,539,527.75	3,490,007.55	2,355,242.39	539,425.15
Worcester	294,446.63	1,132,565.32	1,595,510.41	1,790,880.27	1,870,610.96	1,599,068.10	567,512.07
Cambridge	111,553.45	1,169,139.03	1,773,753.49	1,114,898.57	2,122,048.08	1,473,366.89	248,465.90
Exeter	1,171,665.66	3,450,144.86	4,688,883.51	4,707,142.13	4,415,658.10	2,915,124.83	1,059,472.23
Bristol	735,502.15	3,604,221.61	4,030,773.69	2,773,918.95	3,244,641.75	2,581,489.12	504,487.32
Reading	1,098,557.10	5,546,704.59	8,682,085.83	7,872,902.63	8,457,562.66	2,099,720.70	518,573.88
Total	6,763,314.52	26,732,012.94	35,812,742.55	33,703,094.66	29,288,373.95	21,057,757.24	5,624,959.36

(27) Records for this financial year have yet to be compeleted.

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Animal Welfare

Mr. Morley: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list the animal welfare issues for which his Department has responsibility. [34293]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 25 June 1996]: The Department is responsible for the welfare of livestock on farm, at market, at slaughter, and for the welfare of all animals during transport.

Meat Staining Regulations

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to monitor

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the enforcement of meat staining regulations; and if he will seek to amend them to require the transportation of condemned meat to be carried out in sealed containers. [33728]

Mrs. Browning [holding answer 25 June 1996]: The control and supervision of the slaughter and processing of cattle aged over 30 months is undertaken by the Meat Hygiene Service in Great Britain and the Department of Agriculture, Northern Ireland veterinary service in Northern Ireland on behalf of the Intervention Board executive agency, to which they regularly report. This includes responsibility for enforcement of meat staining requirements. It is already a requirement under

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Commission regulation 716/96 that stained material must be transported in sealed containers to specially authorised incineration or rendering plants for processing and destruction to prevent its entry into the human or animal food chains.

Animal Feedstuffs

Mr. Couchman: To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what arrangements he is making for the disposal of surplus stocks of animal feed containing mammalian meat and bonemeal, MBM, following the recent ban on feeding MBM to farm livestock. [32479]

Mrs. Browning [pursuant to her reply 10 June 1996, Official Report, column 2.]: The Government have today sent a letter to all livestock farmers, feed merchants and feed compounders in the United Kingdom offering to fund the collection and disposal of any residual stocks of MBM or feed containing MBM. Thereafter, after consultation with the appropriate organisations, an order will be laid to make it illegal to have MBM, or feed containing MBM, on farms or in the premises of feed merchants or at feed mills.

Parliamentary approval to this new service will be sought in a supplementary estimate for class III vote 1 (Intervention Board Executive Agency: CAP market support and administration) and for class III vote 2 (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food: operational expenditure, agencies and departmental administration). Pending that approval, urgent expenditure estimated at £6 million in these votes will be met by repayable advances from the contingencies fund.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Housing Benefit

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security who initially evaluates the matches produced by the housing benefit data matching exercise; and if he will make a statement. [33780]

Mr. Heald: During the current development phase of the project, the initial evaluation of the matches produced by the housing benefit matching service is being undertaken by the local authorities involved.

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which local authorities have had housing benefit data matched by the housing benefit matching system; and if he will make a statement. [33779]

Mr. Heald: The London boroughs of Westminster, Hounslow and Richmond have had housing benefit data matched as part of the development phase of the housing benefit matching service project.

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many local authorities' data it is planned will be matched by (a) 1 October, (b) 1 January 1997, (c) 1 April 1997 and (d) 1 June 1997. [33781]

Mr. Heald: The housing benefit matching service project is being taken forward in two phases. Phase 1 will involve eight London boroughs and will be complete by October 1996. Phase 2 will commence in October 1996 and is national implementation. The detailed schedule 2 is in preparation.

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Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what data matching exercises have been carried out between Benefits Agency staff and those claiming benefit; and if he will place the results in the Library. [33784]

Mr. Heald: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Rochdale (Ms Lynne) on 18 March, Official Report, columns 15-16.

Incapacity Benefit

Mr. Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department for 1995-96 from (a) the introduction of incapacity benefit and (b) the new all work test of incapacity; [32487]

(2) what are the current estimates of the savings to his Department arising from the introduction of incapacity benefit in each of the years 1996-97, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000--01. [32488]

Mr. Burt: The information is in the table.

The original estimates for savings in 1995-96 and 1996-97 have been revised. The new estimates for these years reflect the decision to control the number of pre-April 1995 cases being put through the all work test to ensure that the total number of cases being processed does not outstrip operational capacity. Long-term savings from the policy changes are unaffected by these changes.

Incapacity benefit

Year	Estimated savings £ million
1995-96	340 of which 125 is attributable to the all work test
1996-97	1,060
1997-98	1,860
1998-99	2,200
1999-00	Not available
2000-01	2,500

1. Estimates for expenditure on incapacity benefit are contained in the 1996 Departmental Report, a copy of which is in the Library.

2. All estimates except that for 2000-01 are in cash terms rounded to nearest £10m.

3. Figures for 2000-01 are at 1995-96 prices rounded to nearest £100m.

4. The equivalent cash figure in 2000-01 assuming an uprating factor of 2.25 per cent. in each year after 1998-99 is £2,800m.

Benefit Fraud

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the proactive elements in the Benefits Agency's approach to the detection of internal fraud; and if he will make a statement. [33785]

Mr. Heald: The Benefits Agency security strategy addresses the problem of internal and external fraud. The initiatives of the security strategy, such as new claims visiting and targeted reviews, are effective against both internal and external fraud, and provide a significant deterrent measure. Work has also been undertaken to improve the awareness of staff, and to encourage the reporting of suspicions of fraud.

The Benefits Agency also takes a proactive approach to the detecting of internal fraud. There are several strands to this approach including:

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Security checking--there are a large number of checks in place within the benefit payment and administration processes, which are aimed at providing assurance that processes are as secure as possible, and deterring staff from attempting fraud and detecting quickly frauds which are attempted.
The audit trail analysis system (ATAS)--all of the Department's main computer systems have an audit trail--a record of the activity of users of the systems. ATAS provides a powerful tool for the detection and investigation of internal fraud, enabling suspicious patterns of user activity on computer systems to be automatically selected for investigation, and also providing a means of interrogating audit trail data.
Security specialists have put in place in each district (and some central units) within the agency. Trained in risk analysis, the security specialists are conducting an ongoing analysis to identify areas of potential local vulnerability to internal fraud.
Reports of completed investigations are analysed, and wherever possible the ATAS system used to ensure that no other frauds using a similar method exist. Where investigations highlight weaknesses in procedures or computer systems, the information is used in an on-going processor risk analysis, to inform the programme of system improvements.

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many staff are employed to investigate internal fraud within the Benefits Agency; and if he will state their grades. [33789]

Mr. Heald: At present, there are 35 staff employed on a full-time basis as internal fraud investigators, the large majority of whom are in pay band C3--formerly HEO grade.

There are also approximately 100 further trained investigators within benefit areas and central directorates, who are normally employed on other duties, but who can be called upon to assist with the investigations if required.

In addition to this, there are a number of staff involved in providing support services for internal investigators at a local and national level.

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the Benefits Agency organised fraud teams are used to investigate internal fraud; and if he will make a statement. [33786]

Mr. Heald: The Benefits Agency uses its organised fraud investigation teams to assist in investigations into internal fraud in cases where the teams' specialist skills can be of benefit to the investigation. The large majority of investigations do not require the involvement of organised fraud, but regular and effective liaison exists between internal investigators and organised fraud to ensure that cases with an organised fraud dimension are identified from internal fraud investigations and vice versa, and that the skills of each section are used when appropriate.

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of state for Social Security what are the formal liaison arrangements between individuals investigating internal fraud by staff administering benefits within the Benefits Agency and those investigating internal fraud by staff administering benefits within local authorities. [33790]

Mr. Heald: Liaison between internal fraud investigators in the Benefits Agency and those investigating internal fraud by staff administering benefits in local authorities is on a case-by-case basis. Should Benefits Agency internal investigators identify a fraud involving local authority staff, then a framework exists

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which enables the sharing of information and co-operation in any investigation. Likewise, should those responsible for investigating local authority staff identify a fraud involving a Benefits Agency employee, a reciprocal arrangement exists.

In the London area, the London team against fraud, which has a particular interest in local authority internal fraud, is represented at the regular liaison meeting held by the Benefits Agency internal fraud investigators.

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