| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
15 Jul 2003 : Column 252W—continued
State Pensions Forecasts
Dr. Francis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many state pensions forecasts his Department expects to produce in the next three years; how many people will be required to process those projected forecasts; and what the estimated cost is to process them. [122268]
Malcolm Wicks: In the year 2003–04 we expect to issue 843,000 Individual Pension Forecasts; over one million Combined Pension Forecasts and 1.9 million Automatic Pension Forecasts to the self-employed in 2003–04. The total number of State Pension Forecasts for 2003–04 will therefore be approximately 3,944,000. This is five times the number issued in 2002–03.
We are currently finalising our forecasting plans in response to the Green Paper "Simplicity, Security and Choice," Cm 5677, and the subsequent consultation exercise. We have not made final decisions on the total number of planned forecasts for 2004–05 and 2005–06.
The current number of staff processing all forecasts is the equivalent of 175 full time staff. The estimated operational cost for this year is £3.9 million. Estimates
15 Jul 2003 : Column 253W
of the operational costs for future years are not currently available as they are subject to decisions that we make as part of the Informed Choice package in the Green Paper.
State Second Pension
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether it is the Government's policy to turn the state second pension into a flat-rate benefit. [125408]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government are keeping the position under review, taking account of progress on stakeholder pensions and the wider developments in pensions and savings as set out in the Pensions Green Paper "Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement" (Cm 5677).
Tax Credits
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has (a) received from and (b) made to the Scottish Executive concerning recent problems with the credit payments, broken down by (i) subject, (ii) date and (iii) responsible Scottish Minister. [122510]
Malcolm Wicks: We regularly communicate with Scottish Office Ministers on matters of mutual interest. At official level, there is regular contact between officials in the Department and their Scottish Executive counterparts.
Pension Credit will be introduced from October 2003.
Teenage Mothers
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of teenage mothers are dependent on benefit; and what proportion this represents of the benefit budget. [123592]
Mr. Pond: The information requested is not available.
Work-related Accidents
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work-related (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries occurred in the Truro and St. Austell constituency in (i) 2000, (ii) 2001 and (iii) 2002; and how many prosecutions took place as a result. [124444]
Mr. Browne: Information at constituency level is not available.
The number of work-related (a) deaths and (b) major injuries reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the district councils of Carrick and Restormel in (i) 1999–2000 (ii) 2000–01 and (iii) 2001–02, and the number of health and safety at work prosecutions which have taken place as a result, are shown in the table.
| Year(19) | Work-Related Deaths(20) | Separate Offences Prosecuted | Major injury(20) | Separate Offences Prosecuted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 3 | — | 171 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | 1 | — | 132 | — |
| 2001–02 | 2 | — | 111 | (21)— |
(19) The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March
(20) Deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public
(21) HSE Prosecutions may yet follow deaths or injuries that occurred in 2001–02
15 Jul 2003 : Column 254W
The number of work-related (a) deaths and (b) major injuries reported to the district councils of Carrick and Restormel in (i) 1999–2000 (ii) 2000–01 and (iii) 2001–02, and the number of prosecutions by the councils, are shown in the table.
| Year(22) | Work-Related Deaths(23) | Major injury(23) | Number of Separate Offences Prosecuted (all health and safety offences)(24) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | — | 73 | 2 |
| 2000–01(25) | — | 68 | — |
| 2001–02 | — | 61 | Not yet available |
(22) The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March
(23) Deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public
(24) Figures for offences prosecuted by local authorities specifically following death or major injury are not available except at disproportionate cost
(25) Restormel District Council did not include details of enforcement action in their annual Local Authority health and safety return for 2000–01
The number of health and safety at work prosecutions by Carrick and Restormel district councils for 2001–02 will be available on 31 July.
Workplace Safety
Mr. Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many work-related (a) deaths and (b) serious injuries occurred in Worcester for the last year for which data are available; and how many prosecutions took place as a result. [122517]
Mr. Browne: The number of work-related (a) deaths and (b) major injuries reported to HSE in Worcester in 2001–02, and the number of health and safety at work prosecutions which have taken place as a result, are as follows:
| 2001–02(26) | |
|---|---|
| Work-related deaths(27) | 0 |
| Major injury(27) | 109 |
(26) The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March.
(27) Deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public.
As yet no prosecutions have been taken in relation to these deaths and injuries. The number of work-related (a) deaths and (b) major injuries reported to Worcester city council in 2001–02, are as follows:
| 2001–02(28) | |
|---|---|
| Work-related deaths(29) | 1 |
| Major injury(29) | 30 |
(28) The annual basis is the planning year from 1 April to 31 March.
(29) Deaths and major injuries to employees, self-employed people and members of the public.
15 Jul 2003 : Column 255W
The number of health and safety at work prosecutions by the Council in 2001–02 will be available shortly. I will write to my hon. Friend with these statistics when they become available and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Iraq
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Department has received on providing assistance for the re-establishment of a police force in Iraq [125695]
Mr. Rammell: Government officials continue to discuss with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) how best the UK can contribute to the CPA's work to rebuild the Iraqi police service. The UK considers the restoration of the rule of law in Iraq to be a priority and will stay closely engaged with the CPA on issues of funding and assistance. In particular, the UK has deployed a senior police officer to Baghdad to assist with advising and training the new Iraq police service. In addition to this a further senior officer will deploy to Basra on 15 July to advise CPA (South). The CPA intends to hold a police contributor's conference shortly to garner support for a substantial international policing contribution, the UK is actively considering making a further part of this process.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the relationship between the United Nations and the Iraq Survey Group. [125544]
Mr. MacShane: The Iraq Survey Group reports to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. Under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 1483, Coalition partners will make periodic reports to the UN Security Council on activities in Iraq.
Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Iraq sought the supply of uranium from Africa that had no civil nuclear application in Iraq since 1998. [125731]
Mr. MacShane: Iraq's civil nuclear programme was frozen under UN Security Council Resolution 707 in August 1991. Iraq would, therefore, have no legitimate civil application for any uranium sought or procured after that time.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |