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22 May 2003 : Column 929W—continued
Savings
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the percentage of the population who have (a) no savings, (b) savings below £1,000 and (c) savings below £5,000. [115115]
Malcolm Wicks: Information on individual accounts and savings outside of the range £1,500 to £20,000 is not available.
The Family Resources Survey can provide estimates for Great Britain of savings held within benefit units. This information is presented in the table.
| Limit (£) | Benefit units with savings below certain limits (percentages) |
|---|---|
| No savings | 34. |
| Below 1,500 | 57 |
| Below 5,000 | 71 |
Notes:
1. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). 2001–02 is the latest year for which data is available.
2. Questions on assets are a sensitive part of the FRS questionnaire and have relatively low level of response. Evidence suggests some under reporting of capital by respondents.
3. A benefit unit is a single adult or couple living as married and any dependent children.
Source:
2001–02 Family Resources Survey, Great Britain.
Social Fund
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list those items for which a social fund loan is available. [114364]
Malcolm Wicks: The discretionary Social Fund, which includes interest free budgeting loans and crisis loans, plays an important role in our agenda for tackling
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poverty and social exclusion. It provides support to millions of people on low incomes who need help with unexpected and varied needs.
Budgeting Loans are available to people who have been receiving Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance for at least 26 weeks, to help with intermittent expenses which are difficult to budget for. Crisis Loans are available to anyone in an emergency or as a result of a disaster, whether in receipt of benefit or not, when they have no other means of preventing serious damage or risk to their, or a member of their family's, health or safety.
The items for which Budgeting Loans can be awarded are not specified in detail; help is provided for a broad range of expenses for which an applicant may have difficulty in budgeting for from their benefit. Because a Crisis Loan is intended to cover immediate short-term needs, the help needed may be for a specific item or service or to meet immediate living expenses for a short period, usually up to 14 days.
Part 4 of the Discretionary Social Fund Guide (para 6300 et seq.), lists the categories of need for which a Budgeting Loan can be awarded. A copy is available in the Library. Part 3 of the Guide (para 4700 et seq.) provides examples of the circumstances in which a Crisis Loan can be awarded.
Tax Credits
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received about the Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations. [111732]
Malcolm Wicks: At various stages throughout the drafting of The Social Security (Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2003, consultation took place with local authorities, representatives of interested external organisations and with the Social Security Advisory Committee. Early drafts were also made available publicly in May 2002.
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NORTHERN IRELAND
Prisoners (Early Release)
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners have been released from prisons in Great Britain under the terms of the early release of prisoners scheme drawn up under the Belfast Agreement. [112899]
Jane Kennedy: To qualify for early release under the legislation, the Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998, a person must be serving his sentence in Northern Ireland. Therefore, no prisoners have been released from prisons in Great Britain under the terms of the early release scheme. Nevertheless, 21 of the 447 prisoners granted early release committed their offences in Great Britain but had transferred to prison in Northern Ireland prior to making application.
Assaults (Hospital Staff)
David Burnside: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many verbal and physical assaults took place on (a) nurses and (b) other staff working in areas of mental health and learning disabilities in Northern Ireland in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2002. [115281]
(2) how many verbal and physical assaults took place on (a) nurses and (b) other staff working in general hospitals in Northern Ireland in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2002. [115282]
Mr. Browne: The information is not available in the format requested. However the number of recorded assaults (both physical and verbal) on Health and Personal Social Services Staff in all disciplines, during those financial years, is detailed in the table:
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 1,677 |
| 2000–01 | 1,956 |
| 2001–02 | 2,438 |
Court Proceedings (Police Presence)
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his policy is in relation to police officers being present in court while criminal proceedings are taking place. [114037]
Jane Kennedy: Currently, police attend magistrates' courts to look after prisoners and to produce them to the court. Where there is reason to believe that a breach of the peace is likely to take place, police may also perform duty in the courtroom. Administrative functions, such as acting as ushers, or jury keepers are no longer carried out by the police.
Departmental Catering Services
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of (a) the in-house canteen and (b) other catering services provided by the Department in 2002. [104257]
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Mr. Paul Murphy: Within the Northern Ireland Office expenditure on in-house canteen and other catering services cannot be disaggregated. In the financial year 2001–02, the total for the Department, including its Agencies but excluding NDPBs, was £533,718.
Within the Northern Ireland administration in-house canteen facilities are not provided. The total cost of providing contracted out catering services in the financial year 2001–02 was £680,000.
Departmental Events
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will list the (a) conferences, (b) seminars, (c) workshops, (d) exhibitions and (e) press conferences which have been sponsored by his Department and which took place on non-Departmental premises in the last 12 months, broken down by title, purpose, date and cost. [104279]
Mr. Paul Murphy: This information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Downpatrick Courthouse
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which organisation was responsible for security at Downpatrick courthouse on the day in the week beginning 5 May. [114038]
Jane Kennedy: The responsibility for security at Downpatrick magistrates court was shared between the PSNI, the Prison Service and the NI Court Service through the civilian security provided by Maybin Security Services. On 5 May a number of remand prisoners were handed into police custody by Prison Office staff. The prisoners included the two persons who subsequently escaped from custody.
General Practitioners (Ards Peninsula)
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to enhance the out of hours general practice service for those living along the Ards Peninsula. [115064]
Mr. Browne: I am satisfied that the current out of hours arrangements for the Ards Peninsula are working satisfactorily and that service users living there receive the same level of service as those living elsewhere in the North Down area.
International Fund for Ireland
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many grants were made by the International Fund for Ireland for each Parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [113780]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Board of the International Fund publishes an Annual Report of its activities, including a list of all projects that receive financial support. Copies of the Reports are held in the House of Commons Library.
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Ministerial Salaries
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by what amount the salaries of members of the Northern Ireland Executive have been reduced since its suspension. [105070]
Mr. Paul Murphy: As Ministers do not hold office during suspension, the salaries of members of the Northern Ireland Executive were reduced by the following amount since suspension:
| Salaries reduced by | |
|---|---|
| First Minister and Deputy First Minister | 69,862 |
| Other Ministers | 36,241 |
This amount includes retrospective pay rises.
In addition the Assembly member element of the Ministers' salaries was reduced by £9,504 with effect from 15 November 2002, abated as required by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 in respect of those Members who are MPs and MEPs.
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