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Building Societies

Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his oral answer of 12 November Official Report, column 144, if he will list the representatives of the building societies the Minister for Social Security and Disabled People met on 13 November, indicating the building societies to which they belong. [4762]

Mr. Burt: I met the director general and other members of staff of the Building Societies Association. The association represents buildings societies in general.

Single Parents

Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 7 November, what factors underlay the scale of increases in the total sums spent on benefit for single parents. [4761]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: Expenditure on lone parent benefits rose from £1.8 billion in 1978-79 to £9.5 billion in 1995-96--1995-96 prices. The most significant factor underlying the scale of this increase is the growth of lone parenthood in the general population, and in particular the growth of single, never married lone parents, who are less likely to be in work or receiving maintenance, and therefore more likely to be dependent on income support.

20 Nov 1996 : Column: 603

National Disability Council

Mr. Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the oral answer by the Minister for Social Security and Disabled People to the hon. Member for Dumbarton (Mr. McFall) of 12 November Official Report, column 143-44, if he will list the issues on which the National Disability Council has offered advice to Ministers on its own initiative; if he will list the dates on which such advice was offered; and if he will indicate in which cases Ministers (a) accepted and (b) rejected such advice. [4763]

Mr. Burt: The Government have regular contact with the National Disability Council. The council has given advice on a wide range of issues relevant to the reduction and elimination of discrimination against disabled people. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 requires the National Disability Council to provide the Secretary of State with an annual report which he must lay before Parliament and arrange for further publication as he considers appropriate. The annual report for 1995-96 was published on 9 July 1996. Copies were placed in the Library. It records, among other things, advice the council has given during the previous financial year. The council is required to produce a similar report as soon as is practicable after the current financial year.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what proportion of applications for disability living allowance or for an upgrade to higher rate disability living allowance an adverse decision is given without the adjudication officer seeking information from the claimant's general practitioner or hospital consultant. [4846]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The information is not available in the format requested; the available information is given below.

A claimant is invited to provide supporting statements with his claim, for example from a GP, carer or social worker. Information from such sources may also be requested by an adjudication officer who may further ask for an examining medical practitioner's report. Information is sought from the most suitable source, and this may not be a GP or hospital consultant if, for example, the claimant has not recently attended for treatment.

Disability living allowance decisions made April 1992 to October 1996 (19) (20)

(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	Decisions involving any additional evidence other than from a GP or hospital (Thousands)	Adverse decisions (of col 2) (Thousands)	Adverse decisions as a percentage of decisions (col 3 as a percentage of col 2)
Initial claims	1,568	(21)705	45
Other decisions(22)	1,414	(23)955	68

Source:

Analytical Services Division: 100 per cent. data.

Notes:

(19) All figures are rounded and are for decisions based on evidence provided in the claim pack,which may include a GP's statement.

(20) Cases where the type of evidence used is unknown have been excluded.

(21) An adverse decision is one where benefit is refused.

(22) Decisions made for renewal claims, reviews and appeals.

(23) An adverse decision is one where either a previous refusal has been upheld, or where the benefit was previously awarded and the decision is not to increase the level of the award.

20 Nov 1996 : Column: 604

Private Finance Initiative

Mr. Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information is collated centrally on (a) the long-term revenue commitments and (b) any other commitments arising as a result of private finance initiative projects agreed by (i) his Department and (ii) agencies accountable to his Department. [5077]

Mr. Burt: The Government response to the Treasury Committee report on the private finance initiative agreed the importance of collecting and monitoring information on future spending commitments arising from PFI contracts. Such information is now being collated. The response stated that aggregate projections of the level of expenditure that is expected to arise from signed PFI contracts would be published in the 1997-98 "Financial Statement and Budget Report."

Child Support Agency

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what assessment he has made of the steps taken by the Child Support Agency to secure liability orders within a reasonable time on parents who consistently avoid providing maintenance for their children; [4123]

(2) how many complaints the Child Support Agency has received in the last year about fathers who successfully avoid making any payment due to the mothers of their children, whose cases have been registered by the Child Support Agency. [4125]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Miss Ann Chant to Sir Dudley Smith, dated 19 November 1996:

I am replying to your Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security about liability orders and complaints to the Agency about fathers who avoid paying their maintenance.

The Agency makes every effort to ensure that absent parents meet their maintenance liability, and takes various forms of enforcement action where this does not happen.
You have specifically asked about liability orders which are applied for through the courts, mainly against non-compliant self employed absent parents. In the period from 1 April 1996 to 30 September 1996 the number of liability orders the Agency applied for was 1,082; this is an increase of 55% on the same period last year.
Each such case is considered on its merits. Legal action against an absent parent is a serious step and is not taken lightly. Nevertheless, if all other voluntary methods fails and if a deduction from earnings order is not a possibility, then a liability order is applied for. Additionally, since May of this year the Agency has been able to enter liability orders as debts in the County Court Register of Judgments, which may in turn affect credit availability for the absent parent concerned.
I am afraid I cannot give you an answer to your question about the number of complaints against fathers who do not comply with child support liability. There is no business need for us to categories

20 Nov 1996 : Column: 605

complaints along the lines that you describe. For example, whether they are about one or other party to child maintenance or by gender within that category.
I hope this is helpful.

Court Orders (Avoidance)

Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidelines he issues to police forces in respect of obtaining evidence about anyone who consistently avoids their responsibilities under court and official orders by constantly changing their address. [4128]

Mr. Maclean: I have been asked to reply.

None. This is an operational matter for individual chief officers of police.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Students

Mr. Worthington: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what research he has (a) conducted and (b) evaluated about the costs faced by Northern Ireland students who study in Great Britain because of a lack of higher education places in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement. [3582]

Mr. Ancram: None.

Unemployment

Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have experienced at least one period of unemployment since 1979. [3936]

Mr. Ancram: The information requested is available only from October 1993. In the three-year period to October 1996, 196,787 people have made at least one new claim for unemployment-related benefit.

Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what were the unemployment figures on the basis of the current statistical definition in each of the last 10 years in Northern Ireland. [3944]

Mr. Ancram: The unemployment figures on the basis of the current statistical definition in each of the last 10 years in Northern Ireland were as follows:

Year	Annual average figure	Percentage of the work force
1987	120,400	16.4
1988	111,100	15.0
1989	103,300	14.0
1990	95,300	12.8
1991	99,100	12.9
1992	104,700	13.8
1993	103,700	13.7
1994	97,100	12.6
1995	88,100	11.4
1996(24)	85,800	11.1

(24) January to October.

20 Nov 1996 : Column: 606

Ms Mowlam: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of the population of working age in Northern Ireland were unemployed in each year since 1979. [3945]

Mr. Ancram: The information, which is available on a consistent only basis from 1984, is as follows:

	Percentage working age population unemployed (ILO definition)
Spring
1984	12.1
1985	11.7
1986	11.6
1987	11.0
1988	10.2
1989	9.3
1990	8.7
1991	9.0
1992	9.1
1993	9.1
1994	8.3
1995	8.0
1996	7.1

Source:

Northern Ireland Labour Force Survey, spring 1984 to spring 1996.

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