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Scottish Executive
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Advocate-General on how many occasions she has been formally consulted by the Scottish Executive in each of the last two years. [45358]
The Advocate-General: I have not been formally consulted by the Scottish Executive because that is not my role. As Law Officer I give legal advice to the Government. The Scottish Executive receives legal advice from its Law Officers—the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor General for Scotland.
Leggatt Review
Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Advocate-General what assessment she had made of the implications of the Leggatt Review for UK tribunals operating in Scotland. [45785]
The Advocate-General: The Government will publish their response to the Leggatt Report later in the year. There is ongoing work on this matter which will be subject to collective ministerial decision. As regards the implications for UK tribunals operating in Scotland, the Lord Chancellor's Department have been considering this
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together with the Scotland Office and the Scottish Executive and the results of this consideration will be included in the Government's response.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Ministerial Meetings
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the dates of the meetings and contacts that (a) special advisers and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with (i) Mr. Roy Parker, (ii) Sir Richard Needham and (iii) Mr. Shaun Harte since 2 May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [34326]
Dr. John Reid: There is no record of any such meetings or contacts taking place with either Mr. Parker or Mr. Harte.
Sir Richard Needham is a frequent visitor to Northern Ireland and it is possible that he might have had some contact with my Department in the course of these visits. However, we have been unable to find any record of any formal meetings or contacts with Sir Richard at ministerial or special adviser level.
Mackie Ltd.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the dates and subjects of meetings that (a) special advisers and (b) Ministers in his Department have had since 2 May 1997 with representatives of Mackie Ltd.; and if he will make a statement. [34324]
Dr. John Reid: On 9 September 1998, the Minister of State dealing with economic development matters met Sul Sahota and Jim Gilmore, respectively chief executive and chairman of Mackie International Group plc. The Minister of State was accompanied by officials, but there was no special adviser present. The meeting was held at the request of Mr. Sahota to discuss financial difficulties that were being faced by Mackie International Group plc. We have no record of any other such meetings, although there was frequent contact with representatives of Mackie International Group at official level from May 1997 until the company collapsed.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the collapse of Mackie; and if he will make a statement. [34320]
Dr. John Reid: Mackie International Group plc following its failure to raise additional funding of £15 million to acquire another engineering group and restructure its balance sheet. The company had incurred substantial trading losses of over £25 million from 1996 to 1998 due to a decline in the textile machinery market and a lack of orders. These losses significantly weakened the company's liquidity.
Mr. Shaun Harte
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what role Mr. Shaun Harte played on behalf of the British Government; if he will place the terms of reference for his appointment in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [34321]
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Dr. John Reid: There is no record of Mr. Harte having been employed by the British Government at any time.
Shaun Harte was employed by the Northern Ireland Development Agency, a statutory agency, from 1978 to 1979. During that period, he was nominated by the Northern Ireland Development Agency to serve as a non-executive member of the De Lorean Motors Ltd. board. We are informed by the devolved Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment that, given the passage of time since then, Mr. Harte's employment records are no longer available. He died in 1999.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the dates of the meetings and contacts that (a) special advisers and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with Mr. Shaun Harte since 2 May 1997; and if he will make a statement. [34325]
Dr. John Reid: There is no record of any such meetings or contacts having taken place.
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library the information that his Department received from Mr. Roy Parker regarding Mr. Shaun Harte; and if he will make a statement. [34322]
Dr. John Reid: Roy Parker made a number of allegations against Shaun Harte and former directors of Mackie International Group. These were investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, who found no evidence of any impropriety which could lead them to take any action against the company, its former directors or its auditors.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Child Poverty
Mr. Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to consult on the measurement of child poverty. [51496]
Malcolm Wicks: Today I have published "Measuring Child Poverty: a consultation document". Copies have been placed in the Library.
This consultation document aims to promote debate on how best to build on the Government's existing indicators to measure child poverty in the long term. The paper describes and seeks views on a range of approaches proposed by academics and poverty experts from the UK and overseas.
Occupational Pensions
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies have been (a) investigated and (b) fined by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority for breaking the rules governing stakeholder pensions. [46474]
Mr. McCartney: Stakeholder pension schemes started in April 2001. Up to 1 March 2002, the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) has investigated 299 cases where an employer has failed to designate a stakeholder scheme and 144 cases of employers failing to pay contributions on time.
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No companies have as yet been fined. Opra's focus is on getting employers to comply. Compliance has been achieved in 219 of the cases investigated. No breach was found to have occurred in 88 cases. The remainder are under continuing investigation.
Hospital Travel
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many grants were made to assist with the cost of travel to hospital, and of what mean and upper and lower decile values, in each (a) county, (b) health authority and (b) travel-to-work area in the last 12 months. [43243]
Malcolm Wicks: Patients admitted to hospital for NHS treatment can apply for help towards their travelling costs through the Hospital Travel Costs Scheme which is the responsibility of the Department of Health.
Hospital visitors can apply for a social fund community care grant to help with their travelling costs. Separate figures for the number and value of grants made in respect of these costs are not available.
Cold Weather Payments
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Social Fund cold weather payments have been made in each of the last 10 years; and what was value of these payments for (a) each Government Office region in England and (b) Wales. [39525]
Malcolm Wicks: The available information is in the table.
| Number of payments made | |
|---|---|
| 1991–92 | (10)3,800,000 |
| 1992–93 | (10)2,500,000 |
| 1993–94 | (10)2,100,000 |
| 1994–95 | 10,969 |
| 1995–96 | 6,537,914 |
| 1996–97 | 4,543,665 |
| 1997–98 | 42,615 |
| 1998–99 | 14,512 |
| 1999–2000 | 97,469 |
| 2000–01 | 2,720,117 |
1. Information before 1994–95 is only available rounded to the nearest 100,000.
2. Information on the value of these payments is not available by Government Office Region.
Source:
Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance Computer Systems.
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Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what is being done to reduce the backlog of those people who received the incorrect winter fuel payment in (a) December 2001 and (b) January and February 2002; and if he will make a statement. [48550]
Mr. McCartney: When the Department becomes aware that a winter fuel payment has been issued at an incorrect amount, remedial action is taken as a soon as possible. There is no current backlog.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received the incorrect winter fuel payment of £100 in (a) 2001–02 and (b) 2000–01; and if he will make a statement. [48633]
Mr. McCartney: Anyone who received a £100 winter fuel payment was advised to contact the Department immediately if they thought that they should have been entitled to £200. Where it was found that the higher rate was appropriate, a top-up payment of £100 was made as soon as possible. In winter 2000–01, a total of 43,962 top-up payments were issued; so far, around 38,500 have been made for winter 2001–02.
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