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Defence Exports
Ms Drown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many civil servants are employed in his Department to assist in supporting and promoting defence exports; and at what cost. [64462]
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 710
Mr. Battle:
None of my officials are employed full-time in defence export promotion. However, a part of the workload of several DTI officials is on such activity, where they work alongside the Defence Exports Services Organisation of the MOD.
Ms Drown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many civil servants are employed in his Department to assist in supporting and promoting exports of medical and pharmaceutical equipment; and at what cost. [64463]
Mr. Mandelson:
Three civil servants in the Export Promotion Command of my Department work on promoting exports in this sector, in liaison with officials from the Department of Health and an Export Promoter, seconded from industry. The running costs of the civil servants themselves, excluding the programme budget for which they are responsible, is £114,399.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 7 December 1998, Official Report, column 69, concerning BNFL's reprocessing contract, if he will place in the Library copies of each of the inter-governmental exchanges of letters on nuclear waste to which the answer refers. [63898]
Mr. Battle:
Further to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend of 7 December 1998, Official Report, column 69, I have arranged for copies of the relevant inter- governmental exchanges of letters underpinning BNFL's overseas reprocessing contracts since 1976 to be laid in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many of the applications for export licences which were outstanding on 24 June (a) have been granted, (b) have been refused and (c) are still outstanding. [61928]
Mrs. Roche:
I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of that letter in the Library of the House.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many export licence applications awaiting decisions between 24 June and 23 November had been waiting for (a) up to 20 days, (b) up to 40 days, (c) up to 60 days and (d) more than 60 days. [61927]
Mrs. Roche:
I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of that letter in the Library of the House.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the implications for the competitiveness of electronic commerce in the United Kingdom of the decisions made at the December meeting of the Wassenaar Arrangement. [63525]
Mr. Mandelson
[holding answer 14 December 1998]: The Government are committed to making the UK the best environment in the world for electronic commerce by
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 711
the end of this Parliament. Our strategy for achieving this will be set out in the forthcoming White Paper on Competitiveness. The recent agreement in the Wassenaar Agreement, which has modernised and relaxed the export controls on encryption technology, will contribute towards this strategy.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if it is the present policy of the Contributions Agency to require its staff to retire at age 60 years; [64415]
Mr. Timms:
This is a matter for George Bertram, the Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from George Bertram to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 17 December 1998:
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 712
(2) if he will state the whole time equivalent employment at each Contributions Agency site in the Tyne and Wear area at (a) 1 April 1996, (b) 1 April 1997 and (c) the most recent available date; and how many employees were over 60 years of age at each date. [64419]
As Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency (CA) I have responsibility for answering questions about operational matters relating to the Agency. I have been asked to reply to your questions about the Agency's retirement policy and staffing levels in the Tyne and Wear area.
The CA's current retirement policy is based upon corporate Department of Social Security policy and requires all employees to retire at age 60. The policy was implemented on 31 July 1998. The previous policy required employees to retire at age 60 unless they were employed at Executive Officer level or below. For Executive Officers retirement was at age 62 and for employees below this level at age 65. Transitional arrangements enable employees at Executive Officer level or below who were over age 60 on or after 31 July 1998 to be retained until no later than 31 July 1999 in the following circumstances:
Their performance, attendance and conduct fully met the requirements of the job;
Their job is not included in an area of work where there were planned redundancies;
There are no local early retirement schemes planned for employees at the same level;
Their retirement would lead, either directly or indirectly, to the need for external recruitment;
The hardship that would be suffered would override any existing business need.
CA has no plans to extend the transitional arrangements beyond 31 July 1999. From 1 April 1999 CA will become part of Inland Revenue. Their retirement policy requires employees to retire at age 60. CA management is in negotiation with Trade Unions to determine the policy that will apply to CA employees on transfer. The outcome of these negotiations has not yet been concluded.
The number of CA employees employed at each site on the Newcastle estate on 1 April 1996, 1 April 1997 and 1 December 1998 are as follows:
| Location | Number of CA staff |
|---|---|
| 1 April 1996 | |
| Scottish Life House | 94 |
| Lancaster House | 97 |
| Hebburn | 507 |
| Bellway Stores | 17 |
| Alfred Wilson House | 476 |
| Kenton Bar | 601 |
| Broadway West | 52 |
| Longbenton Main Site | 4,156 |
| 1 April 1997 | |
| Scottish Life House | 94 |
| Lancaster House | 97 |
| Hebburn | 507 |
| Bellway Stores | 17 |
| Alfred Wilson House | 476 |
| Kenton Bar | 443 |
| Broadway West | 26 |
| Longbenton Main Site | 4,040 |
| 1 December 1998 | |
| Hebburn | 507 |
| Bellway Stores | 17 |
| Alfred Wilson House | 476 |
| Kenton Bar | 540 |
| Broadway West | 26 |
| Longbenton Main Site | 4,134 |
This data is the total number of employee's aged 60 or over in all buildings on the Newcastle estate. We do not keep figures for each individual building so I cannot provide you with this data from our records.
The number of employee's aged 60 or over on the above dates are as follows:
Date Number of employees aged 60 or over
1 April 1996 118
1 April 1997 90
1 December 1998 50
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many case DLA case files were mislaid or lost prior to their referral to the Independent Tribunal Service in the last 12 months; and how many of these related to claimants who are mentally ill. [64216]
Mr. Timms: The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Peter Mathison. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Ian Stewart, dated 16 December 1998:
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 713
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals there have been against findings made under the Benefit Integrity Project in the last year for which figures are available. [64691]
Mr. Timms:
The administration of the Benefits Integrity Project is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Peter Mathison. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Elfyn Llwyd, dated 16 December 1998:
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many civil servants will be redeployed following the cancellation of the Benefit Integrity Project. [64689]
Mr. Timms:
The administration of the Benefit Integrity Project is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Peter Mathison. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Elfyn Llwyd, dated 17 December 1998:
Mr. Llwyd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the Benefit Integrity Project's cancellation will come into effect; and if he will make a statement. [64690]
Mr. Timms:
The Benefit Integrity Project will be replaced by a new, even-handed system of review, sensitive to people's circumstances and fair because it will provide for awards to be increased as well as decreased in line with entitlement. We will introduce the new process as soon as possible and aim to have it in place by April 1999 but our primary concern is to get it right rather than to introduce it quickly. We are discussing the way forward with the Disability Benefits Forum.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many Disability Living Allowance cases were mislaid or lost prior to their referral to the Independent Tribunal Service (ITS) in the last 12 months; and how many of these related to claimants who are mentally ill.
The information you have requested is not routinely kept and would only be available at disproportionate cost.
I am aware of only one case in the last 12 months where the papers were mislaid prior to their referral to the ITS where the person concerned was suffering from a mental illness.
I am sorry I cannot be of more help.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many appeals there have been against findings made under the Benefit Integrity Project (BIP) in the last year for which figures are available.
As at 31 October 1998 there have been 22,689 reviews and 5,925 appeals received following BIP action.
You may find it helpful to know that statistical information about the BIP, including details of reviews and appeals are published monthly and placed in the House of Commons Library.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about how many civil servants will be redeployed after the cancellation of the Benefits Integrity Project.
The number of people engaged on the Benefit Integrity Project as at 30 November 1998 was the equivalent of 365.54 full-time staff.
The Benefits Integrity Project will be replaced by a new modern review system to carry out regular checks of existing awards to ensure entitlement remains correct. However there is no estimate of the final numbers of staff that will be required.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
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