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9 Sept 2003 : Column 339W—continued
Lessons (Ofsted Inspections)
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of lessons recorded as set by ability in (a) Year 7, (b) Year 8, (c) Year 9, (d) Year 10 and (e) Year 11 in each state secondary school in West Sussex were inspected by Ofsted between 1995 and 2002. [128614]
Mr. Miliband: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, David Bell, will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of his letter in the Library.
Ministerial Visits
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will list the (a) foreign and (b) UK visits he has made since 1 April; what the cost was to public funds of each trip; whom he met; and what gifts were received. [126886]
Mr. Stephen Twigg: The Government publishes the overall costs of all ministerial overseas travel and a list of all visits overseas by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500 on an annual basis. The list for the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003 was published by the Prime Minister on 16 July 2003, Official Report, column 482W. The next list for the period 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004 will be published at the end of the financial year.
In respect of gifts received, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 14 March 2003, Official Report, column 482W.
Details of UK visits are not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Pupil Funding
Mr. Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will publish the per pupil funding for each maintained school for (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [127930]
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Mr. Miliband: The available information has been placed in the Library of the House. The Information is as provided by local education authorities in their section 52 budget statements. The amount a school receives is dependant on a range of allocation factors including; the fair funding formula, Standards Fund, Standards Grant, and local formulae which operates within the individual local education authority.
WORK AND PENSIONS
War Pensions
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many war disability pensioners suffering from a wholly psychiatric disorder lost their incapacity benefit in each year from 1995 to 2002. [127952]
Maria Eagle: The available information is in the table.
| 1 Sep 1998 to 31 Aug 1999 | — |
| 1 Sep 1999 to 31 Aug 2000 | 200 |
| 1 Sep 2000 to 31 Aug 2001 | 100 |
| 1 Sep 2001 to 31 Aug 2002 | 100 |
Source:
DWP Information Centre, 5 per cent samples of the Incapacity Benefit and War Pensions computer systems.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred, and exclude a small number of cases held clerically.
2. Figures exclude IB claims ceasing due to an award of Retirement Pension.
3. Numbers are based on very few sample cases and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling error and should be used as a guide to the current situation only.
4. War Pensions figures exclude cases which have been archived 18 months after cessation of the War Pension.
5. Information prior to 1998 is only available at disproportionate cost.
6. '—' indicates nil or negligible.
British Sign Language
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what proposals he has to recognise British Sign Language as a language; and if he will make a statement on its use by those who are hard of hearing; [128249]
- (2) what proposals he has to increase the amount of British Sign Language/English interpreters; and what funding is available to train language tutors. [128250]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on 18 March 2003, Official Report, column 41WS, in which the Government recognise British Sign Language (BSL) as a language in its own right. We have made available an additional £1 million for a discrete programme of initiatives to support the statement and have said that among our priorities is increasing opportunities for people to learn BSL to a professional level. We have established a British Sign Language working group to consider priorities for allocating the additional funding and will receive their recommendations in due course.
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Disability Bill
Mrs. Shephard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Government will publish the Draft Disability Bill. [127743]
Maria Eagle: I refer the right hon. Member to the Written Statement given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 12–13WS.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what use is made of medical reports when assessing an application for disability living allowance; and what other evidence is required to secure a grant of disability living allowance. [128105]
Maria Eagle: Entitlement to Disability Living Allowance is based on the care needs and assistance with mobility that a person requires as a result of an illness or disability rather than the diagnosis of that illness or disability. To support the information provided by the customer on the claim form, it is often necessary for the Department to obtain additional evidence from people involved in the care of the person with the illness or disability. It is for the decision maker to determine what additional evidence is necessary to enable them to decide the claim.
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Where a decision maker considers that further medical evidence is necessary to establish whether someone meets the criteria for an award of benefit they can request a report from the customers General Practitioner, or other health care professional, or a report may be requested based on an examination by an Examining Medical Practitioner, who is trained specifically in the effects of disability.
It is of course open to the customer at any time to provide such additional evidence, both medical and non-medical, as they may choose to submit in support of their claim or appeal.
Incapacity Benefit
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of appeals against refusal of incapacity benefit were settled in favour of the claimant in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [127056]
Maria Eagle: Information on IB appeals is only available from 2000.
The available information is in the table.
There are a number of reasons for decisions being overturned at appeal; for example, additional evidence may be given to a tribunal that was not available to the decision maker. The Department is currently working on a number of initiatives to improve liaison with the Appeals Service and gain a better understanding of these issues.
| 1 March 2000 to 28 February 2001 | 1 March 2001 to 28 February 2002 | 1 March 2002 to 28 February 2003 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| IB claims ceasing following a PCA(5) | 86,400 | 91,900 | 106,600 |
| Appeals cleared | 34,060 | 30,785 | 37,845 |
| Appeals found in favour of appellant (percentage) | 13,965 (41) | 13,100 (42.6) | 17,535 (46.3) |
| Percentage found in favour of appellant | 41 | 42.6 | 46.3 |
(5) IB figures have been updated to include late notifications of IB ceasing and are subject to change. The most recent quarters include fewer late notifications and will be subject to significant change in future.
Notes:
1. Appeals figures are subject to change as more current data becomes available.
2. IB figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
3. Appeals figures are rounded to the nearest five.
Source:
DWP Information Centre
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were claiming jobseeker's allowance in (a) Somerset and (b) Taunton Deane at the end of each fiscal quarter since January 2000. [127824]
Mr. Pond: The information is in the table:
| Month | Taunton DeaneLocal Authority Area | County of Somerset |
|---|---|---|
| January 2000 | 1,308 | 6,398 |
| April 2000 | 1,173 | 5,447 |
| July 2000 | 1,077 | 5,046 |
| October 2000 | 954 | 4,651 |
| January 2001 | 996 | 5,153 |
| April 2001 | 979 | 4,836 |
| July 2001 | 899 | 4,335 |
| October 2001 | 752 | 3,853 |
| January 2002 | 782 | 4,533 |
| April 2002 | 793 | 4,082 |
| July 2002 | 734 | 3,731 |
| October 2002 | 693 | 3,641 |
| January 2003 | 822 | 4,393 |
| April 2003 | 784 | 4,037 |
| July 2003 | 762 | 3,785 |
Source:
JSAPBS
Notes:
1. Figures are based on a 100 per cent count of unemployment-related benefits, including clerically held cases.
2. Somerset figures exclude Unitary Authorities within the ceremonial boundary of Somerset, namely "Bath and North East Somerset" and "North Somerset".
3. The number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants are normally counted on the second Thursday of a month. For example, April 2003 claimant figures represent the number of claimants at the end of business on Thursday 10 April.
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