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Weights and Measures Laboratory

Mr. Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what targets he has set his Department's National Weights and Measures Laboratory for 2000-01. [120295]

Mr. Byers: I have set the National Weights and Measures Laboratory the following quality of service and efficiency targets for 2000-01:

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Financial Targets
To report a break-even situation in the Income and Expenditure Account 2000-01.
To meet the net vote target in 2000-01.
To ensure that total overhead costs are less than 55 per cent. of total costs.
To increase non-DTI income by 15 per cent.
Operational Targets
To complete 90 per cent. of European type approvals within 10 weeks.
To complete all European type approvals within an average of seven weeks.
To complete 95 per cent. of all calibration jobs (including preparation of certificates) within 18 working days of acceptance of the work and to achieve an average completion time of less than 14 days.
To meet 70 per cent. of the milestones by their due date in the work programme agreed between the NMSPU and NWML.
80 per cent. of customers rate NWML's provision of services as satisfactory or better.
Questions delegated to the Chief Executive.
Chief Executive to reply within 10 working days to all letters from Members of Parliament delegated to him for reply.

I have placed copies of the Corporate Plan in the Libraries of the House.

Renewable Energy

Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to his answer of 1 February 2000, Official Report, column 537W, what plans he has to set separate renewable energy generation targets for each of the UK standard regions; and if he will make a statement. [119692]

Mrs. Liddell: The Government Offices for the Regions are initiating work to prepare regional assessments and targets for renewable energy provision based upon, and where necessary updating, existing resource studies. On 9 February, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) published "Guidance on Preparing Regional Sustainable Development Frameworks". The guidance indicated that the Government hope that the frameworks will draw upon this work and elaborate a regional approach to renewable energy, including regional targets flowing from the assessments of each region's capacity to generate electricity from a range of different sources. The Government would like to see frameworks in place in all regions by the end of 2000.

The frameworks will work alongside Regional Planning Guidance (RPG) and Regional Development Agencies' Economic Strategies in promoting sustainable development. We are encouraging regional planning bodies to set targets in RPG for the structure plan and unitary development plan areas within the region consistent with the regional targets provided by the regional sustainable development frameworks. Advice on this will be set out in the final version of the revised "Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Note 11: Regional Planning" to be published by DETR shortly.

Together with the national planning policy guidance in "PPP 22: Renewable Energy", RPG--as taken forward through structure plans and Part 1 unitary development plans--will provide a strategic framework for policies and

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proposals for renewable energy development in local plans, including the identification in those plans of suitable sites. This, in turn, will feed through to decisions on individual planning applications.

More positive planning at regional and local levels will contribute to greater public familiarity with, and acceptance of, prospective renewable energy developments. It remains important, however, for operators to prepare the ground with local authorities, environmental organisations and local people before formal planning applications are submitted and to develop proposals in consultation with them.

SOCIAL SECURITY

Benefit Statistics

Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the increase in the number of pensioners entitled to the Minimum Income Guarantee as a result of the Budget in (a) the Basildon parliamentary constituency, (b) Basildon and (c) Thurrock. [117053]

Mr. Bayley: The number of pensioners who will benefit from the recent increases in benefit rates is listed in the table.

Number of pensioners currently entitled to the Minimum Income Guarantee

	Number
Basildon parliamentary constituency	2,700
Basildon local authority	4,400
Thurrock local authority	2,800

Source:

November 1999 Quarterly Statistical Enquiry

We also estimate that over 500,000 pensioners in total will benefit from the increased capital limits in the Minimum Income Guarantee, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Estimates of pensioners newly entitled to benefit because of these changes are not available at constituency level.

Disabled People

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people on Incapacity Benefit have, under the innovation schemes established as part of the New Deal for the Disabled, (a) had any contact with one of the schemes, (b) applied for one of the schemes, (c) joined one of the schemes, (d) completed a placement with one of the schemes, (e) found part-time employment as a result of participation in one of the schemes and (f) found full-time employment as a result of participation in one of the schemes. [118607]

Angela Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.

Up until 29 February, which is the latest date for which information is available:

6,055 people have applied to join New Deal for Disabled People Innovative schemes;

3,079 people have been accepted onto these schemes;

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494 people are in, or have completed work trials;

607 people have started work;

Other disabled people have been assisted by the New Deal for Disabled People Personal Adviser pilots.

Minimum Income Guarantee

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners with a final level of income below that to which they could be entitled if they could claim the Minimum Income Guarantee are disqualified from claiming the Minimum Income Guarantee. [119210]

Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.

Pensioners with income below Minimum Income Guarantee levels, disqualified due to full-time work or excess capital

Capital	All pensioners	Excluding workers
0 to 3,000	25,000	0
3,001 to 8,000	50,000	45,000
8,001 to 12,000	70,000	65,000
12,001 to 16,000	20,000	20,000
Over 16,000	90,000	85,000
Total	255,000	215,000

Notes:

1. Figures are in 2000-01 prices and benefit levels.

2. Cases are rounded to the nearest 5,000.

3. The number of cases have been calculated using the Pensioner Income Series Data based on the 1997-98 FRS and the Policy Simulation Model (PSM) for Income Related benefits, based on 1997-98 Family Resources Survey data.

4. Workers include pensioners and/or their partners who are in full-time work.

Recovery of Overpayments

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost of the Debt Accounting and Management system; and when the installation was cancelled. [119212]

Angela Eagle: Administration of benefits and recovery of overpayment is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Peter Mathison. He will write to my right hon. Friend.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Frank Field, dated 18 April 2000:

The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your recent question asking what was the cost of the Debt Accounting and Management System (DAMS) and when the installation was cancelled.
The costs of DAMS are commercial in confidence.
The DAMS procurement contract with EDS was discharged in July 1999.

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EDS is contracted to provide information systems IT service delivery support to the Department. This contract has not been terminated.
I hope this reply is helpful.

Capital Rules

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost of amending the capital rules for disabled people to match the new level announced for pensioners. [119250]

Mr. Bayley: The cost of increasing the capital limits to £6,000 and £12,000 in the income related benefits for disabled people would be £25 million.

Lone Parents

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many initial invitation letters have been sent to lone parents in the target group for the New Deal for Lone Parents. [119248]

Angela Eagle: 514,821 initial invitation letters were sent to lone parents in the target group from July 1997 to January 2000, the latest figures available.

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents whose youngest child is aged five years and three months or over are in receipt of Income Support. [119245]

Angela Eagle: The number of lone parents on Income Support in Great Britain with a youngest child aged five years and three months or over is 470,000.

Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, November 1999.

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents, under the New Deal for Lone Parents, have secured employment in each month since the scheme began, broken down into (a) target and (b) non-target groups. [119247]

Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.

Information for National Phase--October 1998 to January 2000

National Programme	Target group	Non-target group	Total (8)
October 1998	16	7	23
November 1998	802	533	1,353
December 1998	492	382	884
January 1999	792	628	1,427
February 1999	1,139	883	2,030
March 1999	1,382	989	2,383
April 1999	1,866	1,314	3,190
May 1999	1,527	1,029	2,569
June 1999	1,381	898	2,290
July 1999	1,463	1,019	2,495
August 1999	1,122	750	1,887
September 1999	1,502	1,010	2,525
October 1999	2,924	2,248	5,198
November 1999	2,577	1,910	4,509
December 1999	1,319	1,124	2,459
January 2000	1,307	800	2,133
Total	21,611	15,524	(9)37,355

(8) The total column includes those for whom target/non-target is not recorded, for this reason the columns do not sum to the total.

(9) The total figure differs from the total figure quoted in the Statistical First Release (SFR) due to rounding in the SFR.

During phase 1 (July 1997-October 1998) 2,473 target group and 920 non-target group lone parents obtained jobs

(10). In phase 2 (April 1998 to October 1998) a total of 2,878 lone parents obtained jobs

(11).

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¹ Information is not available in the format requested for phases 1 and 2 because results were kept clerically and it is not possible to accurately break them down on a monthly basis.
² In some cases it was not recorded whether the lone parent was either from the target or non-target group, for this reason the figures cannot be split into these groups.

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