House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 17 Jun 2003 (pt 15)

17 Jun 2003 : Column 157W—continued

Lost Working Days

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average number of working days lost per person in his Department and its agencies was in each of the last six years. [116722]

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

Period Average days lost per person

1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 14.17

1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 14.27

Period	Average days lost per person
1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002	14.17
1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003	14.27

Note:

Based on the number of staff in post on 31 March

The Department is committed to managing sick absences effectively and in reducing the number of days lost.

Pension Credit

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to inform pensioners of their eligibility for the pension credit; and what the costs of such plans are. [118629]

Malcolm Wicks: The Pension Service has begun to write to pensioner households to explain Pension Credit and to invite advance applications. Around 1.8 million people who currently receive the Minimum Income Guarantee have been told that they will be transferred automatically to Pension Credit, ready for payments to be made from October 2003. By June 2004, all pensioner households will have been contacted. This systematic approach will be supported by regional and national advertising. The marketing campaign for Pension Credit is in its early stages and the level of expenditure may change according to need. However, it is currently estimated that media costs, including direct mailing, television and press advertising, will be in the region of £12–17 million, excluding VAT, to October 2004.

Pensions

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his proposed pension insurance

17 Jun 2003 : Column 158W

scheme will also cover public sector pensions; and whether public sector employees will be expected to pay insurance premiums. [119967]

Malcolm Wicks: The Green Paper response (Cm 5835) notes, the Pensions Protection Fund will cover all employees in defined benefit pension schemes other than those in public sector schemes where benefits are guaranteed by government. The levy will be payable by relevant employers, not employees in either the public or private sectors.

Race Relations

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in his Department and non departmental public bodies on implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000; and if he will publish the results of the monitoring required by the Act. [117466]

Malcolm Wicks: We will be publishing a revised Race Equality Scheme on Friday 11 July. This will set out the Department's progress in implementing the requirements of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, including the position on implementing the monitoring requirements of the Act. A copy of the Scheme will be placed in the Library.

Work-First Interviews

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people have had a work-first interview; and if he will make a statement; [114490]

(a)

(b)

(3) how many people who have received a work-first interview have been registered as (a) unemployed and (b) inactive; how many of those have gone onto (i) incapacity benefit and (ii) other disability benefits; and if he will make a statement. [114491]

Mr. Browne: The information on the number of Work Focused Interviews is available only by client types not by benefit claimed and so it is not possible to provide a breakdown between incapacity benefit and other disability benefits.

Since the introduction of jobseekers allowance (JSA) in 1996 customers have to attend a New Jobseekers Interview before their claim to JSA is valid. From October 2001, customers making a new claim for a non-JSA benefit in Jobcentre Plus areas have had to participate in a Work Focused Interview with a Personal Adviser as a condition of claiming benefits but there is no requirement to look for work.

From 22 October 2001 to 9 May 2003 a total of 245,914 Work Focused Interviews (JSA and non-JSA) were conducted in Jobcentre Plus offices. A breakdown by client type is only available from 19 November 2001. From that date to 9 May 2003 a total of 238,234 Work Focused Interviews were conducted, of which 175,174 were JSA customers (unemployed and required to actively seek work) and 63,060 were non-JSA (not required to be available for or actively seek work); of these, 37,748 were incapacitated or disabled.

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Information on skill levels gathered through work-focused interviews is not collected centrally and so it is not possible to provide a breakdown by benefit type.

Workplace Health and Safety

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's expenditure on improving health and safety in the workplace is in 2003–04; and what the level of expenditure was in each year since 2000–01. [118216]

Mr. Browne: The information in the table reflects the expenditure of the Health and Safety Executive, which is responsible for improving health and safety in the workplace, in each year from 2000–01:

Cost (£000)

2000–01 ⁽¹⁰⁾189.400

2001–02 ⁽¹⁰⁾203.500

2002–03 ⁽¹⁰⁾193.713

2003–04 ⁽¹¹⁾219,000

	Cost (£000)
2000–01	⁽¹⁰⁾189.400
2001–02	⁽¹⁰⁾203.500
2002–03	⁽¹⁰⁾193.713
2003–04	⁽¹¹⁾219,000

⁽¹⁰⁾ The information provided for 2000–01 to 2002–03 represents the Grant in Aid (cash) drawn by the Health and Safety Executive in each year.

⁽¹¹⁾ The information provided for 2003–04 is the Net Resource Budget which has been voted by Parliament.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many work-related deaths or serious injuries have occurred at workplaces in the Tooting constituency in each of the last five years; [118217]

(a)

(b)

Mr. Browne: Enforcement of health and safety at work law in certain premises is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and in other premises for the local authority.

The number of work-related deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public reported to HSE in the London borough of Wandsworth in each of the last five years for which figures are available, is in the table.

Table 1

Year⁽¹²⁾ Work-related deaths Major injury

1997–98 1 329

1998–99 3 181

1999–2000 — 96

2000–01 1 85

2001–02 1 70

Year⁽¹²⁾	Work-related deaths	Major injury
1997–98	1	329
1998–99	3	181
1999–2000	—	96
2000–01	1	85
2001–02	1	70

The number of work-related deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public, reported to the London borough of Wandsworth in the same period is as follows:

Table 2

Year⁽¹²⁾ Work-related deaths Major injury

1997–98 — 15

1998–99 — 3

1999–2000 — 36

2000–01 — 37

2001–02 — 23

Year⁽¹²⁾	Work-related deaths	Major injury
1997–98	—	15
1998–99	—	3
1999–2000	—	36
2000–01	—	37
2001–02	—	23

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Information at constituency level is not available.

The number of prosecutions taken by HSE against employers in the London borough of Wandsworth for (a) work-related deaths and (b) major injuries to employees (including trainees) in each of the last three years for which figures are available is as follows:

Table 3

Separate offences prosecuted

Year⁽¹²⁾ Following work-related death Following major injury

1999–2000 — 1

2000–01 1 1

2001–02 — —

	Separate offences prosecuted
Year⁽¹²⁾	Following work-related death	Following major injury
1999–2000	—	1
2000–01	1	1
2001–02	—	—

The number of prosecutions for health and safety at work offences taken by Wandsworth borough council in the same period is as follows:

Table 4

Year⁽¹²⁾ Separate offences prosecuted (all health and safety offences)⁽¹³⁾

1999–2000 8

2000–01 —

2001–02 Not yet available

Year⁽¹²⁾	Separate offences prosecuted (all health and safety offences)⁽¹³⁾
1999–2000	8
2000–01	—
2001–02	Not yet available

⁽¹²⁾ The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March.

⁽¹³⁾ Figures for offences prosecuted by local authorities specifically following death or major injury are not available except at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department last introduced a nationwide campaign on the importance of health and safety procedures being followed by both employers and employees. [118551]

Mr. Browne: The Government (through the then Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions) and the HSC launched "Revitalising Health and Safety" in 2000. The strategy stresses the need for employers to improve their health and safety performance to achieve best practice, the contribution of the workforce that understands its own responsibilities and the need for effective partnership between all stakeholders in the health and safety system.

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspections of building development sites there have been in the Greater London area by health and safety inspectors in each of the last three years. [118556]

Mr. Browne: The information is in the table.

Inspection visits of construction activities in the Greater London Area carried out by HSE Inspectors

Year Number

2000–01 2,540

2001–02 1,951

2002–03 2,200

Year	Number
2000–01	2,540
2001–02	1,951
2002–03	2,200

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