| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Civil Servants
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how many civil servants there are on each pay band in his Department. [8948]
Mr. Hoon: For the Lord Chancellor's Department, including the Court Service and the Public Trust Office, the information is set out in the table. A separate table provides information on the Northern Ireland Court Service. Below the senior civil service, staff are paid on the basis of grades, with a separate pay band or pay range for each grade. I have asked the chief executives of the Land Registry and of the Public Record Office to reply separately.
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 583
| Northern Ireland Court Service | Number |
|---|---|
| Senior Civil Service Pay Band 3 | 1 |
| Senior Civil Service Pay Band 1 | 3 |
| Grade 6 | 1 |
| Grade 7 | 17 |
| Senior Executive Officer | 39 |
| Higher Executive Officer | (1)56 |
| Executive Officer | 177 |
| Administrative Officer | 201 |
| Administrative Assistant | 34 |
| Support Grades | 150 |
| Total | 679 |
(1) Including 16 Enforcement Officers.
| Payband | Core Civil Service Equivalent Grade | Number of staff |
|---|---|---|
| Registration Assistant 2 | Administration Assistant | 865 |
| Registration Assistant 1 | Administration Assistant | 995 |
| Registration Officer 2 | Administration Officer | 2,936 |
| Registration Officer 1 | Administration Officer | 518 |
| Registration Executive 3 | Executive Officer | 2,412 |
| Registration Executive 2 | Higher Executive Officer | 545 |
| Registration Executive 1 | Senior Executive Officer | 288 |
| Senior Registration Administrator 2 | Grade 7 | 40 |
| Senior Registration Administrator Lawyer | Grade 6 and Grade 7 | 128 |
| Senior Registration Administrator 1 | Grade 6 | 26 |
| Senior Civil Service Band 1 | -- | 18 |
| Senior Civil Service Band 2 | -- | 4 |
| Senior Civil Service Band 4 | -- | 2 |
| Senior Civil Service Band 5 | -- | 1 |
Letter from Duncan Simpson to Mr. Keith Vaz, dated 16 July 1997:
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 584
The Lord Chancellor's Parliamentary Secretary has asked me, in the absence on leave of the Chief Executive, to reply for the Public Record Office to your question about paybands.
The details are set out below. Most of our staff are covered by our own payband system and I have given the approximate civil service payband equivalents in the central column for guidance.
| Payband | Approximate civil service payband(s) equivalents | Civil servants |
|---|---|---|
| Civil service 3 | -- | 1 |
| Civil service 5 | -- | 3 |
| Public Record Office 1 | 6-7 | 14 |
| Public Record Office 2 | 8-9 and equivalents | 50 |
| Public Record Office 3 | 9-10 and equivalents | 54 |
| Public Record Office 4 | 10 and equivalents | 137 |
| Public Record Office 5 | 11 and equivalents | 159 |
| Public Record Office 6 | 12 and equivalents | 95 |
SOCIAL SECURITY
Cold Weather Payments
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what review of cold weather payments she has made; when she expects to report on the review's conclusions; and if the review has considered the possible incorporation of the wind chill factor in the calculation of cold weather payments. [4726]
Mr. Bradley: The annual review of the cold weather payments scheme is currently in progress. Announcements on its conclusions will be made in due course.
War Pensions
Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress has been made on the recently promised independent review of the science of the assessment of noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss for the purposes of claims to war pensions. [10554]
Mr. Denham: The Government are pledged to an independent review of the medical evidence behind the approach to the assessment of noise-induced hearing loss in war pensions. We hope that the review will provide a conclusion which is clear and unambiguous.
The review will be chaired by Sir Kenneth Calman, the chief medical officer. The other members of the review team will be Professor Adrian Davis of the Medical Research Council Institute of Hearing Research, Professor Mark Lutman of the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, Professor Linda Luxon of the Institute of Laryngology and Otology at the University college London medical school and Dr. Guy Lightfoot of the department of clinical engineering at the Royal Liverpool university hospital. Dr. Anne Braidwood of this Department will serve on the team and act as secretary.
The review team is expected to meet in September.
Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans she has to change the rules on housing benefit to ensure that local authority tenants are not subsidising, through rent levels, the housing benefit of other tenants. [8348]
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 585
Mr. Raynsford:
I have been asked to reply.
Under the housing revenue account subsidy system, an authority's entitlement to subsidy for its council housing is based upon various assumptions about its relative income and expenditure. If the cost of rent rebates is excluded from the subsidy calculation, most local authorities have a notional surplus of income over expenditure. These surpluses are used to offset the cost of rent rebates.
We have some sympathy with local authorities' concerns about this aspect of the subsidy system and have embarked on a review of the HRA subsidy system as part of the comprehensive spending review of housing.
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 586
Mr. Key:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list each of the central Government bodies which reported fraud cases in the 1995-96 fraud report, indicating for each (a) the number of cases, (b) the number of staff involved in each case and (c) the total value of frauds; and if he will list for each body the percentage change in (i) the number of cases and (ii) the value over (1) 1994-95 and (2) 1993-94. [7477]
Mr. Darling:
The number of internal cases, number of staff involved and value of fraud cases to the 1995-96 fraud report are shown by Department together with the percentage changes in the number and value of cases over 1994-95 and 1993-94.
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 585
(2) The table excludes Departments which reported a nil return in 1995-96.
(3) The notation '--' indicates that the Department recorded a nil return in the year concerned and there is therefore no basis for comparison with the base year 1995-96.
(4) The reduction in the 480 cases referred to in the 1995-96 report reflects the subsequent correction of a database error.
1. Some large percentage changes in value and case numbers are based on relatively small changes in actual values. The overall pattern shows a gradual increase year on year in the numbers of cases being reported. This increase may be due in part to better reporting arrangements and improved fraud awareness in departments.
2. Levels of fraud reported in previous years cannot easily be inferred from reductions in percentage changes of 100 per cent. since the maximum reduction is 100 per cent.
23 Jul 1997 : Column: 585
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |