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22 May 2003 : Column 917W—continued
Benefit Statistics
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many claimants there were of (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) housing benefit in (i) Scotland and (ii) Fife in (A) May 1997 and (B) the last month for which figures are available; [114618]
- (2) how many lone parents there were on income support in (a) Scotland and (b) Fife in (i) May 1997 and (ii) the last month for which figures are available. [114619]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is in the tables. Figures are not seasonally adjusted so figures for May 2002 have also been included to allow a year-on-year comparison with May 1997.
22 May 2003 : Column 918W
| Scotland | Fife | |
|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | 158,807 | 11,431 |
| May 2002 | 103,712 | 8,953 |
| April 2003 | 102,664 | 8,540 |
Source:
Count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems.
| Scotland | Fife | |
|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | 533,000 | 31,810 |
| May 2002 | 450,000 | 27,700 |
| November 2002 | 446,000 | 27,330 |
Notes:
1. The data refer to households claiming Housing Benefit which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand and local authority figures to the nearest 10.
3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
4. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases.
Source:Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System.
Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in May 1997, May 2002 and November 2002.
| Scotland | Fife | |
|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | 300,000 | 16,900 |
| May 2002 | 289,000 | 16,900 |
| November 2002 | 288,800 | 17,000 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample, therefore subject to sampling variation.
3. Figures include people receiving National Insurance Credits only
Source:
Figures are based on 5 per cent. samples of the-benefit computer system and will exclude a small number of clerically held cases.
| Scotland | Fife local authority | |
|---|---|---|
| May 1997 | 95,200 | 5,900 |
| May 2002 | 77,600 | 4,800 |
| November 2002 | 76,200 | 5,000 |
(1) Lone Parents are defined as single claimants with dependants not receiving the Disability or Pensioner Premium.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample, therefore subject to sampling variation.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries.
22 May 2003 : Column 919W
Child Support
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what date he has set for (a) commencing and (b) completing the transfer of existing child support cases to the new scheme; and if he will make a statement. [115290]
Malcolm Wicks: None. We have made clear that we shall only make a decision on this once we are sure that the new scheme is working well.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of non-resident parents who have had their driving licences removed by the courts since April 2001 as a result of the provisions introduced under the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000. [112338]
Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Webb, dated 22 May 2003:
- The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
- You ask if he will estimate the number of non-resident parents who have had their driving licences removed by the courts since April 2001 as a result of the provisions introduced under the Child Support Pensions and Social Security Act 2000.
- There have been four non-resident parents who have been disqualified from driving for failure to pay child support. The intention of the relevant legislation is however to use the existence of this power to encourage more parents to meet this responsibility without a court appearance. I believe that it is having this beneficial effect.
Council Tax Benefit
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact of this year's council tax increases upon (a) council tax benefit expenditure and (b) the numbers of households subjected to council tax benefit restrictions. [111758]
Malcolm Wicks: Our estimated forecast for council tax benefit expenditure in 2003–04 is £3,387 million. This is £130 million more than if average council tax had increased by the same rate as in 2002–03.
The amount of council tax benefit paid to households in properties in council tax bands F, G or H is restricted to the amount payable for council tax band E, regardless of the amount of council tax payable. An increase in council tax would not therefore have an impact on the number of existing benefit recipients subject to restrictions. The impact of council tax increases on the number of households that might make a new claim for council tax benefit, who would subsequently be subject to restrictions, is estimated to be negligible.
- Source:DWP Information and Analysis Directorate. Expenditure forecasts are consistent with those produced for Budget 2003.
22 May 2003 : Column 920W
Child Support Agency
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted under the criminal offence of non- co-operation with the CSA; and what the average sentence was from that conviction. [112333]
Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will reply to the hon. Member.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the expenditure of his Department on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002. [106312]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The Department's total expenditure on newspapers, magazines and periodicals in 2002 was approximately £173,000. Subscriptions may also be taken at local level and information about these is not collected centrally.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to reduce his Department's underspend in 2003–04 from that of 2002–03. [112769]
Maria Eagle: No underspend is currently planned for 2003–04.
The estimated resource underspend reported in Table 2.4 of the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses, published on 6 May 2003, is £201 million and is 2.7 per cent. of the final provision. This principally reflects lower than planned activity on Labour Market Programmes.
The reported Capital underspend of £53 million principally reflects slippage on the departmental change programme.
Current spending plans are set out in Table 1 of the Departmental Report.
The Department is utilising all 2002–03 underspends to support spending plans over the SR2002 period.
E-Government Projects
Brian Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list by project the consultancies his Department and its non-departmental public bodies have used on E-Government projects since 1 January 2001. [114186]
Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions has carried out a number of projects to progress its E-Government targets since January 2001. The majority of these projects have been undertaken within the main supplier relationship frameworks the Department has put in place. These include Affinity (lead supplier EDS).
Other consultancies used are as follows:
22 May 2003 : Column 921W
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