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Digital Hearing Aids

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations his Department has made to Her Majesty's Treasury concerning the treatment of the receipt of digital hearing aids funded through the access to work scheme as a taxable benefit. [25366]

Maria Eagle [holding answer 11 January 2002]: The Employment Service has met with officials of the Inland Revenue and established the tax liability position of access to work beneficiaries with digital hearing aids, as set out in the answer given to the hon. Member by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 11 January 2002, Official Report, column 1033W.

New Deal

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those leaving the new deal for the long-term unemployed left the new deal for unsubsidised sustained jobs; and how many did not return to claim jobseeker's allowance within (a) 26 weeks and (b) one year since the inception of the new deal. [25981]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Up to the end of October 2001, 49,010 new deal 25 plus leavers had gained unsubsidised sustained jobs. Of these, 42,280 did not return to claim jobseeker's allowance within 26 weeks, and 37,030 had not re-claimed the benefit one year after leaving the new deal.

Notes:

The figures quoted refer to people who entered the pre-April 2001 new deal 25 plus programme. An enhanced new deal 25 plus programme was launched in April 2001. The figures include those leavers who have been in employment for less than six to 12 months, but who have not yet returned to jobseeker's allowance.

Source:

New Deal Evaluation Database

Correspondence

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 27 November 2001 with regard to Miss C. Fryar. [27319]

Mr. Darling: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 16 January.

Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 3 December 2001 with regard to Miss A. Steeles. [27324]

Mr. Darling: I replied to my right hon. Friend on 10 January.

17 Jan 2002 : Column 460W

Self-administered Pension Schemes

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the costs of registration of trustees under the Data Protection Act 1998 for self-administered pension schemes. [27669]

Mr. McCartney: The Department has made no assessment of the costs of registration of trustees under the Data Protection Act 1998. The Act sets out the provisions under which data controllers are required to complete notifications to the Information Commissioner (formerly registrations under the Data Protection Act 1984). Trustees, as the people responsible for the administration of their pension schemes, are responsible for deciding whether they are required to send a notification to the Information Commissioner. A fee of £35 is payable for notification and the period of notification is one year.

Pension Credit

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide a breakdown of the forecast cost of the pension credit by (a) 2010, (b) 2020, (c) 2030 and (d) 2040. [21026]

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people will be entitled to the pension credit; and what the cost will be in (a) 2005, (b) 2010, (c) 2015 and (d) 2020 if the minimum income guarantee element of the pension credit is uprated in line with earnings from 2003 and the basic state pension in line with prices. [21409]

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of people retiring who will receive a pension above benefit levels (i) this year, (ii) in 2005, (iii) in 2010, (iv) in 2020, (v) in 2030 and (vi) in 2040; and if he will make a statement. [25749]

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will estimate the coverage of the proposed pension credit scheme if the pension credit was uprated in line with earnings to (a) 2005, (b) 2010 and (c) 2015; [20299]

(2) if he will estimate the annual (a) cost and (b) coverage in terms of the numbers of pensioners in receipt of pension credit in each of the first five years after 2003–04 on the basis of his present proposals and their uprating in line with earnings; [27335]

(3) if he will estimate the annual (a) cost and (b) coverage in terms of numbers of pensioners in receipt of pension credit, on the basis of his proposals and their uprating in line with earnings, at (i) 2010, (ii) 2020, and (iii) 2030. [27336]

Mr. McCartney [holding answers 5 December 2001 and 16 January 2002]: The information requested is set out in the paper "The Pension Credit: long-term projections", which has been placed in the Library today. Copies are also available in the Vote Office.

Child Care

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) number and (b) cost of publicly funded child care places in each of the last 10 years. [24969]

17 Jan 2002 : Column 461W

Margaret Hodge: I have been asked to reply.

In England, over 424,000 child care places, including pre-school and out of school child care places (including child minding places), have been created since April 1997. For the current financial year, 2001–02, a total of £188 million has been made available to support the creation and sustainability of good quality, affordable child care places and complementary special projects. Of the total, the Government have made £149 million available to early years development and child care partnerships, which includes £46 million from the neighbourhood nurseries initiative, and the European Social Fund has made £39 million available for special projects.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Departmental Spending

Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been spent by the Home Office on advertising in the past two years; what the cost and purpose of each advertising campaign was; which advertising agencies were involved in each campaign; and if he will make a statement. [27648]

Mr. Blunkett [holding answer 15 January 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Perth (Annabelle Ewing) on 19 December 2001, Official Report, column 478W.

There follows a more detailed breakdown of the spending on advertising.

Over the past two years the Home Office has spent the following on advertising:

In 1999–2000 £5.65 million was spent on the following campaigns:

An information campaign encouraging people to register to vote—£575,000;

An information campaign explaining changes to the voting system for the European Election—£1.87 million;

An information campaign on how to obtain a passport—£545,000;

A fire safety information campaign £1.675 million; and

Police recruitment campaign (Accelerated Promotion Scheme for Graduates (APSG)/Special Constables)—£985,000.

The advertising agency involved in all these campaigns is Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper.

In 2000–01 £28.36 million was spent on the following campaigns:

A campaign to inform people about new rolling electoral registration procedures—£3.34 million. Agency involved—Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper;

A campaign to inform people about new postal voting procedures £3.2 million. Agency involved—Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper;

A fire safety information campaign—£5 million. Agency involved—Euro RSCG Wnek Gosper;

A campaign to make people aware of the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998—£800,000. Agency involved—(Collett Dickinson Pearce);

A police recruitment campaign—£7.35 million. Agency involved— M&C Saatchi; and

An information campaign to help reduce vehicle crime—£8.67 million. Agency involved—Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/ Y&R.

All the costs listed include VAT.

17 Jan 2002 : Column 462W

Environmental Audit Committee

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes he has made to his Department's practice in respect of environmental appraisals to reflect the recommendations contained in the Environmental Audit Committee's 5th report of Session 1999–2000, HC 341. [27517]

Angela Eagle: [holding answer 16 January 2002]: A section on environmental appraisals is included within the Department's Policy Checklist, which staff have been commended to use by the Permanent Secretary. The ministerial website also states that policy submissions should include a paragraph on environmental considerations.

The Prison Service Management Board has agreed that all new policies and programmes should be subject to environmental screening and appraisal. This will apply to submissions to Ministers, papers to the Prison Service Management Board and Operational Policy Group and to business cases in respect of prison maintenance and construction work.

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