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12 Nov 2003 : Column 387W—continued
Employment Demand
Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what forecast he has made of the demand in the United Kingdom labour market in (a) five, (b) 10 and (c) 20 years' time; what forecast he has made of the need for (i) graduates, (ii) those with vocational qualifications and (iii) semi-skilled and unskilled workers; and if he will make a statement. [136023]
Mr. Browne: By long-standing convention, the Department for Work and Pensions does not make forecasts of the overall level of demand for labour.
Research published in the Skills in England Report 2002, suggests that demand for formal qualifications and for those with higher level skills—including graduates and those with higher level vocational qualifications—is likely to continue to grow. Demand for those with lower level skills is likely, overall, to decline.
Through the Government's active labour market policies, such as the New Deal and Ambition initiatives, we have provided thousands of people with the skills, experience and confidence they need to succeed in the modern labour market. Along with more people staying on in post-compulsory education there are increases in the number of people with skills and fewer people with low or no skills or qualifications.
Health and Safety
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans the Department has to increase the number of Health and Safety inspectors over the next three years. [137821]
Mr. Browne: Estimates of the number of Health and Safety inspectors who will be employed in each of the next three financial years have not yet been made.
The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) is now consulting on a new strategy for the years 2004–10. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is carrying out pilot studies in new ways of working to free up resource which can be used to deliver its mission to protect peoples'
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health and safety by ensuring risks to health and safety from the changing workplace are properly controlled. Responses to the draft strategy and the results of the pilot studies will be taken into account when deciding on the appropriate mix and number of staff (including inspectors) within HSE.
While regulation and enforcing compliance with the law remain vital elements of HSE's work, they are not the only means of achieving health and safety improvements. HSE plans to put more effort into educating, influencing and working in partnership with others (at all levels) who can help achieve further improvement in health and safety performance.
Loans
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 18 September 2003, Official Report, column 910W, on loans for those on low incomes, if he will commission a small scale study to assess this problem. [135106]
Mr. Pond: We have no plans to commission such a study at the present time.
Pensions
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times pensioners have been written to mistakenly by his Department regarding nominating a bank account for future payments of pensions, pre-supposing they have not yet responded. [134805]
Mr. Pond: We do not have the information requested.
The conversion process will differ according to the client group in question. However, it will normally consist of one or more mailings followed by a telephone call if there is no response to the letter(s).
Key figures on the progress of conversion to Direct Payment are available in the Library updated every four weeks.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Arson
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the estimated cost of arson to (a) property and (b) the economy in each of the last three years was in (i) the UK and (ii) Merseyside. [137990]
Mr. Raynsford: Data on the cost of arson are available for England and Wales and not separately for Merseyside. 1999 and 2000 are the most recent years for which reliable estimates are available.
The estimated cost of arson involving property (ie arson in domestic, commercial or public sector buildings) was an estimated £1,850 million in 1999 and £1,750 million in 2000. These figures include the cost of fire protection systems.
In 1999, arson cost the economy in England and Wales an estimated £2.1 billion; in 2000, this was an estimated £2.2 billion.
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Mr. Woodward: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of vehicles that were subject to arson in the last 12 months for which figures are available had more than one month's vehicle duty paid. [137992]
Mr. Raynsford: Information on the vehicle duty status of vehicles subject to arson is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what proportion of blazes attended by fire crews were the result of arson in each of the last three years in (a) the UK and (b) Merseyside. [137994]
Mr. Raynsford: The information requested is tabled as follows.
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |||
| Total malicious primary fires | 111,174 | 123,184 | 120,953 |
| Total primary fires | 219,663 | 228,229 | 218,916 |
| Proportion malicious (percentage) | 57 | 54 | 55 |
| Merseyside | |||
| Total malicious primary fires | 5,347 | 5,604 | 5,553 |
| Total primary fires | 8,405 | 8,373 | 8,043 |
| Proportion malicious (percentage) | 64 | 67 | 69 |
Notes:
1. Malicious fires are those where deliberate ignition is proved or suspected.
2. Primary fires are those which cause damage to property or involve casualties.
3. Data for 2001 and 2002 are provisional
Empty Homes
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many empty homes were owned by (a) local councils and (b) social housing authorities in each year since 1997. [138129]
Keith Hill: The information requested is tabled as follows:
| Council | RSL | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 80,500 | 26,700 | 107,200 |
| 1998 | 81,700 | 29,200 | 110,900 |
| 1999 | 82,700 | 32,700 | 115,400 |
| 2000 | 86,000 | 37,500 | 123,500 |
| 2001 | 79,200 | 39,300 | 118,500 |
| 2002 | 76,600 | 39,700 | 116,300 |
| 2003 | 62,000 | 44,800 | 106,800 |
Housing (Overcrowding)
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary's statement of 29 October 2003, Official Report, column 126WH, (1) on what basis his Department estimates that 25,000 households are statutorily overcrowded; [137905]
- (2) if he will provide a regional breakdown of households which are statutorily overcrowded. [137906]
Yvette Cooper: The estimate was derived using data from the Survey of English Housing for the three years 1999–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, supplemented with some
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data from the English House Condition Survey. It was necessary to use data from three years of the Survey of English Housing because the number of households statutorily overcrowded is so small, just over 0.1 per cent., that it would not have been possible to derive an estimate using data for a single year. Even combining years the estimate remains very tentative, and for this reason it is not possible to provide a regional breakdown.
Local Government Ombudsman
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many cases were considered by the Local Government Ombudsman in the last year for which figures are available; how many cases were (a) upheld and (b) rejected; what the average time taken was to consider cases; and what the average cost per case was. [137197]
Mr. Raynsford: In 2002–03 the number of complaints on which determinations were made by the Commission for Local Administration in England (Local Government Ombudsman) was 18,376. Of these, 145 cases of maladministration led to the issue of reports, and 3,735 cases led to local settlements being made. In 5,560 cases no or insufficient evidence of maladministration or injustice were found. The rest of the complaints were found to be either premature or outside the Ombudsman's jurisdiction, or else the Ombudsman used his discretion not to pursue the complaint. The average time taken to consider cases was 14.3 weeks and the average cost per complaint was £538.
Section 106 Agreements
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what the average value of section 106 agreements was in each of the last five years; [R] [137628]
- (2) how many section 106 agreements have been made during each of the last five years; [R] [137630]
(3) what the average value of the section 106 agreements involved in planning permissions given on (a) call-in and (b) appeal by him was in each of the last five years. [R] [137626]
Keith Hill: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, a study by John Henneberry and Heather Campbell of Sheffield University, published in 2001, estimated the average value of planning obligations as £148,730 in north England and £753,830 in south England. It also estimated that about 1.5 per cent. of planning applications in England involve a section 106 agreement. In 2001–02 there were 582,000 planning applications in England.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what discussions on his policy towards section 106 agreements he has had in the last three months with (a) the leaders of London boroughs, (b) the Mayor of London, (c) the Town and Country Planning Association, (d) the Housebuilders' Federation, (e) the Leader of Manchester City Council, (f) the construction industry, (g) the Leader of Liverpool City Council and (h) non-governmental organisations; [R] [137631]
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- (2) what discussions on his policy towards section 106 agreements he has had in the last three months with (a) the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, (b) the Leader of Birmingham City Council, (c) the Chairman of the Environment Agency, (d) local authorities, (e) the British Property Federation, (f) leaders of metropolitan district councils, (g) representatives of the planning profession, (h) the Chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, (i) leaders of district councils and (j) the Better Regulation Task Force. [R] [137632]
Keith Hill: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister speaks to a large number of individuals and organisations in the normal course of business, and in the process of reviewing policy.
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