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Cycle Helmets
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his letter W/029539/00 of 22 November, when he will reach conclusions on the report into the effectiveness of cycle helmets by Adrian Cook and Aziz Sheikh. [142813]
Mr. Hill: There is a body of research on the effectiveness of cycle helmets. However, the results are not consistent. We will continue to review the case for making the wearing of cycle helmets compulsory as new evidence becomes available.
Vehicle Excise Duty
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when the rebate for vehicle excise duty announced for road hauliers in the pre-Budget Statement will be paid. [R] [142842]
Mr. Hill: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for North Essex (Mr. Jenkin) on 14 December 2000, Official Report, column 201W.
High Hedges
Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to introduce legislation on the control of high hedges. [142954]
Mr. Mullin: The Government announced their plans to bring forward legislation on high hedges on 10 August. Although it was not possible to make provision for a Bill in the Queen's Speech, we are ready to bring one forward as soon as there is space in the parliamentary timetable.
Civil Aviation
Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to make a statement to the House on his Green Paper on Civil Aviation. [143036]
Mr. Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Love) on 11 December 2000, Official Report, column 25W.
Revenue Support Grant
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will announce revised details of the Revenue Support Grant. [143498]
Ms Armstrong: I am today sending to all local authorities in England revised details of their proposed Revenue Support grant allocations for 2001-02. On this revised basis, the total of Revenue Support grant will be £21,122,232,459 if the rules I proposed on floors
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and ceilings are used in distributing grant; and £21,110,821,243 if they are not. The revisions take account of the extended timetable for the introduction of the provisions of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000; of updated data on allocations of Basic Credit Approvals, and council tax base; and of other minor changes or corrections.
Copies of the documents setting out revised figures to inform consultation have been placed in the Vote Office and the Library of the House.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits Agency Review
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when his Department will conduct a quinquennial review of the Benefits Agency. [143499]
Angela Eagle: All executive agencies are required to undertake a formal review of their organisation every five years to examine whether further improvements in customer service, use of modern technology and value for money could be made.
In March this year my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced plans to develop a brand new agency which will provide a single point of access for advice on looking for work and accessing benefits. The new agency will draw together the Employment Service and those parts of the Benefits Agency dealing with people of working age.
This announcement effectively overtook the quinquennial review of the Benefits Agency which was planned to be undertaken this year in parallel with a review of the Employment Service. Following consultation, my right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office has formally agreed to cancel the requirement for a quinquennial review of the Benefits Agency. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Employment will be making an announcement about the review of the Employment Service.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people work in the Office of the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency; [143014]
- (2) what is the average duration of an initial review of complaints by the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency; [143012]
(3) how many complaints are awaiting investigation by the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency; [143011]
(4) what is the date of reference of the earliest case which was referred to the Independent Case Examiner of the Child Support Agency where the initial review has yet to begin; [143015]
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(5) for the financial years (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98, (c) 1998-99, (d) 1999-2000 and (e) 2000-01 to date, how many complaints there were, (i) which were referred to the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency, (ii) where an initial review was completed and (iii) where a substantive investigation took place following the initial review; [143001]
(6) what is the waiting time between a complaint being referred to the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency and the beginning of the investigation of that complaint. [143013]
Angela Eagle: There are currently 54 members of staff employed in the office of the Independent Case Examiner (ICE), including six members of staff on secondment from the Child Support Agency.
On receipt of a complaint the office of the ICE completes a 'gateway' check, or initial review. Part of this check is to ask the Agency if their complaints procedures have been exhausted, and once this is known, the client is informed whether or not the office of the ICE will investigate their complaint. The average duration of this initial review (gateway check) on cases awaiting investigation is currently four working days. Once the investigation process has begun, the investigation officer will seek to clear the complaint by a resolution process. If this action is not successful or not appropriate, a full report is prepared and issued by the ICE.
There are currently 219 cases that have passed the gateway process and are awaiting investigation by the ICE office.
The earliest case, referred to the Independent Case Examiner where, on 14 December 2000, the initial review (gateway check) was yet to begin, is 12 December 2000. The waiting time between a complaint being referred to the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency and the beginning of the investigation of that complaint is currently 13 weeks.
The office of the Independent Case Examiner opened in April 1997; no complaints were referred to the office before that date. The information requested is in the table:
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Complaints received | 1,087 | 1,226 | 1,536 | 1,015 |
| Gateways checked | 1,087 | 1,226 | 1,536 | ,989 |
| Resolution | 54 | 239 | 445 | 175 |
| Full report | 150 | 235 | 220 | 191 |
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Magistrates Courts
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the average cost is of an oral hearing in the magistrates courts. [143024]
Jane Kennedy: The statistics collected by the Lord Chancellor's Department are not broken down to a level that shows the average cost of a hearing. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Internet
Mr. Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what remedies are being considered to assist rural communities excluded from ADSL internet access following local unbundling. [142687]
Ms Hewitt: For technical reasons, ADSL will not work where the end user is more than 3-4 km from the local exchange. There are other broadband technologies available, including satellite which can potentially cover the whole country.
As stated in the recent DTI/DCMS White Paper "A New Future for Communications", the Government will
- promote the availability of widespread access to higher bandwidth services and bring together public and private sector stakeholders to develop a practical broadband strategy.
Pollution
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of employment in manufacturing industry is in industries covered by the integrated pollution prevention and control regulations. [142883]
Ms Hewitt: Neither the Government nor the Environment Agency have this information available.
Combined Heat and Power
Mr. Benton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he will announce his decision on PowerGen CHP Ltd.'s proposal to build a combined heat and power station at the North Mersey Goods Yard, Port of Liverpool. [143442]
Mrs. Liddell: I have today granted consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 to PowerGen CHP Ltd. for the construction of the 60 MW combined heat and power combined cycle gas turbine power station at the North Mersey Goods Yard. Planning permission for the station was granted subject to 39 planning condition agreed with the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton.
Copies of the Press Notice and decision letter are being placed in the Library of the House.
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