---

Benefit Appeals

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many appeals have been launched against loss or reduction in (a) disability living allowance, (b) attendance allowance and (c) incapacity benefit; and what percentage were successful in each year since 1996 in the Stroud constituency. [34422]

Maria Eagle: The information is not available on a constituency basis, but only on the basis of the Appeals Service Agency Regional Centre in Cardiff.

	Attendance allowance	Disability living allowance	Incapacity benefit
1998
Caseload (UK)	1,241,700	2,014,200	2,301,700
Number lodged at Cardiff Regional Centre	620	7,285	12,750
Percentage of hearings found in favour	47.5	47.3	33.9
1999
Caseload (UK)	1,266,900	2,084,000	2,275,300
Number lodged	885	8,230	8,115
Percentage of hearings found in favour	48.6	49.9	35.9
2000
Caseload (UK)	1,270,500	2,160,300	2,286,200
Number lodged	1,895	15,560	6,780
Percentage of hearings found in favour	41.6	48.2	36.6
	January 2001-end October 2001
Caseload (UK)	1,294,300	2,271,100	2,337,800
Number lodged	1,450	10,410	5,800
Percentage of hearings found in favour	42.5	52.5	40.5

Notes:

All figures are subject to change as more up to date data becomes available.

Caseload figures (UK) are rounded to the nearest 100.

Lodged figures are rounded to the nearest 5.

All caseload figures used are at 31 August of each year.

Information prior to 1998 is not available.

Source:

Lodged and percentage of hearing figures: 100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System

Caseload figures: from 5 per cent. samples of the benefit computer systems.

7 Mar 2002 : Column 536W

Carers

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the financial assistance given to carers was last reviewed. [38203]

Maria Eagle: In autumn 2000 a substantial package of measures to help carers was announced. This amounts to over £500 million of extra support in the first three years covered by the announcement.

It includes a number of improvements to the main carer benefits aimed in particular at helping older and poorer carers, as well as helping carers to keep in touch with work by making part-time employment more worthwhile financially.

The package also included measures to remove the barrier that prevents people aged 65 or over from claiming invalid care allowance; ensure entitlement to ICA will continue for up to eight weeks after the death of the disabled person; and rename ICA as "carer's allowance".

Occupational Pension Schemes

Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when a draft Bill will be produced on reforming minimum funding requirement arrangements for occupational pension schemes. [38463]

Maria Eagle: The Government have consulted widely on the future of the minimum funding requirement (MFR), and has announced their proposals to replace it with a long-term scheme specific funding standard in the context of a regime of transparency and disclosure, with additional measures to strengthen security. We are working closely with the pensions industry, consumer organisations, employers and trades unions to develop the details of our proposals, and will introduce primary legislation to replace the MFR as soon as parliamentary time is available.

Incapacity Benefit

Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit recipients there were in each financial year since 1997, on a quarterly basis. [39377]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The information is published in the Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance Quarterly Summary Statistics: August 2001, a copy of which is available in the Library. The information is also available on the Department's website, www.dwp.gov.uk/ asd/online.html.

Disability Discrimination Act

Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 13 February 2002 to the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable), Official Report, column 506W, on the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, if he will make available in the Library the

7 Mar 2002 : Column 537W

research which indicates an increase in awareness levels and changes to the policies and practices of employers and service providers. [39755]

Maria Eagle: Through research, the Government are monitoring awareness of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 among a range of groups, including the general public, employers and service providers. We are also seeking to monitor the Act's impact on the policies and practices of employers and service providers. A number of DWP research reports exploring these issues are due to be published in the next few months. All these reports will be available in the House of Commons Library on publication.

Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the outcome of Government consultation on extending the scope of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 to cover the police service, with specific reference to the recruitment and retention to the police of people with diabetes. [40642]

Maria Eagle: Last year we issued a proposal for consultation on covering police officers within the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). This year we have proposed a number of other changes to the DDA in a current consultation document called "Towards Equality and Diversity". Some of these changes would have a bearing on the way in which disabled police officers and recruits, including any disabled by diabetes, are protected against discrimination.

HEALTH

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham

Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what decisions have been made on the future of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham heart and lung transplant unit; and if he will make a statement. [8265]

Yvette Cooper [holding answer 18 October 2001]: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.

Our proposals for developing the adult heart and lung transplantation service are set out in the discussion document: National Adult Heart and Lung Transplant Service, published on 21 September 2001. A copy is available in the Library.

Motor Neurone Disease

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the current regulations which do not permit sufferers of motor neurone disease to obtain tissues required for their care by prescription. [26948]

7 Mar 2002 : Column 538W

Jacqui Smith: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.

Neither our medical advisers nor the Motor Neurone Disease Association are aware of any particular requirement for tissues to be used to treat patients with motor neurone disease. We shall not, therefore, be making any changes to the regulations.

Lung Disease

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to establish a national strategy for lung disease. [29357]

Yvette Cooper: I apologise to the hon. Member for the delay in responding to this question. I refer him to the reply that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool, North and Fleetwood (Mrs. Humble) on 5 March 2002, Official Report, column 192W.

We consider the provision of first class services for people with lung disease as very important. We are taking forward a number of initiatives to drive improvements in prevention, access and delivery of services. These include:

Our £53 million investment in smoking cessation services, which has helped us exceed our "successful quitters" targets by over 50 per cent. in 2000–01—61,500 against a target of 40,000.

£4.9 million has been spent on asthma projects throughout the United Kingdom through the national research and development programme.

We have the launched the biggest ever campaign to immunise people against flu with targets to vaccinate 65 per cent. of over 65-year-olds.

By 2003–04 an additional £570 million will have been invested in cancer care.

Incidence and mortality rates for lung cancer are falling for men and incidence is falling for women.

Administrative Forms

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many administrative forms (a) have been and (b) are proposed to be introduced by his Department in (i) 2000–01 and (ii) 2001–02. [37375]

Mr. Hutton: Information on the overall numbers of administrative forms is not held centrally. However, the Department's Review of Central Returns Steering Committee (ROCR) Secretariat regulates the numbers of approved central returns from the NHS, and Statistics Division, acting for the Office for National Statistics Survey Control Unit, approves all non-NHS surveys and local authority returns.

The table shows the number of returns for 2000–01, and 2001–02 to the end of February 2002 (the latest date for which figures are available).

7 Mar 2002 : Column 539W

Department of Health numbers of information requests by year

	One-off	On-going
2000–01
Statistical and financial NHS	33	205
Personal social services and other surveys	3	24
Total	36	229
2001–02(7)
Statistical and financial NHS	7	215
Personal social services and other surveys	2	24
Total	9	239

⁽⁷⁾ To end February 2002

Notes:

One-off requests are generally to meet short-term information demands. On-going returns include annual censuses, quarterly performance data and other information for which there is a continuing need.

---