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Asylum Seekers
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision he has made for the financial year 2000-01 to meet the costs incurred by the East Kent Health Authority through the provision of interpreters to assist the treatment of asylum seekers and economic migrants. [125274]
Mr. Hutton: East Kent Health Authority's unified allocation for 2000-01 is £431.8 million, an increase of £32.9 million (8.25 per cent.)
It is for health authorities, in partnership with primary care groups and other local stakeholders, to determine how best to use their funds to meet national and local priorities for improving health, tackling health inequalities and modernising services.
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the cost to the National Health Service of the provision of interpreters to assist asylum seekers, for the latest period for which figures are available; how much of this money has been refunded by central Government to (a) local health authorities and (b) hospital trusts; and if he will make a statement. [125273]
Mr. Hutton: Information on the costs of interpretation services for asylum seekers is not collected centrally.
Correspondence
Mr. Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the hon. Member for North Thanet will receive a reply to his letter of 18 May 2000 in respect of the answer of 11 May 2000, Official Report, column 460W, on the General Osteopathic Council. [125682]
Yvette Cooper: I shall let the hon. Member have a reply to his letter of 18 May as soon as possible.
Surgery Statistics
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of morbidity and mortality rates
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associated with surgical intervention for similar operations between (a) 10 pm and 6 am and (b) 6 am and 10 pm. [125458]
Mr. Denham: This information is not collected centrally in this way. The National Confidential Enquiry into Peri-operative Deaths, known as NCEPOD, reports each year on deaths in hospital following surgery. Their 1995-96 report "Who operates when" gives information on operative practice for three periods, between the hours of 6 pm and midnight, midnight and 8 am and 8 am and 6 pm. A summary of their reports can be accessed via their website www.ncepod.org.uk.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Performance Cost Management Unit
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the cost is of setting up a performance cost management unit from 1 April in his Department; what are the key benefits of this; what savings to the cost of operating the Department will arise; what estimate he has made of the annual cost of the unit; and if he will make a statement. [124556]
Angela Eagle: The Department is undergoing a fundamental review of its central and support functions in order to focus resources on delivering front line services to customers. A small Performance Management Unit (PMU) has been established within the Benefits Agency to drive out performance improvement in the Agency's 13 Area Directorates (AD) and the Disability and Carer Benefits Directorate (DCBD). The additional annual cost of this team is estimated at £100,000. There were no set up costs. In addition to the PMU, each AD and the DCBD has a Performance Improvement Action Team (PIAT) to provide support to local managers.
The aim is to improve significantly front line service delivery within the resources already set and allocated in the Comprehensive Spending Review. Work is also in hand to see how productivity can be improved which will potentially lead to cost reduction in the medium term.
By the end of 2000-01, this programme is expected to demonstrate improved benefit payment accuracy, better customer service and to have contributed to the reduction of losses through fraud and error.
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how much was spent in (a) Scotland, (b) Dumfries and Galloway and (c) Galloway and Upper Nithsdale parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years on tackling benefit fraud; [124720]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the amount lost to benefit fraud in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) Dumfries and Galloway and (c) Galloway and Upper Nithsdale parliamentary constituency; [124722]
(3) what estimate he has made of the amount lost to benefit fraud in each of the last five years in (a) Scotland, (b) Dumfries and Galloway and (c) Galloway and Upper Nithsdale parliamentary constituency as a direct result of pensions and benefits being paid via the Post Office. [124721]
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Mr. Rooker: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 8.35 |
| 1996-97 | 9.20 |
| 1997-98 | 19.12 |
| 1998-99 | 18.94 |
| 1999-2000 | 20.27 |
Notes:
1. Area Benefit Reviews results estimate that the level of fraud in Scotland for 1998-99 was £55 million. This figure does not include all benefits and relates only to Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
2. We are unable to provide details of all Instruments of Payment (IOP) fraudulently encashed through post offices.
3. The estimated level of losses associated with IOPs for 1999-2000 nationally is £106.9 million. It is not possible to provide a geographical breakdown for this figure.
4. Information is not available for anywhere less than the whole of Scotland. It is also not possible to provide the full amount spent in tackling fraud as some aspects of fraud expenditure such as Housing Benefit and organised fraud are controlled centrally.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the level of benefit fraud in the Coventry area; and what targets have been set for the relevant anti-fraud teams. [125616]
Mr. Rooker: Area Benefit Reviews provide a continuous measurement of fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance in each of the Benefits Agency's 13 Area Directorates. The data collected are rolled up to provide a national picture.
We are unable to provide estimates of levels of fraud for specific towns, cities or counties.
Our target is to reduce by 30 per cent. benefit losses from fraud and error in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance by March 2007, with at least a 10 per cent. reduction by 2002.
The weekly benefit savings scheme gives local authorities the opportunity to earn a financial reward where they detect Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit fraud. Each local authority is set an individual threshold and can begin to earn additional payments of subsidy where they exceed this. Coventry's threshold for 2000-01 is £848,413.
Benefit Delivery
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to ensure services to the customers of the Benefits Agency are delivered effectively and that benefits are secure against fraud and abuse; how much this costs; how many people are being investigated for fraud; and if he will make a statement. [124544]
Mr. Rooker: In March of this year, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the creation of a new organisation that will radically change the way the Government provide support for people of working age. The new agency will draw together those elements of the
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Benefits Agency which support people of working age and the Employment Service. The agency will deliver a single, integrated service to benefit claimants and employers. Information on job vacancies, training, and child care will be available as well as help and support to those who, for whatever reason, are not able to work, providing a more responsive service tailored to individual needs.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security has also announced the creation of a single organisation responsible for pensions, distinct from the Benefits Agency. This new organisation will be solely focused on the needs of pensioners and pensions policy.
We are committed to improving and modernising the welfare services offered to people, and the creation of separate, client focused organisations is the next step to achieving this.
The prevention and detection of fraud will be at the heart of he new organisational arrangement. The Government set out the strategy for tackling fraud in the White Paper "Safeguarding Social Security" presented to Parliament in March 1999.
For the financial year 2000-01, £351,447,403 of Programme Protection Funds are being deployed within the BA to combat fraud and error. However all benefit paying processes and all the BA staff involved have a role in preventing and identifying fraud and abuse.
On 31 March 2000, 163,138 people were recorded as currently under investigation by the Benefit Fraud Investigation Service, while between April 1999 to March 2000 there were 436 individual suspects accepted for prosecution from the Benefits Agency Security Investigation Service.
In addition, between April 1999 and March 2000 there were in excess of 280,000 referrals for investigation identified by the datamatching computer systems; the Generalised Matching Service and the Housing Benefit Matching Scheme. This however includes cases of customer and official error as well as fraud.
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