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Departmental Report
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library up-dated versions of tables 1 to 11 at the back of the 2000 Departmental Report (Cm 4614); and if he will reintroduce these tables in future departmental reports. [158693]
Mr. Rooker: Following the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting (RAB) there have been a number of changes to the core tables produced in line with Treasury guidance and contained in all departmental reports. The aim of the tables is to provide an analysis of departmental expenditure plans. These are presented in the 2001 Departmental Report (Cm 5115) in resource terms, showing resource consumption and capital investment; Voted and Non-Voted expenditure and the plans agreed in the Spending Review for Departmental Expenditure Limits (DEL) and Annually Managed Expenditure (AME).
The format of the published Core Tables and Main Estimate Tables is intended to anticipate, as far as possible, the format of the Resource Accounts that will be published next year in respect of 2001-02. As in previous years the published departmental report includes key information on local authority expenditure (Table 8), administration costs (Table 9) and staff numbers (Table 10). Departmental Expenditure Limits, in cash terms are set out for the years 1995-96 to 2000-01 in Table 11. Detailed plans are set out in Table 4 and a high level summary provided in Table 1.
We are currently considering what further information might be provided and the most effective way of communicating it. We hope to make an announcement in the near future.
Automated Credit Transfers
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security to what extent his target of having 85 per cent. of customers having benefits paid into their bank by 2005 is consistent with the Government's plan to complete the transition to ACT by 2005; and if he will make a statement on his plans for those customers who do not receive payment by ACT by 2005. [159166]
Mr. Rooker: These two aims are entirely consistent. Payment directly into bank or building society accounts will become the normal method of payment for benefits and pensions starting in 2003 and completing in 2005.
We have always recognised that there will be some people who we will be unable to pay directly through bank or building society accounts, and some payments that cannot be made this way. This is reflected in our Public Service Agreement target of 85 per cent. of our customers having their benefits paid into bank or building society accounts by 2005. For those payments which we cannot make directly into bank or building society accounts, we are considering what alternative simple electronic money transmission system, which could also be accessed at post offices, will be commercially available.
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Sickness Absence
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress he has made on reducing his Department's sickness absence rates; what baseline figure was used to assess his Department's compliance with its PSA target on reducing sickness rates; what the Department's actual figure for 2000 was; and if he will make a statement. [159168]
Mr. Rooker: The Department's PSA targets are to achieve a reduction on sickness absence rates of 20 per cent. by the end of 2001 and 30 per cent. by the end of 2003. The targets are measured against the 1998 baseline figure of 12.1 average working days lost per person.
All appropriate recommendations of the Cabinet Office report "Working Well Together" have been introduced and action plans are in place across the Department to improve performance in managing attendance.
Performance for the year 2000 was 12.6 average working days lost. Performance was adversely affected at the start of the year by the influenza outbreak which was higher than normal.
Public Service Agreement Targets
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what sanction has been applied to his Department in cases where it has failed to meet its public service agreement targets. [159167]
Mr. Rooker: The purpose of the Public Service Agreement is not to set sanctions. It is to set high level objectives and challenging targets which can be properly measured and monitored.
The Department's performance against its 1998 Public Service Agreement targets was set out in the Social Security Departmental Report (Cm 5115, March 2001). This shows that the majority of the targets have been met or are on course to be met. Only one target had not been met--that relating to payment for goods and services within 30 days of receipt.
Pensioners
Ms Squire: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the administrative cost of allowing pensioners a choice between receiving the Winter Fuel Payment and free television licence or a higher rate of state retirement pension. [159665]
Mr. Darling: The estimated costs are in the table.
| Cost category | Year one cost | Annual cost thereafter(1) |
|---|---|---|
| System changes(2) | 6.0 | 0.0 |
| Sending out mail-shot to 10.5 million pensioners(3) | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Processing the responses to the mail-shot(4) | 89.0 | 89.0 |
| Totals | 104.0 | 98.0 |
(1) The costing assumes that pensioners would be assessed annually.
(2) This cost covers the IT changes to DSS computer systems which would need to be made in order to give pensioners the option of how the payments were made to them. Several different computer systems would need to be partially recoded. The cost here relates mainly to man hours dedicated to recoding. We have assumed that these system changes would be made in such a way as to allow pensioners to subsequently change their payment option without further need for recoding.
(3) This covers the cost of mailing forms to 10.5 million pensioners every year asking them to choose how the payments are made to them.
(4) This covers the costs of processing the responses to the annual mailshot and would be the largest single component of the extra cost. It is estimated that, to the extent that processing 10.5 million payment request options every year was possible at all, it would require the equivalent of an additional 3,000 full-time civil servants.
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HEALTH
Departmental Costs
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's total gross running costs were for travel, including fares, subsistence, accommodation and other expenses met from public funds but excluding such costs for journeys and stays exclusively within the United Kingdom (a) in the three years ending on 30 April 1997 and (b) in the 12 months ending 30 April 1997. [157626]
Ms Stuart: The Department spent £499,905 in 1995-96 and £540,380 in 1996-97 on overseas travel and subsistence. Prior to this information was not gathered on a similar basis.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total gross running costs were to his Department in the 12 months ending 31 December 1996 of entertaining by Ministers and officials. [157625]
Ms Stuart: The Department does not collect the information in the form requested. Expenditure on hospitality for 1996-97 financial year amounted to £105,192.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many visits abroad have been made by officials on departmental business in the (a) three years ending 30 April 1997 and (b) 12 months ending 30 April 1997. [157624]
Ms Stuart: The information requested is not available centrally.
NHS CT Scanners
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the NHS acute trusts which have NHS CT scanners, indicating for each trust the ratio of beds to scanners. [157016]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 9 April 2001]: The following data for numbers of acute hospital beds in trusts come from the National Health Service Executive 1999-2000.
The numbers of CT scanners is derived from a survey carried out in 2000.
The information in the table is correct as of 1 April 2001. Statistical information is updated on a monthly basis and is available at www.canceruk.net.
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Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what standards are applied to determine the number of NHS CT scanners per head of the population for each NHS region. [157017]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 9 April 2001]: The provision of diagnostic CT scanners is decided locally in the context of regional capital investment plans.
The NHS Cancer Plan announced new investment of £570 million, which will address inequalities in access to services for cancer, including the provision of diagnostic CT scanners.
For funding of CT scanners we have produced a database of the numbers of CT scanners per head of population and have calculated the number of additional machines required in order to bring up the numbers in those regions which currently have a short-fall compared to the mean number of CT scanners per head of population nationally.
seven additional machines for South East region
seven additional machines for Eastern region
five additional machines for South West region
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two additional machines for Trent region
one additional machine for West Midlands region
22 additional machines in all.
Mr. Jack: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio of population to the number of CT scanners is in each NHS region. [157018]
Yvette Cooper [holding answer 9 April 2001]: Data for population estimates have been obtained from the Office for National Statistics. Data for the numbers of CT scanners have been derived from a survey of trusts carried out in 2000. Data correct as at 1 April 2001. More detailed information is available at www.canceruk.net, where the statistical information is updated on a monthly basis.
| Region | CT scanners per region | Population | Population per CT scanner |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 58 | 7,285,045 | 125,604 |
| Northern and Yorkshire | 41 | 6,335,729 | 154,530 |
| North West | 44 | 6,595,330 | 149,894 |
| South West | 21 | 4,935,669 | 235,032 |
| West Midlands | 29 | 5,335,597 | 183,986 |
| South East | 40 | 8,698,745 | 217,469 |
| Trent | 26 | 5,147,851 | 197,994 |
| Eastern | 22 | 5,418,898 | 246,313 |
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