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14 Jul 2003 : Column 84W—continued
State Pension (Arrears Payment)
Jane Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will pay all pensioners in receipt of state pension in arrears; and if he will make a statement. [124237]
Malcolm Wicks: State pension has always been paid in advance. Groups representing pensioners advise that they wish these arrangements to continue, simply because it is financially advantageous to the beneficiary concerned, as the following table illustrates:
| Date | Payment in advance | Payment in arrears |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, 11 September 2003 | Man becomes 65 years | |
| Monday, 15 September 2003 | Receives £77.45 full week's payment for the forthcoming week | Receives £44.28 (4/7ths of £77.45) for the period 11 September 2003 |
| Regular weekly payments continue | ||
| Monday, 22 September 2003 | Receives full week's SP for the period 22 September 2003 to 28 September 2003 | Receives full week's SP for the period 15 September 2003 to 21 September 2003 |
| Wednesday, 24 September 2003 | Man dies | |
| Monday, 29 September 2003 | No entitlement | 3/7ths of SP for the period 22 September 2003 to 24 September 2003 due to the estate |
Tax Credit Claims Forms
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average time taken to claim forms for the pension credit. [124312]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave him on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 84W.
Workstep
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has undertaken of the effectiveness of Workstep as a replacement for the assisted places scheme for people with learning and physical disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [123352]
Maria Eagle: Jobcentre Plus plans to undertake a five year evaluation of Workstep. It will look at the impact of the programme on employment among disabled people, the service processes and outcomes for individual participants and the financial costs and benefits of the programme.
The evaluation will include interviews with customers, providers, disability employment advisers together with longitudinal case studies. Results of the evaluation will be published as they become available.
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Jobcentre Plus has published a report: "Results-based Funded Supported Employment: Avoiding Disincentives to Serving People with Greatest Need" (W160 March 2003), a copy of which has been placed in the Library. This paper looks at the various results-based funding models and aims to inform development of Workstep funding.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Autism
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people suffer from autism in Northern Ireland. [123718]
Angela Smith: Information on numbers of individuals diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Belfast Education and Library Board
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been allocated in each year since 1997 to the (a) controlled, (b) maintained, (c) integrated and (d) Irish Language sectors of education in the Belfast Education and Library Board area in each year since 1997. [123802]
Jane Kennedy: Resources are not allocated to specific sectors but rather are targeted to meet the needs of individual schools.
Schools are allocated funding under the appropriate LMS Scheme and the Board also provides services for schools that are not disaggregated by individual sector or school, for example school meals, school transport and the Curriculum, Advisory and Support Services (CASS). I have been advised that recurrent expenditure in each sector for the period requested is as follows:
| Controlled(28) | Maintained | Grant Maintained Integrated | Irish Medium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 56.5 | 59.6 | 2.9 | 1.8 |
| 1998–99 | 56.7 | 61.8 | 3.8 | 1.9 |
| 1999–2000 | 62.4 | 63.3 | 5.1 | 2.4 |
| 2000–01 | 67.8 | 69.7 | 5.7 | 2.8 |
| 2001–02 | 69.9 | 74.9 | 5.7 | 3.0 |
| 2002–03 | (29)— | (29)— | (29)— | (29)— |
(28) Including Controlled Integrated Schools
(29) Figures not yet available
Belfast Royal Hospital for Sick Children
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many scheduled operations were deferred in the last two years at the Belfast Royal Hospital for sick children. [123804]
Angela Smith: A total of 168 operations have been deferred at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children over the past two years. These have been due to a variety of social, medical and resource reasons, including at the
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request of the patient's family, the patient being unfit for the operation, the patient no longer requiring the procedure and staff shortages.
Buses
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) Ulster buses and (b) City buses of the Translink fleet are (i) under two years, (ii) between two and five years, (iii) between five and 10 years and (iv) over 10 years old. [125184]
Mr. Spellar: Translink has advised that the age profile of its bus fleet as at 30 June 2003 was as follows.
| Citybus | Ulsterbus | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under two years | 0 | 59 | 59 |
| Between two and five years | 73 | 133 | 206 |
| Between five and 10 years | 62 | 191 | 253 |
| Over 10 years | 121 | 807 | 928 |
| Total | 256 | 1,190 | 1,446 |
Classroom 2000
Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the outcome was of the Classroom 2000 project; and what targets have been set for the project. [123792]
Jane Kennedy: The Classroom 2000 project, now known as "C2k", is still being implemented. The provision of equipment and services to over 900 primary schools was completed by the target date of December 2002, with the exception of six schools in the process of rebuilding or refurbishment. Delivery and installation of the service to 285 post-primary and special schools is due to commence in September 2003 and be completed by March 2004.
Entertainment Costs
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was of hospitality provided by the Northern Ireland Office in each year since 1997. [125310]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Northern Ireland Office provided the following hospitality since 1997:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 369,505 |
| 2001–02 | 241,760 |
| 2000–01 | 286,442 |
| 1999–2000 | 343,789 |
| 1998–99 | 681,670 |
| 1997–98 | 252,585 |
Fatal Car Accidents
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what measures are being taken to
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prevent deaths through car accidents on the main road between Belfast and Bangor in North Down. [125810]
Mr. Spellar: I have asked the Chief Executive of Roads Service to write to the hon. Lady in response to this question. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
Hospital Admissions
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to make an assessment of how many residents of the Irish Republic require admission to hospitals in Northern Ireland. [124688]
Angela Smith: I have no immediate plans to make such an assessment. However, I would expect information on likely cross-border patient flows to be collected in the future as part of the implementation of Developing Better Services.
Indoor Arenas
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many representations were received during the public consultation on the licensing of indoor arenas; and how many were (a) in favour and (b) opposed. [125554]
Mr. Spellar: Out of a total of 54 responses to the Consultation Paper, 38 supported the proposals contained in it, eight were opposed and eight did not express a preference.
Irish Language
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland pursuant to his answer of 11 June 2003, Official Report, column 965W, on the Irish language, what costs have been incurred since 1998 as a result of Irish language policy by (a) the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, (b) the Department of Education and (c) other government departments. [122343]
Angela Smith: The costs incurred since 1998 as a result of Irish Language policy by the (a) Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, (b) Department of Education and (c) other Government Departments since 1998 are as follows:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| (a) DHSSPS | 306,188 |
| (b) DE | 47,802 |
| (c) Other Departments | 75,445 |
| Total | 429,435 |
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