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3 Feb 2003 : Column 127W—continued
Health and Safety Strategy
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, (1) whether the Lord Chancellor's Department and its agencies have met the commitment arising from Action Point 13 of the June 2000 strategy statement on revitalising health and safety to summarise health and safety performance and plans in annual reports from the year 2000–01 onwards; [89499]
- (2) what information the Lord Chancellor has collated on the application to his Department and its agencies of the checklist, circulated by letter by Sir Richard Mottram, referred to under Action Point 12 of the revitalising health and safety strategy statement; and if he will make a statement; [89501]
(3) which senior officials within the Lord Chancellor's Department and its agencies take responsibility for health and safety at board or equivalent level; and where their names are publicised. [89500]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for Work on 20 January 2003, Official Report, column 85W.
Occupational Stress
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence and (b) causes of occupational stress among officials in the Magistrates' Court Service. [93688]
Yvette Cooper: None. Magistrates' Courts are locally managed by independent Magistrates' Courts Committees (MCCs). The Committees act as the strategic body responsible for determining policy in relation to the provision of services for court users, including the recruitment of staff and matters relating to their welfare.
Representative organisations of the Magistrates' Court Service are pursuing the possibility of conducting a stress audit for Magistrates' Court Staff.
Press Releases
Mr. Laws: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, how many press releases have been issued by her Department in each (a) year and (b) quarter from 1995–96 to 2002–03; and if she will make a statement. [92431]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The number of press releases issued by my Department is:
| Year | |
|---|---|
| 1995 | 335 |
| 1996 | 354 |
| 1997 | 310 |
| 1998 | 386 |
| 1999 | 387 |
| 2000 | 452 |
| 2001 | 463 |
| 2002 | 435 |
| 2003 | (20)16 |
(20) As at 20 January 2003
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Quarterly figures since 1995 could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Disability Living Allowance
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assistance his Department provides for people whose main disabling condition is deafness when requesting help with the disability living allowance application forms; and what the (a) targets and (b) performance figures for these services are for each year since 1997; [94933]
- (2) what methods of providing information on benefits, with specific regard to disability living allowance, to deaf people (a) have been introduced since 1997 and (b) are planned. [95031]
Maria Eagle: The Disability and Carers Service provides assistance for customers who require help completing claim packs. For deaf and hard of hearing customers this can be provided via text phone or face to face at a public counter facility, or, exceptionally, by appointment at the customer's home. Customers calling the Disability Living Allowance/Attendance Allowance Helpline can arrange a call back via textphone at an agreed time to assist with forms completion. Textphone numbers are published on all correspondence. Typetalk and Textdirect can also be used.
All Disability and Carer Service public counter facilities are fitted with induction loop systems and portable induction loops are available for home visits. For customers who require a British Sign Language Interpreter for either public counter or home appointments, advance appointments are made depending upon the availability of an interpreter.
The Department also provides a range of information about Disability Living Allowance in accessible formats. A large number of leaflets contain information, including SD1 Sick or disabled which is available from social security offices, Jobcentre Plus offices and most main post offices. Information is also available on the Department's website.
Information about Disability Living Allowance, along with the rest of the Department's benefit and pension information, is currently being reviewed across the Department for Work and Pensions. The review will inform the new corporate communication standards for the production of information in accessible formats.
The statistical information requested is unavailable.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans there are subsequent to the activities for managing life system trials to bring people
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whose main disabling condition is deafness who have high communication technology costs but relatively low support needs into DLA entitlement. [95131]
Maria Eagle: There are no current plans to alter the entitlement conditions to Disability Living Allowance (DLA) to reflect the costs of communication technology for people whose main disabling condition is deafness. Entitlement to DLA is based on the extent to which a severely disabled person requires attention, supervision or watching over by another person and/or has walking difficulties as a result of their disabilities. Activities for Managing Life (AMLs) is a model for a possible new way of assessing those requirements and difficulties but would not affect the fundamental rule that entitlement depends on each individual's personal care and mobility needs.
New Deal
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many participants left the New Deal programmes in each year since their establishment; and of those, what proportion obtained sustained jobs; [91613]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the sustained job entry rate of the New Deal. [91617]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The available information is in the tables.
| Total number of programme leavers | Proportion entering unsubsidised, sustained employment (percentage)(21) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 78,200 | 47.0 |
| 1999 | 196,300 | 40.3 |
| 2000 | 198,600 | 39.4 |
| 2001 | 176,600 | 38.3 |
| 2002(22) | 137,800 | 36.2 |
(21) A sustained job is defined as one lasting for more than 13 weeks.
(22) Up to September.
| Total number of programme leavers | Proportion entering unsubsidised, sustained employment (percentage)(24) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 13,700 | 22.6 |
| 1999 | 124,400 | 13.3 |
| 2000 | 132,600 | 13.4 |
| 2001 | 115,200 | 18.7 |
| 2002(25) | 87,000 | 25.1 |
(23) In April 2001, New Deal 25 plus was re-engineered to provide a flexible, more individually-tailored service to help more people get jobs and remain in them.
(24) A sustained job is defined as one lasting for more than 13 weeks.
(25) Up to September.
3 Feb 2003 : Column 130W
Information on the number of leavers from New Deal for Disabled People is not available.
The following table shows the number of participants moving into jobs and sustained jobs since the programme was launched nationally in July 2001. A sustained job in the New Deal for Disabled People is defined as one lasting 26 weeks out of a 39-week period. Therefore, a number of people who have already moved into jobs have not yet reached the point at which that job can be regarded as sustained.
| Total number of people entering employment | Total number of people entering sustained employment | |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2,304 | 245 |
| 2002(26) | 5,677 | 1,745 |
(26) Up to November.
Information on the number of people moving into sustained jobs through the New Deal for Lone Parents is not available. The following table shows the number of programme leavers and the proportion of leavers who move into work.
| Total number of programme leavers | Proportion entering employment (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 1,520 | 47.4 |
| 1999 | 59,460 | 44.3 |
| 2000 | 86,510 | 52.0 |
| 2001 | 102,890 | 49.7 |
| 2002(27) | 72,360 | 56.8 |
(27) Up to September.
Information on the number of leavers and people entering sustained employment through New Deal 50 plus and the New Deal for Partners is not available. However, many of those helped into work through these programmes will have entered sustained jobs.
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make arrangements to refer calls to the Benefit Fraud hotline and the Targeting Fraud website, which relate to Asylum Support Fraud, to NASS fraud investigations. [95129]
Malcolm Wicks: Referrals to the Benefit Fraud hotline and the Targeting Fraud website relating to asylum seekers are already checked against departmental records to establish if a benefit is in payment. If a benefit is in payment, the allegation is passed to the local Counter-Fraud Investigation Service team who, in turn, notify the Immigration Service and the National Asylum Support Service (NASS). If benefit is not in payment, the allegation is passed directly to the Immigration Service and NASS.