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4 Jun 2003 : Column 479W—continued

Official Residences

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister on how many occasions his official residences have been used for (a) charitable and (b) other fund-raising events since May 1997; what charges were made for such events; and what was made of (i) catering and (ii) other facilities provided by the residences. [113542]

Mr. Leslie: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister has held no such events at his official residences.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what rules govern the use of his official residences for non-official purposes. [113544]

Mr. Leslie: The rules governing the use of Ministers' official residences are set out in the Ministerial Code of Conduct.

Overseas Travel

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much his Department, his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on overseas travel, overseas accommodation and other associated expenses in each year since 1997. [104182]

Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley, South (Mr. Alexander) to the hon. Member for Yeovil on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 334W. Figures for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Retirements

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many (a) early retirements and (b) ill-health retirements there were as a percentage of the total workforce in (i) the Audit Commission and (ii) the average local authority in England in the last year for which figures are available. [115496]

Mr. Leslie: During the year to 31 October 2002 (the end of the Audit Commission's last complete financial year), the percentage of Commission staff who retired early was 0.1 per cent. of staff employed. There were no retirements on the grounds of ill-health. Between 1 April 2001 and 31 March 2002 the average percentages of staff of English local authorities retiring early and because of ill-health were 0.7 per cent. and 0.5 per cent. respectively.

Senior Management (Women)

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what percentage of senior management posts are filled by women in (a) the Audit Commission and (b) the average local authority in England. [115493]

Mr. Leslie: Of the 125 (5 per cent.) most highly paid posts within the Audit Commission in 2001–02, 27.2 per cent. were filled by female members of staff. The average percentage of the posts in the top three management tiers of English local authorities in 2001–02 which were filled by women was 24 per cent.

4 Jun 2003 : Column 480W

PRIME MINISTER

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister what evidence he has evaluated that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in (a) 2002 and (b) 2003 which represented a present threat to Britain; and if he will make a statement. [115565]

The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave at Prime Minister's Questions on 4 June 2003, Official Report, columns 146–56.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Term-time Working

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether term-time workers in education are deemed unemployed and able to claim jobseeker's allowance during unpaid holidays, for the purposes of calculation of their hourly rate. [116693]

Malcolm Wicks: Jobseeker's Allowance is paid to support people who are available for and actively seeking employment and who are not engaged in remunerative work of 16 hours or more a week. For people who have regular breaks in their employment, like term-time workers, whether or not they are engaged in remunerative work depends on the average number of paid hours that they work each week. The average is calculated over the whole cycle of their work—which for term-time workers is the full year, including both terms and holidays. If this average is under 16 hours a week, term-time workers may be entitled to Jobseeker's Allowance, provided they meet the other conditions for entitlement.

John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made with the review of term-time working; and if he will make a statement. [116689]

Malcolm Wicks: Our view is that the most appropriate form of help for low-paid term-time workers is through in-work support. The introduction of the Working Tax Credit in April has improved and extended the provision of in-work support, and there are specific provisions to ensure that term-time workers1 pattern of work is taken into account for the Working Tax Credit.

Adult Education

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people gained a first Level 2 qualification under Work Based Learning for Adults in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [114470]

Mr. Nicholas Brown: The information requested is not available. However, a Training and Enterprise Council survey of leavers showed that, prior to April 2001, around 47 per cent. of people who responded gained a full or part qualification.

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Benefit Fraud

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what system is in place for making decisions as to whether allegations of benefit fraud should be investigated; and if he will make a statement. [113492]

Malcolm Wicks: All allegations of benefit fraud, from whatever source, are sent to Referral Managers located in each regional Operational Intelligence Unit. An unbiased risk scoring system is applied for prioritising referrals made to the Department's investigators. Cases that are not investigated as potential benefit fraud are referred to other staff to consider whether other, non-investigative, interventions are required.

Benefits Sanctions

Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy that anyone facing a benefits sanction for breach of labour market conditions or the New Deal rule will initially be sent a warning letter giving contact details for local advice agencies. [113934]

Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 19 May 2003]: Before a sanction is imposed, a Jobseeker's Allowance recipient is notified that a doubt has arisen on their claim. They are also asked if they wish to make a statement giving the grounds for their actions which caused the doubt to be raised. We have no plans to change these arrangements but keep them under review.

Child Support

Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many cases assessments for child support have been suspended because the absent partner is habitually resident in another EU country; in how many of such cases the absent partner retains a material connection with the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement. [115083]

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 Mr. Doug Smith to Mr. Boswell, dated 3 June 2003:




Identity Fraud

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance accounts with false identities have been monitored by the Department

4 Jun 2003 : Column 482W

in each of the last 10 years; and of those, how many cases were referred from the national insurance recording system. [116727]

Malcolm Wicks: The National Identity Fraud Unit (NIFU) flags on the Departmental Central Index and the National Insurance Recording System all accounts where it can be proven that the application for a National Insurance Number was made using false identity documentation.

The total number of false identity flags that are held on Departmental records to date is 1,138. Figures cannot be broken down specifically for each year.

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