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Appeals
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action his Department is taking to improve clearance times for appeals. [88212]
Angela Eagle: The new Executive Agency of the DSS responsible for the administration of appeals will be set up from April 2000, for which demanding targets will be set. In preparation for this change, responsibility for the administration of appeals passed to the Secretary of State from the President of the Independent Tribunal Service (ITS) on 1 June. The phased implementation of the new appeals procedures introduced in the Social Security Act 1998 will continue during the rest of the year and preparations will be made for Agency launch.
Appeals have been taking, on average, around 7 months to be heard and this is wholly unacceptable. During the past year, ITS has taken action to improve the situation and in 1998-99 began to make significant in-roads into its backlog of cases, ITS figures showing a record case clearance of 370,008 cases. However, there remains much to do before ITS/The Appeals Service reaches an acceptable level of performance.
A dual strategy to achieve the necessary improvements during 1999-2000 has been agreed with the new Chief Executive of ITS/The Appeals Service. First, ITS/The Appeals Service is mounting a systematic assault on its backlog of older and oldest appeals (defined for this exercise as any case lodged with ITS before 1 October 1998). Secondly, and in parallel to tackling this finite backlog of cases, ITS/The Appeals Service is seeking to
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reduce both the numbers of all other cases outstanding and the length of time individual appellants have to wait for their appeals to be dealt with.
In assessing performance during the coming year we have therefore agreed to monitor two new performance indicators. First, we will be monitoring the number of cases in the backlog and the length of time for which these cases have been outstanding. It is the intention that the vast majority of these cases should be cleared by the end of 1999-2000. Secondly, for cases not in the backlog, we will be monitoring the age profile of outstanding cases, by month; and the age profile of cases which have been cleared, by month. This will give a clear picture of how long appellants still in the ITS/The Appeals Service queue have been waiting, and how long those cases have just been cleared actually had to wait. While efforts are being concentrated on the backlog in the early part of the year, progress here will not be as quick as we would like, but the intention is that both waiting times and clearance times will have been reduced by the end of 1999-2000.
The use of average clearance times as the key indicator of performance has not provided appellants, commentators, or ITS itself with a true picture of the levels of performance being achieved. First, average clearance times mask a wide range of performance and, in past years, did not expose the full extent of the backlog of cases which was building up. Secondly, average clearance times actually provide a perverse incentive not to clear backlog cases--the more effective ITS/The Appeals Service is in tackling its backlog of older cases, the less successful it appears in terms of average clearance
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times as cases which have been outstanding for too long are brought to account. Thirdly, the new performance indicators will provide a better picture of exactly how the caseload is being affected by the changes, which are being phased in over the coming months. And, additionally, the new appeals processes presently being introduced would in any event mean that future clearance times statistics were not directly comparable with those for past years.
This dual strategy has already paid dividends in terms of performance in the last few months. At the end of February, ITS/The Appeals Service figures showed that the backlog contained 70,348 cases and represented almost 50 per cent. of the caseload. By the end of May, the backlog had been reduced to 34,194 cases. During April and May, a total of 64,647 cases were cleared. Due to the changes which came on stream in April, the intake of appeals in April and May has been much lower than usual--ITS/The Appeals Service has taken full advantage of this opportunity and the cumulative effect of the record clearances and lower intake has been that, by the end of May, the outstanding caseload has fallen below 100,000, to 99,410, for the first time since November 1995.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the net public expenditure cost of changing the rate of deemed income from capital for means-tested benefits to £1 per week for (a) each £300 of capital, (b) each £400 of capital and (c) each £500 of capital. [87979]
Angela Eagle:
The information is in the table.
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| Option | Income support | Jobseeker's allowance (income based) | Housing benefit | Council tax benefit | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1 per week of every £300 | 10 | Less than £2.5m | 20 | 10 | 40 |
| £1 per week of every £400 | 15 | Less than £2.5m | 45 | 25 | 85 |
| £1 per week of every £500 | 20 | Less than £2.5m | 65 | 30 | 115 |
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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Iran (Organ Transplants)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Iran concerning the role of the Iranian state in procuring for cash body parts from living donors for use in transplants. [87648]
Mr. Hoon: We have not, so far, made any such representations to the Iranian Government.
Mozambique (Elections)
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he is offering Mozambique in connection with the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections. [87858]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Presidential and parliamentary elections are due to take place in Mozambique before mid-December. The EU has committed 21 million euros (£13 million) to the election process, of which around
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15 per cent., or 3.2 million euros (£2 million), will come from the United Kingdom's contribution to the EU budget. Our High Commission in Maputo is actively involved in the international donor group which is working closely with the Mozambican authorities, including the National Elections Commission, to co-ordinate international support for the elections.
The United Kingdom is ready to consider sending election observers, if invited to do so by the Government of Mozambique.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the human rights record of the present Gambian Government. [87947]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We regularly review the Gambian human rights record, on a bilateral basis, and as a member of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group which has a standing remit to monitor the situation in The Gambia. We have consistently made it clear that developments in the bilateral relationship, not least in the
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UK's development assistance programme, depend on Gambian observance of human rights and commitment to good governance.
There have been some improvements in recent months: harassment of the independent media has declined and the UDP opposition party has managed to hold regular rallies without interference. Nonetheless, we continue to press for Decrees which proscribe certain politicians and which place heavy burdens on the independent media to be repealed.
We have also raised the recent abduction of Mr. Nyassi of the opposition UDP party and are pressing for an independent inquiry into the incident.
Mr. McDonnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of the Gambia with regard to the arrest and disappearance of Mr. Shyngle Nyassi of the United Democratic Party. [87945]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Our High Commissioner in Banjul pursued the matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 27 and 28 May. He called on the Foreign Minister on 31 May and tried repeatedly to obtain a response from the Gambian Government.
He carried out a UK-inspired demarche on behalf of the EU on 9 June, urging the Government to take urgent action to secure Mr. Nyassi's release and punish those responsible for his detention. He pursued the matter again with the Foreign Minister on 11 June and, with other Diplomatic colleagues in Banjul, met President Jammeh on 18 June.
I am pleased to report that Mr. Nyassi was subsequently released on 21 June.
Mr. Caton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he is taking to encourage recruitment of physiotherapy staff to the NHS in Wales. [87799]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones:
The recruitment of physiotherapists is essentially a matter for the service but we commission training numbers to meet service need. There are two modes of training currently--full-time and mixed mode--to ensure as wide an entry gate as possible is available.
The links between career development opportunities and positive recruitment of staff were identified in the J. M. Consulting Ltd. report entitled "PAMs Career Development Project". NHS Trusts and Health Authorities have been encouraged to take forward its recommendations. Also my officials are currently working with the NHS Staff College to develop a Clinical Leadership Programme, which should provide further opportunities for physiotherapists and other Professions Allied to Medicine (PAMs) staff groups.
Following the transfer of functions, this issue will be a matter for the National Assembly.
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