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15 Jul 2003 : Column 237W—continued
General Elections
Mr. Allen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps the Government have taken to increase the turnout at general elections. [124995]
Mr. Leslie: This Government have introduced a number of measures aimed at encouraging participation in elections. We have made it easier to register to vote and to cast a vote. We are, with the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, continuing to expand the programme of electoral pilot schemes to test innovative methods of voting at local elections. We have announced our intention, subject to parliamentary approval, to hold next year's European parliamentary, local and GLA elections on the same day, so that voters will only need to turn out once, rather than twice within a short period. All these measures are designed to increase flexibility and convenience for voters and thus encourage greater turnout. In addition, we introduced legislation to set up the independent Electoral Commission. The
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Commission has a duty to educate and inform the public about the importance of participation in the democratic process and a remit to recommend ways in which our electoral arrangements can be improved. We will consider carefully any recommendations made by the Electoral Commission which may have an impact on electoral turnout.
House of Lords Reform
Tom Cox: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many letters his Department has received from the general public, giving their views on the appointment of people's peers. [123971]
Mr. Leslie: The Department has received several hundred pieces of correspondence on aspects of House of Lords reform from the general public. Around 20 of these have focused exclusively on the appointment of cross-bench life peers following the recommendations of the House of Lords Appointments Commission.
Magistrates
Simon Hughes: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many magistrates (a) joined and (b) retired from the bench in each year since 1997. [124914]
Mr. Leslie: The table sets out the information for England and Wales, including the Duchy of Lancaster.
| Total appointed1 | Retirementsat age 70 | Resignations and removals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1,573 | 606 | 879 | |
| 1998 | 1,609 | 623 | 1,004 | |
| 1999 | 1,743 | 559 | 1,058 | |
| 1 January to 31 March 2000180 | 133 | 405 | ||
| 2000–01 | 1,618 | 590 | 1,709 | |
| 2001–02 | 1,786 | 638 | 1,302 | |
| 2002–03 | 1,623 | 593 | 1,181 | |
(18) Excludes re-appointments.
Office of Supervision of Solicitors
Mr. Watts: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans he has to review the effectiveness of the Office of Supervision of Solicitors. [125210]
Mr. Lammy: We are considering the performance of the Office in the light of the Legal Service Ombudsman's Annual Report 2002–03 and the Government's undertaking to review the regulatory framework for legal services about which we hope to make an announcement soon.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Cash: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) whether he will (a) amend and (b) adopt any of the existing Lord Chancellor's Department public service agreements; [124861]
- (2) when he will introduce new public service agreements. [124862]
Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to him on 30 June 2003, Official Report, column 127W.
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WORK AND PENSIONS
Adviser Discretion Fund
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have been given financial help to purchase a car through the Adviser Discretion Fund. [121218]
Mr. Browne: Detailed information about specific goods and services purchased with help from the Adviser Discretion Fund is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Agency Workers
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the measures in place in respect of (a) jobseekers allowance, (b) housing benefit and (c) other benefits to meet the needs of agency workers who are regularly unemployed for short periods of time. [124021]
Mr. Browne: Agency workers can experience intermittent periods of employment and unemployment. The fear of finding themselves involved in a lengthy claim process and without an income during these periods of unemployment may have, in the past, discouraged many people from taking this type of work.
In order to assist people in these circumstances we introduced Rapid Reclaim to ensure a smooth transition from work to benefit. Rapid Reclaim is available to customers who find themselves having to reclaim Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit within 12 weeks of having previously claimed the same benefit. The Rapid Reclaim process allows Decision Makers to use information provided for the previous claim alongside a shorter claim form, completed by the customer, that captures any changes that may have occurred during the break in their claim. This speeds up the data collection process and so reduces the time from making a claim to receiving the first payment.
Rapid Reclaim is making it easier for people to take up work, that may be only short-term or through an agency, as it reduces the fear that there will be a delay in the resumption of benefits during the periods that they are off work.
Benefit Payments
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the reminder letter that is sent to people who have not replied to the initial letter on automated credit transfer. [114371]
Mr. Pond: Example copies of the reminder letters sent to child benefit, state pension and benefit customers who have not responded to an initial letter inviting them to transfer to Direct Payment will be placed in the Library.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the exceptions service being designed for those customers
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who will not be transferring to direct payment; and when he expects to make available the criteria by which customers will qualify for the service. [124018]
Mr. Pond: Our aim is to have an exceptions service ready from October 2004. There are now a number of easy to operate accounts available, many of which can be accessed at Post Office branches, so our expectation is that this service will be available for those who are genuinely unable to open or operate any type of bank, building society or Post Office account.
Benefits
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications were made for social fund (a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans in each of the last 12 months; and how many of those applications were successful, broken down by category. [123324]
Mr. Pond: The available information is in the tables.
| Date | Number of applications | Number of initial awards |
|---|---|---|
| June 2002 | 41,600 | 17,400 |
| July 2002 | 53,600 | 22,200 |
| August 2002 | 47,500 | 19,200 |
| September 2002 | 49,300 | 20,700 |
| October 2002 | 54,800 | 23,000 |
| November 2002 | 53,300 | 22,400 |
| December 2002 | 39,500 | 17,600 |
| January 2003 | 48,000 | 20,200 |
| February 2003 | 49,000 | 19,800 |
| March 2003 | 51,100 | 20,000 |
| April 2003 | 46,200 | 19,900 |
| May 2003 | 46,400 | 21,200 |
| Date | Number of applications | Number of initial awards |
|---|---|---|
| June 2002 | 124,300 | 84,900 |
| July 2002 | 151,400 | 106,800 |
| August 2002 | 133,600 | 93,800 |
| September 2002 | 142,700 | 101,200 |
| October 2002 | 176,600 | 122,200 |
| November 2002 | 193,900 | 140,200 |
| December 2002 | 118,400 | 103,700 |
| January 2003 | 133,400 | 80,400 |
| February 2003 | 136,000 | 95,700 |
| March 2003 | 148,000 | 104,900 |
| April 2003 | 135,400 | 95,400 |
| May 2003 | 140,200 | 102,700 |
Notes:
1. Available data on the numbers of awards made following review do not differentiate between awards that were initially refused and those where an award was increased on review. To avoid double counting, the tables show the number of initial awards only.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
3. The number of awards made in a month do not necessarily relate to applications made in that month.
Source:
DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
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