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11 Mar 2003 : Column 183W—continued
US Bases
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) when the US formally asked permission from the UK Government to deploy B-52 bombers to British bases for anticipated operations in Iraq; if he will list the bases involved; and when the UK Government gave their consent; [101686]
- (2) how many US B-52s have been authorised to deploy to RAF Fairford; for how long; with which types of ordnance US B-52s will be armed while deployed at RAF Fairford; and whether these will include the Joint Direct Attack Munition. [101687]
Mr. Hoon : I told the House on 3 March 2003, Official Report, column 566, that I had agreed a United States request to deploy fourteen B-52 bombers to RAF Fairford. No time scale has been placed upon their deployment there. The Government have also agreed to a request to base B-52s at Diego Garcia.
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I am withholding details of the discussions and timings of decisions on the deployment of USAF B-52 aircraft to British bases and their ordnance in accordance with Exemption 1 (Defence, security and international relations) of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Personal Injury Claims
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to reduce the share of costs borne by public funds for claimants bringing personal injury cases against their employers. [101705]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: There are no plans at present.
Smoking
Mrs. Ann Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans there are to review legislation on worker safety dealing with the effects of passive smoking. [98506]
Mr. Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to meet employers to formulate a policy to ban smoking at the workplace. [98481]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no such plans.
Employers have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. This duty includes any risks arising from passive smoking. The Health and Safety Executive has published free guidance that gives advice to employers on introducing effective smoking policies in the workplace.
Accountancy Services
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to his Department was for accountancy services in 2002. [101560]
Mr. McCartney: The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asbestos
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance the Health and Safety Executive gives on the handling of asbestos products; what tests have been carried out for the purposes of the guidance to establish the fibre levels released by such products; who carried out the tests; and on what dates. [98682]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 25 February 2003]: The Health and Safety Executive has given guidance in six publications on the handling of asbestos products. They are the two Approved Codes of Practice, Work with asbestos insulation, asbestos coating and asbestos insulating board and Work with asbestos, which does not normally require a licence, and four guidance documents—Introduction to Asbestos Essentials,
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Asbestos Essentials Task Manual, Controlled Asbestos Stripping Techniques and Working with Asbestos Cement.
The Health and Safety Laboratory studied the fibre levels released from the main types of asbestos-containing materials by various maintenance activities in 1998. They also reviewed existing literature from the United Kingdom and United States. The results of the study and review are in Annexe I of the Regulatory Impact Assessment on the amendments to the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations.
A copy of the guidance and the regulatory impact assessment are available in the Library.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) instructions and (b) guidance is given to health and safety inspectors on the action they should take if they discover that asbestos removal contractors have acted improperly in determining that work should be undertaken to remove asbestos; and if he will make a statement. [98685]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 25 February 2003]: HSE inspectors promote HSE's policy, which is that asbestos in good condition should be left in place and managed and that asbestos in poor condition, or which is likely to be damaged or disturbed, should be repaired, sealed, enclosed or removed.
If HSE are notified of "improper" removal, their prime concern is whether the contractor has put someone at risk as a result of working with asbestos and their investigation would concentrate on this aspect of the complaint. Although there are no specific instructions or guidance to inspectors about the action to take where it has been alleged that a contractor or other third party has acted fraudulently, HSE staff may give guidance to the complainant on the appropriate authorities (for example Trading Standards or the Police) to pursue the issue.
Benefit Fraud
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the level of fraud in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05 in (i) income support, (ii) housing benefit, (iii) disability living allowance, (iv) the CSA, (v) national insurance, (vi) contractor fraud, (vii) jobseekers allowance and (viii) IC. [102257]
Malcolm Wicks: We do not make estimates of future levels of fraud. Currently we have only ongoing measurement of the level of fraud and error in Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance and Housing Benefit and we have set firm targets for the reduction of these in the future.
Employers' Liability Insurance
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department will report on the investigation it has been making into the rise in employer liability insurance. [100697]
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Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 4 March 2003]: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I gave on 12 December 2002, Official Report, columns 23–24WS, which said that the review will report to Ministers in the spring.
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the review of the Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance scheme will be published. [100243]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 3 March 2003]: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I gave on 12 December 2002, Official Report, columns 23–24W, which said that the review will report to Ministers in the spring.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the progress of his review of employers' liability insurance. [99612]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement I gave on 12 December 2002, Official Report, columns 23–24W. Contributions to the review are now being considered and the review will report to Ministers in the spring.
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department's review of employers' liability insurance will assess whether the health and safety assessments carried out as part of the Department of Trade and Industry's Quality Mark scheme could be extended to other sectors. [101349]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: I refer my hon. Friend to the written ministerial statement I gave on 12 December 2002, Official Report, columns 23–24W. Contributions to the review are now being considered and the review will report to Ministers in the spring.
Employment Statistics
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people over the age of (a) 70, (b) 65, (c) 60, (d) 55 and (e) 50 years were in employment in (i) 2001–02, (ii) 1997–98, (iii) 1990–91 and (iv) 1980–81; and if he will make a statement. [99835]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: We are vigorously promoting the benefits of age diversity and the recruitment, training and retention of older workers to employers through our Age Positive campaign. The campaign focuses on raising employers' awareness of the business case for an age diverse workforce and encourages them to use the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment to inform their employment policies.
Our recent Green Paper "Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement" published on 17 December 2002 sets out our proposals for encouraging the adoption of flexible approaches to retirement, giving people the choice to stay in work longer.
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The information requested on employment rates is in the table.
| 50 and over | 55 and over | 60 and over | 65 and over | 70 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 35.6 | 26.9 | 15.4 | 6.2 | 3.5 |
| 1991 | 31.5 | 22.6 | 12.6 | 5.1 | 2.8 |
| 1998 | 33.5 | 22.3 | 12.1 | 5.1 | 2.5 |
| 2002 | 36.0 | 25.5 | 13.3 | 5.3 | 2.5 |
Notes:
1. The LFS is a sample survey and as such estimates are subject to sampling error.
2. The LFS does not cover individuals in certain communal establishments, including residential or nursing care facilities.
3. Estimates are not consistent with census 2001 interim adjustments.
Source:
Labour Force Survey (LFS), spring of each year
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