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Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the feasibility of bringing responsibility for Housing Benefit claims within the (a) remit and (b) locality of the new Jobcentre Plus offices; and if he will make a statement. [14297]
Malcolm Wicks: There are no plans to bring responsibility for Housing Benefit claims into Jobcentre Plus. We expect Jobcentre Plus and local authorities to work closely together to provide a coherent service for customers. We are aligning Jobcentre Plus district boundaries with local authority boundaries so as to manage the interaction between the two more effectively.
Income Support
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of income support payments under the preserved rights scheme in each year since 1997; and how many were (a) under 65 and (b) over 65 years in each case. [15180]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
| Year | All preserved rights customers | Aged under 65 | Aged 65 and over |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 123.7 | 40.6 | 83.1 |
| 1998 | 103.6 | 38.4 | 65.2 |
| 1999 | 86.2 | 36.0 | 50.1 |
| 2000 | 74.3 | 34.0 | 40.3 |
| 2001 | 65.1 | 31.9 | 33.1 |
Notes:
1. Figures are based on 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error.
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Inquiries, May 1997–May 2001.
Rented Accommodation
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will monitor the impact (a) nationally and (b) regionally of the revised definition of the single room rent on access to, and affordability of, privately rented accommodation for young people aged under 25 years. [11501]
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Malcolm Wicks: The revised definition of the single room rent was introduced from 2 July 2001. We are currently considering options for monitoring the effect of the new definition.
WALES
Water Supply (Ceredigion)
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on water supply in Ceredigion. [13063]
Mr. Paul Murphy: That is a matter for the National Assembly for Wales. However, I refer the hon. Member to the comments my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary addressed to him in the debate in Westminster Hall on 14 November 2001, Official Report, column 296–97WH.
Chernobyl
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what area of land in Wales is affected by the radioactive fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident; and what estimate he has made of how long it will take for all restrictions arising from Chernobyl to be lifted. [14685]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Information about the land area affected by the radioactive fallout is not held centrally. However, 5,000 farms across Wales were placed on restriction following the Chernobyl accident. Of those, 360 remain on restriction. Monitoring is carried out continually and the Food Standards Agency will take scientific advice as to when restrictions can be relaxed.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Statutory Bereavement Payment
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what plans he has to increase the statutory bereavement payment in fatal accident cases; and if he will make a statement. [14203]
Mr. Wills: Consideration is being given to both the costs and benefits of an increase. A regulatory impact assessment has been completed, analysing the effects of increasing the level of bereavement damages. Any increase would have an impact on business and other Government Departments, and before an announcement can be made the Lord Chancellor will need to consult his colleagues.
An announcement on whether or not an increase will be made is expected by March 2002.
Magistrates Courts
Mr. Watson: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, pursuant to his answer of 31 October 2001, Official Report, column 754W, if he will publish the full results of the pilot study run in nine magistrates courts committee areas between 2 April and 29 June; and if he will make a statement. [14458]
Mr. Wills: I have today placed a copy of the evaluation report prepared following the pilot scheme run in the nine magistrates courts committee areas in the Library of each
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House. This report includes the national results for the pilot period. The scheme for cracked, ineffective and vacated trials has been endorsed for national roll-out in January 2002.
Freedom of Information Act
Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if it is his policy that the Freedom of Information Act 2000 is to be implemented in stages. [15196]
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Mr. Wills: The Freedom of Information Act will be fully implemented by January 2005, 11 months before the timetable set out in the Act itself. The publication scheme provisions will be implemented first, on a rolling programme, starting with central Government in November 2002. A full schedule of organisations and dates of implementation was placed in the Libraries of both Houses on 13 November. This roll-out will be completed in June 2004 and the individual right of access to information held by all public authorities will be implemented in January 2005.
EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Education Rights
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which categories of person having regard to age, marital status, duration of residence in the UK, immigration status, nationality and other characteristics, are eligible for (a) free statutory-age schooling, (b) free nursery education, (c) free education in colleges of further education and (d) education in higher education institutions, free other than through contributions to home students' tuition fees. [7951]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 16 October 2001]: Any child of compulsory school age living in England is entitled to free education. All four-year-olds are entitled to three terms of free, good quality, part-time nursery education before they reach compulsory school age regardless of duration of residence in the UK, immigration status, nationality or any other characteristics.
Three-year-olds are entitled to a free, good quality, part-time nursery education place depending on their age and their local early years development and childcare partnership's allocation criteria. Early years development and childcare partnerships must allocate places based on social need.
The Learning and Skills Council is responsible for determining when tuition fees are to be charged for further education courses. Advice to institutions for the current academic year is that, subject to residency requirements, tuition fees should not be charged to any learner aged 16 to 18 on either a full-time or part-time course. Other groups not charged tuition fees include: those receiving jobseekers' allowance (JSA); those receiving a means- tested state benefit; unwaged dependants (as defined by the Benefits Agency) of those listed above; people on adult basic education or English for speakers of other languages programmes; asylum seekers in receipt of the equivalent of a means-tested benefit (assistance under the terms of the 1999 Immigration and Asylum Act), and their dependants; and, certain learners participating in Council funded projects (only where identified in the project specification).
Higher education institutions, as independent, self- governing bodies, decide whether to charge students tuition fees at the 'home' rate or the higher 'overseas' rate using the Education (Fees and Awards) Regulations 1997, (as amended). To be eligible for home fee status, students usually need to have 'settled status' in the UK and have been ordinarily resident here for three years before their course starts, except where this was solely or mainly to receive full-time education. Students meeting these requirements will be classed as "home" students for tuition fee purposes. Broadly speaking, these will include, in most cases, UK and other European Union students, students with recognised refugee status, other students granted the right to enter or remain and who meet the UK residence requirement, and migrant workers from the European Economic Area. Students not meeting these requirements may be charged fees at the 'overseas' rate.
Early Excellence Centres
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the location of the early excellence centres which (a) are in operation, (b) are in the process of implementation and (c) are planned, and what are the criteria for locations to be included in each element of the programme. [14132]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 13 November 2001]: The Early Excellence Centre (EEC) programme is at the forefront of our policies to develop practice in integrated care, education and family services.
(a) The early excellence centres which are in operation are in:
- Bath and North East Somerset
Bolton
Bradford
Bristol
Camden
Coventry
Cumbria
Cornwall
Derbyshire
Gateshead
Greenwich
Hammersmith and Fulham
Hampshire
Haringey
- Hertfordshire
Kirklees
Leeds
Liverpool
Manchester
Newham
North Tyneside
North East Lincolnshire
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
Oxfordshire
Portsmouth
Richmond-upon-Thames
Rotherham
Sheffield (2)
Somerset
Stockport
South Tyneside
St. Helens
Westminster
Wirral.
(c) Working closely with sure start and neighbourhood nurseries, we plan to have up to 100 centres across the country by 2004. The criteria for joining the programme are set out in the latest invitation to join the programme sent to all local authorities, early years development and childcare partnerships and other partners on 1 October. Location is not the prime criterion: quality of provision is, but our plans for the programme do include achieving good geographic spread.
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