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Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 13 April 2000
NORTHERN IRELAND
Violence Victims
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the organisations claiming to support victims of violence which (a) are currently receiving and (b) have received public funds; and how much each has received. [117123]
Mr. Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 12 April 2000, Official Report, columns 189-96W.
Winter Fuel Allowance
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the additional number of pensioners in Northern Ireland entitled to the winter fuel allowance following the European Court of Justice judgment of 15 December 1999. [118120]
Mr. George Howarth: It is estimated that there will be 39,000 additional people in Northern Ireland entitled to Winter Fuel Payments as a result of the European Court of Justice judgment. I should point out that these people will not all be pensioners, as men aged between 60-64 are not receiving retirement pension.
Wheelchairs
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average time taken (a) to process an application for a wheelchair and (b) for an applicant to receive a wheelchair. [118581]
Mr. George Howarth: The average time taken to process an application for a wheelchair depends on the type of equipment required. For level 1 wheelchairs, applications are processed within one working day of receipt at the Regional Wheelchair Centre and chairs are delivered to clients within five working days. For level 2 modified equipment, an application takes 10 working days to process and the equipment is delivered within 20 working days. For level 3 specialised equipment, processing of an order takes 10 working days and delivery of the equipment can take in the region of 3-6 months.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many wheelchairs have been allocated to applicants in each of the last three years in Northern Ireland. [118579]
Mr. George Howarth: The information is as follows:
- 1 January-31 December 1997: 2,905
- 1 January-31 December 1998: 3,586
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Mr. George Howarth: There are 257 applicants awaiting the allocation of a wheelchair. The vast majority of these are existing wheelchair users who, due to changing circumstances, need more specialised equipment, which has been ordered and is awaiting delivery.
EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT
New Deal
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) men and (b) women have benefited from the New Deal in the North-East. [117940]
Ms Jowell: Up to the end of January 2000, 31,838 young people (23,926 men and 7,912 women) and 17,753 long-term unemployed adults (15,620 men and 2,133 women) have benefited from the New Deals in the North-East. It is a measure of the success of the Government's Welfare to Work policies that 16,652 people in the North-East have found work through the New Deals. The remainder are benefiting from the help that the Personal Adviser can offer. This includes help with barriers to employment, access to specialist help and training, education and work experience opportunities. New Deals for the long-term unemployed are only part of the package of Welfare to Work measures introduced by this Government. Many other people in the North-East will benefit from the New Deals for Lone Parents, 50 plus, partners of the unemployed and the disabled.
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) men and (b) women have benefited from the New Deal in Houghton and Washington East. [117977]
Ms Jowell: Up to the end of January 2000, 1,032 young people (787 men and 245 women) and 478 long-term unemployed adults (411 men and 67 women) have benefited from the New Deals in the Houghton and Washington East constituency. It is a measure of the success of the Government's Welfare to Work policies that 522 people in Houghton and Washington East have found work through these New Deals. The remainder are benefiting from the help that the Personal Adviser can offer. This includes help with barriers to employment, access to specialist help and training, education and work experience opportunities. New Deals for the long-term unemployed are only part of the package of Welfare to Work measures introduced by this Government. Many other people in Houghton and Washington East will benefit from the New Deals for Lone Parents, 50 plus, partners of the unemployed and the disabled.
Standard Spending Assessments
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, pursuant to his answer of 10 April 2000, Official Report, columns 49-51W, if he will provide the corresponding estimates of education standard spending assessments per pupil for (a) England and (b) Thamesdown. [118916]
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Ms Estelle Morris: The figures requested are shown in the table. Information for Thamesdown was listed under Swindon in the answer given to the hon. Member on 10 April 2000, Official Report, columns 49-51W.
| Thamesdown (Swindon) | England | |
|---|---|---|
| SSA | ||
| Per Primary Pupil | 2,290 | 2,474 |
| Per Secondary Pupil | 2,957 | 3,175 |
| Total Special and Specific Grant per Pupil | 151 | 173 |
CABINET OFFICE
Organisation of Public Sector Ombudsmen
Miss Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she will publish the report of the review of the Organisation of Public Sector Ombudsmen in England. [119218]
Mr. Stringer: I am pleased to announce that the report of the review of the organisation of public sector ombudsmen in England is published today. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House and are also available from the Vote Office.
The start of the review was announced by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office on 30 March 1999 and forms part of the Modernising Government agenda. The review, which was carried out by a team in the Cabinet Office, was wide-ranging: it covered the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Health Service Ombudsman for England and the Local Government Ombudsmen for England, and looked at the potential interaction between those ombudsmen and other independent complaints authorities such as the independent Housing Ombudsman and the Data Protection Commissioner. The review team consulted widely with those who have an interest in the ombudsmen system, including all Members, the ombudsmen themselves, central and local Government, representative bodies (such as the Local Government Association and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives) and external interest groups.
The main recommendations in the report are that the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the Health Service Ombudsman in England and the Local Government Ombudsmen in England should be merged into a collegiate structure (a new Commission); and that the present requirement for complainants to put their complaints via a Member to the Parliamentary Ombudsman (the "MP filter") should be removed; and that their procedures be simplified and made more flexible.
The Government welcome the review's focus on providing a more customer-oriented Ombudsman service. It recognises that the recommendations raise a number of significant issues about the status and constitution of the Ombudsmen. Accordingly, we shall now be consulting widely before reaching our final conclusions on implementing the review's recommendations.
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GMOs
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps she is taking to increase international co-operation on issues relating to genetically modified organisms. [117726]
Mr. Stringer: International co-operation is a crucial part of this Government's policy in biotechnology, which gives priority to the protection of human health and the environment. The UK is active in a number of international bodies, including the World Health Organisation, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the Codex Alimentarius group. It has pressed at European level on issues such as GM food labelling and releases of GMOs to the environment; and in January negotiated the United Nations Programme Biosafety Protocol. Most recently, it successfully hosted an OECD conference on GM food safety in Edinburgh. We will be discussing the results of that conference, including the recommendation for an international scientific advisory panel on GM food and environmental safety, with G8 partners and developing countries in advance of the next G8 summit.
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