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Benefit Fraud (Wandsworth)

Mr. Pond: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish the inspection report of the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate in respect of the London borough of Wandsworth. [148159]

Mr. Rooker: The Benefit Fraud Inspectorate report was published today in respect of the London borough of Wandsworth and copies of the report have been placed in the Library.

The report makes recommendations to help the council address weaknesses and to improve the administration of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit, as well as its counter fraud activities.

Inspectors consider that Wandsworth has a strong management structure including comprehensive documentation specifying its relationships with its in-house provider which exhibits good practice and experienced, knowledgeable staff, supported by guidance and procedures on an intra-net. The report notes overall significant improvements have been made to the Revenues and Benefits Service since its transfer in-house in November 1998, but there are still further improvements to be made. Wandsworth has implemented the Verification Framework and inspectors generally found a commendable level of verification but improvements are needed on the level of verification of residency.

The council has tight and well documented reconciliation procedures to help keep claims right, although inspectors consider they need to develop a risk analysis to focus counter fraud work.

The BFI reports that Wandsworth has a strong corporate commitment to counter fraud work and has successfully applied prosecutions and other sanctions. However, inspectors consider the council needs to improve arrangements for the management of overpayment identification, classification and recovery and maximising use of its powers to recover overpayments. Work also needs to be done to strengthen the quality of fraud investigations.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is now considering the report and will be asking the council for its proposals in response to the findings and recommendations of the BFI.

Industrial Injuries Benefits

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the cost was to his Department of benefits relating to industrial injuries; and what the cost was of such benefits paid to individuals living in the Lewes constituency in the last year for which figures are available. [148017]

Mr. Bayley: Expenditure on industrial injuries benefits in 1999-2000 was £756 million. It is not possible to provide a breakdown of this figure by constituency.

Source:

Pre-Budget report, HM Treasury, November 2000.

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Unclaimed Benefits

Paddy Ashdown: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the estimate is of the amount of unclaimed (a) Child Benefit, (b) Council Tax Benefit, (c) Housing Benefit, (d) Income Support, (e) Invalid Care Allowance, (f) Incapacity Benefit, (g) Jobseeker's Allowance, (h) Retirement Pension, (i) Severe Disablement Allowance and (j) Disability Living Allowance in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) the Yeovil constituency, for the latest year for which each figure is available; and if he will make a statement. [146617]

Mr. Rooker: Estimates of the amount of unclaimed income-related benefits in Great Britain (Council Tax Benefit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance) can be found in "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up 1998-99", a copy of which is in the Library.

There are no comparable estimates available of the amount of unclaimed Invalid Care Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance or Disability Living Allowance.

No precise estimates are available of the amount of retirement pension left unclaimed, although take-up is thought to be between 95 per cent. and 100 per cent. On average around 98 per cent. of families take up their entitlement to Child Benefit. No estimates are available for different parts of Great Britain.

Housing Benefit

Ms Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will assess the impact of changes made to the administration of Housing Benefit upon registered social landlords. [147874]

Angela Eagle: We published in December 2000 our response to consultation on the Housing Green Paper. This set out radical measures to bring about improvement to the administration of Housing Benefit. These measures will help us to bring improvements to the performance of struggling councils to raise standards across the board and to streamline Housing Benefit to make it easier for councils to administer and simpler for individuals to claim.

As part of the drive to ease the burden on local authorities the Department is also discussing with representatives of registered social landlords proposals they have volunteered for assisting with elements of Housing Benefit administration.

We have also taken account of representations received from registered social landlords, and others about the appeal rights of third parties against the recovery of overpayments of housing benefit. Our decisions on this were set out in my written answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr. McCabe) on 10 January 2001, Official Report, column 575W.

TREASURY

Working Families Tax Credit

Paddy Ashdown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of

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unclaimed Working Families Tax Credit in 2000-01 to date; and if he will make a statement. [146616]

Dawn Primarolo: No such estimate is available.

Mr. Brady: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what period it is permissible to continue receiving Working Families Tax Credit while outside the UK. [147228]

Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 25 January 2001]: As set out in the Inland Revenue leaflet WFTC/BK1 "Your guide to Working Families Tax Credit" an award of Working Families Tax Credit will normally last for 26 weeks.

Hinduja Brothers

Mr. Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates the applications for banking licences were made by the Hinduja brothers; what advice he received on these applications; and if he will make a statement. [148020]

Miss Melanie Johnson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sevenoaks (Mr. Fallon) on 29 January 2001, Official Report, column 42W.

Publicly Owned Assets

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the impact on Government revenues of the sale of publicly owned assets in the last 20 years. [147312]

Mr. Andrew Smith: Information on receipts of asset sales is published annually in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (PESA). Estimates for receipts from general government sales of fixed assets and debt sales from 1994-95 to 1999-2000 were published in PESA 2000-01 (Cm 4601), Table 4.8. Estimates of general government sales of land and existing buildings back to 1982-83 were published in PESA 1998-99 (Cm 3901), Table 3.8; figures for earlier years are available from the equivalent table in earlier editions of PESA. A detailed analysis of privatisation proceeds from 1979-80 to 1996-97 was published in PESA 1997-98 (Cm 3601), Table 3.13.

Departmental Cost Savings

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what savings have been made across Government Departments through cost-saving measures over the last 20 years, based on current prices, expressed (a) in cash and (b) as a percentage of expenditure. [147313]

Mr. Andrew Smith: This question can be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Tonnage Tax

Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he proposes to review the provisions of the tonnage tax. [147706]

Dawn Primarolo: The Government keep all taxes under review.

Red Diesel

Mr. Davidson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that red diesel is not

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misused; how many prosecutions there have been for misuse in each of the last five years; how many prosecutions were successful; what penalties were levied in each case; and if he will make a statement. [146739]

Mr. Timms: Customs have a network of road fuel testing teams located regionally throughout the UK to ensure that rebated heavy oils, including red diesel, are not misused as fuel by road vehicles. These teams run testing vehicles in the UK which operate as mobile laboratories able to test for the chemical markers present in rebated oil.

Since 1996-97, Customs, excluding Northern Ireland, have prosecuted 20 cases of road fuel offences, involving red diesel, and have been successful in all cases. As a result of these prosecutions a total of £10,850 in penalties and 12 custodial sentences have been imposed. The figures for Northern Ireland are not currently available.

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the extent to which the reduced duty on red diesel affects the uptake of liquid petroleum gas and compressed natural gas. [147980]

Mr. Timms: No such assessment has been made.

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he last reviewed the criteria for determining (a) who is eligible to use red diesel and (b) the purposes for which red diesel may be used. [147981]

Mr. Timms: The Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 defines the circumstances in which rebated heavy oil can be used. This legislation is regularly reviewed to ensure its application remains relevant.

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will calculate the average annual financial value of using red diesel to users of (a) standard diesel and (b) ultra low sulphur diesel, broken down by economic sector. [147990]

Mr. Timms: The use of rebated gas oil (red diesel) is restricted by Schedule 1 to the Hydrocarbon Oil Duties Act 1979 which defines categories of vehicles allowed to use this fuel. Users of standard diesel and ultra low sulphur diesel do not have the option to use red diesel.

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