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14 Apr 2003 : Column 651W—continued

Post Office Card Account

Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to ensure that disabled customers who are unable to use the PIN pads for Post Office card accounts are informed that they can delay changing their payment method until an accessible alternative is in place. [108650]

Malcolm Wicks: Access to Post Office branches, the Post Office card account and PIN pads are the responsibility of Post Office Ltd. We are aware that groups representing disabled and blind/partially sighted customers have raised concerns about the PIN pads that have been installed in Post Offices. The Post Office have acknowledged that they need to make the PIN pad more accessible and user friendly. They have invited the RNIB and other disability groups to work with them.

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There is no question of people not getting their money. Customers will be given all of the options available to them and it will be up to them to choose the account most suitable for them, in these circumstances customers may find that banks or building societies have accounts that suit their needs more effectively. The Department is committed to ensure that all people have access to their money via an account including the Post Office card account they can continue, for a while, to receive their benefits or pension by order book. These methods of payment will eventually be phased out. We have always recognised that there will be a small number of people who we cannot pay directly into an account. We will develop an alternative method to pay this group. Payment outlets for this alternative method will include Post Office branches.

Until the customer actually receives the mailing and contacts the number on the letter we cannot identify individuals' particular needs and circumstances.

Property Portfolio

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated value is of the property portfolio held by his Department. [108377]

Maria Eagle: The latest valuation of freehold and long leasehold properties held by this Department took place in June 2000 and showed a total value of £139,546,000. This covers approximately 370 buildings out of a total of around 1,800 that we occupy.

Regions White Paper

Joyce Quin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made by his Department towards the aim in the White Paper, "Your Region, Your Choice", of encouraging applicants to public bodies from all parts of England; and what change there has been in the geographical diversity of appointees to NDPBs and other public bodies sponsored by his Department since the publication of the White Paper. [108557]

Maria Eagle: The Department sponsors 13 non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) all of which have a national remit. Public appointment vacancies are advertised widely in the national and ethnic press, specialist publications, and various websites including the new public appointments website launched last month. The Department was also involved in the regional seminars for women, organised by the Women and Equality Unit and held during 2002, which were aimed at increasing awareness of public appointments.

All public appointments are made on merit in line with the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice. For this Department, between 14 May 2002 and 31 March 2003, 19 new appointments were made to NDPBs. Those appointed live in all of the Government Regions of England except the North-East and the West Midlands, as well as in Scotland and Wales.

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Residential Training Schemes

Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to change his Department's policy whereby a young person taking part in a residential training scheme loses his or her benefit entitlement for that period. [103677]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: Residential training is available to unemployed people with health problems and disabilities as part of the Work Based Learning for Adults programme. It is intended to help individuals gain skills in a supported environment, where they are unable to access suitable local provision.

People undertaking residential training are entitled to receive Jobcentre Plus allowance payments. The payments are equal to the rate of benefit that participants were entitled to immediately prior to commencing the training, with an additional £10 premium paid to support the cost of attendance.

For those in receipt of income support or income-based jobseekers allowance prior to receiving Jobcentre Plus allowance payments, an adjustment is made to ensure that entitlement to passported benefits such as housing benefit and council tax benefit are preserved. In addition, for those in receipt of incapacity benefit, special linking rules apply which protect their underlying rate of benefit for up to two years.

These arrangements ensure that people do not lose out financially through undertaking training. We have no plans to change these arrangements at present.

Secondments

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many civil servants have been seconded from his Department to (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, broken down by (i) grade of civil servants seconded, (ii) location and (iii) dates of secondments, in each year since 1997–98. [108094]

Maria Eagle: Secondments are part of the Interchange initiative which promotes the exchange of people and good practice between the civil service and other organisations. All sectors of the economy are involved: Voluntary, Education, Health, Public and Private. Interchange is a key component of the reform agenda. The Modernising Government White Paper committed us to increasing interchange, in particular by bringing in more people on secondment and sending more of our people out.

The information that we have available is as follows.

Secondments that began between April 1997 and March 1998

	Number
By grade
SCS	1
6, 7, SEO	13
HEO/EO	18
AO/AA	25
Total commenced between April 1997 and March 1998	57
Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed between April 1997 and March 1998
(a) Private Sector	7
(b) NGOs	9
(c) Other	72

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Secondments that began between April 1998 and March 1999

	Number
By grade
SCS	0
6, 7, SEO	9
HEO/EO	56
AO/AA	20
Total commenced between April 1998 and March 1999	85
Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed April 1998 to March 1999
(a) Private Sector	11
(b) NGOs	14
(c) Other	111

Secondments that commenced between April 1999 to March 2000

	Number
By grade
SCS	1
6, 7, SEO	13
HEO/EO	72
AO/AA	87
Total commenced between April 1999 and March 2000	173
Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed between April 1999 and March 2000
(a) Private Sector	101
(b) NGOs	73
(c) Other	91

Secondments that commenced between April 2000 to March 2001

	Number
By grade
SCS	2
6, 7	8
SEO/HEO	28
EO	166
AO/AA	106
Other	2
Total commenced between April 2000 and March 2001	312
Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed April 2000 and March 2001
(a) Private Sector	127
(b) NGOs	47
(c) Other	470

Secondments that commenced between April 2001 and March 2002

	Number
By grade
SCS	0
6, 7	2
SEO/HEO	17
EO	119
AO/AA	84
Other	1
Total commenced between April 2001 and March 2002	223
Categories of secondments that commenced, continued or completed between April 2001 and March 2002
(a) Private Sector	312
(b) NGOs	8
(c) Other	212

Note:

The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001. Information for earlier years are for the former Department of Social Security and the Employment Service.

Websites

Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the (a) cost of and (b) number of visitors to each website operated by

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his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible in each year since its establishment. [107603]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. For such information as is

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available, I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Twickenham (Dr. Cable) on 7 November 2002, Official Report, columns 293–94W, and the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (Mr. Bercow) on 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 597.

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