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Child Support

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the use of the appeals process by people to delay payments required of them by the Child Support Agency. [119523]

Maria Eagle: A non-resident parent's liability to pay maintenance is not affected by an outstanding appeal. Action to collect existing liability will normally continue pending the outcome of an appeal.

Councillors' Expenses

Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what impact receiving expenses has on a councillor's application for income support; and if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on local councillors' expenses. [116068]

Maria Eagle: A local authority councillors' work is not treated as remunerative work for assessment purposes. However, councillors' allowances and expenses may be taken into account as income, thus reducing the amount of benefit they may receive.

When assessing a claim for income support, any allowances paid for necessary expenses are not treated as income and are disregarded. Any allowances paid for a councillor's time are regarded as income, and are taken into account after applying appropriate disregards.

Councillors are entitled to some allowances whether they are claimed or not. If a councillor has not claimed an allowance they could expect to receive, it is treated as notional income and taken into account as if it had actually been paid.

Further details on the treatment of local councillors' earnings can be found in the "Decision Makers Guide", Volume 3 (paragraph 15096); Volume 4 (paragraph 20485); and Volume 5 (paragraph 26066), which is available in the Library.

Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are involved, and what conclusions have been reached in the Job Retention and Rehabilitation pilots. [116253]

Mr. Browne: The Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilot is a research project that aims to test the effectiveness of three different ways of helping people to get back to, and remain in, work. The pilot is open to employed and self-employed volunteers who have been off work for at least six weeks but no longer than 26 weeks.

As the pilot went live on 1 April this year, it is too early to draw any conclusions at this stage.

National Savings

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether pensions and benefits can be paid directly into National Savings accounts. [121273]

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Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 23 June 2003]: There are three types of National Savings accounts: Investment, Ordinary and Individual Savings Account. Of these, only the Investment Account can accept direct payment of pensions and benefits.

Pension Credit

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will write to men aged 60 to 64 as part of his campaign to inform them of possible entitlement to the pension credit. [121126]

Malcolm Wicks: The Pension Service has begun to write to potentially eligible households to explain pension credit and to invite applications. Men aged 60 to 64 are included in this process.

Pension Service

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on levels of staff turnover in the Pension Service. [121500]

Malcolm Wicks: In the year to April 2003, 823 staff left The Pension Service. This equates to 6.1 per cent. turnover.

The level of leavers is considered relatively low when taking into account that The Pension Service is comparatively a new organisation, where 3,750 staff were recruited externally in the past year.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the incidence of stress-related illness among Pension Service staff. [121501]

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available. We are currently developing existing staff guidance to further improve staff awareness of occupational stress and how this may be prevented and managed.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Explosive Device (Londonderry)

5. Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the recent interception by the Police Service of Northern Ireland of an explosive device in Londonderry. [120570]

Jane Kennedy: I congratulate the police on their interception of the bomb in Londonderry last weekend. Their alertness and quick actions prevented serious injury or loss of life. I utterly condemn this attempt by dissidents to derail the political process through violence and terror.

Decommissioning

6. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the extent of verifiable decommissioning of illegally held weapons and explosives in Northern Ireland. [120571]

Jane Kennedy: There have been three acts of decommissioning to date; one by the Loyalist Volunteer Force and two by the Provisional IRA. Each has been

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verified by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning in accordance with the Government's scheme and regulations.

8. Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent progress has been made on decommissioning. [120573]

Jane Kennedy: To date there have been three acts of decommissioning carried out by paramilitary organisations, one by the Loyalist Volunteer Force and two by the Provisional IRA. In 2002 the UVF, UDA and Provisional IRA broke off contact with the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. However, in 2003 the Provisional IRA resumed contact and the Loyalist Commission, along with the UDA representatives, met the IICD. The Prime Minister stated clearly in his speech on 1 May 2003 that an undertaking is needed that all arms will be put beyond use through the IICD.

9. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Good Friday agreement in achieving the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. [120574]

Jane Kennedy: It is important that we do not lose sight of the fact that two acts of decommissioning by the Provisional IRA and one by the Loyalist Volunteer Force have taken place since the Agreement. That was the start of a process that must continue until all the apparatus of terrorism, in all its forms, is dismantled. The Prime Minister stated clearly in his speech on 1 May 2003 that an undertaking is needed that all arms will be put beyond use through the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.

Republican Terrorism

7. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of terrorist activity by republican organisations. [120572]

Jane Kennedy: Despite the recent activity by dissidents, our overall judgment is that the ceasefire of the IRA remains in place. It is time for republicanism to complete that final, unambiguous transition to democratic politics.

12. Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the overlap between membership of the IRA and other republican terrorist organisations. [120577]

Jane Kennedy: I cannot comment on matters of national security and intelligence.

Good Friday Agreement

10. Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what further progress has been made towards the restoration of the political institutions and the implementation of outstanding elements of the Good Friday agreement. [120575]

Mr. Paul Murphy: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier to my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer).

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Ceasefire Monitoring Body

11. Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on progress in appointing the members of the ceasefire monitoring body. [120576]

Mr. Paul Murphy: Both we and the Irish Government are clear that the Independent Monitoring Body is a central aspect of our proposals to bring about the restoration of trust and confidence in Northern Ireland. We hope to make swift progress on its establishment, including the appointment of its membership.

Agriculture

13. Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the prospects for the agriculture industry in Northern Ireland. [120578]

Mr. Pearson: The Government are negotiating hard for a comprehensive reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy which will put the agricultural industry on a sustainable footing, economically, socially and environmentally. It is implementing a comprehensive range of measures arising out of the Vision exercise to help the Northern Ireland industry and will be providing an additional £33 million over the next three years in support of these initiatives. It is also moving forward on an animal health strategy to help underpin the future viability of the livestock sector and is engaging in an ambitious modernisation agenda within the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure that its structures and services are best positioned to help the industry move forward.

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