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20 Nov 2003 : Column 1338W—continued

Call Centres (Outsourcing)

Mr. Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to outsource call centre work to premises outside the United Kingdom. [132101]

Mr. Browne: The Department has no plans to outsource to countries abroad work performed by DWP staff in call centres.

Child Support Agency

Diana Organ: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long an individual in Gloucestershire will have to wait for reassessment by the Child Support Agency as a result of job loss following the introduction of the new system of calculation. [134210]

Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member.

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Letter from Mike Isaacs to Diana Organ, dated 20 November 2003:

In replying to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As he is currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.

You asked how long an individual in Gloucestershire would have to wait for re-assessment by the Agency following the introduction of the new system of maintenance calculation.

The Agency is unable to break down clearance times separately for the Gloucester area.

If the client has been assessed under the old child support scheme they will be re-assessed under that scheme. They will only be re-assessed under the new scheme when the Government decides that it is working sufficiently well to move the existing caseload to it.

If the client was assessed under the new scheme (i.e. since 3rd March 2003) they will be re-assessed under the new scheme. While the Agency aims to clear those re-assessments as quickly as possible, such re-assessments have been relatively few with the result that information on clearance times is not yet available.

Child Trust Funds

Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether child trust funds will affect eligibility for Jobseeker's Allowance. [140381]

Mr. Pond: We are currently considering the precise impact on benefits; however, for most capital held in trust for children, money is disregarded when considering parents' eligibility for benefits.

Correspondence

Sir Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library copies of his Department's correspondence since November 2001 with the Chief Rent Officer for London. [139110]

Maria Eagle: There is no post of Chief Rent Officer for London. The Rent Service, which is an executive agency of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, has an Area Manager for London; a post that was created in April 2002, following an internal reorganisation of the Rent Service. The Department has not corresponded directly with the Rent Service's Area Manager for London.

CSA

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) in how many cases since 1 January the Child Support Agency has incorrectly cancelled existing deductions from earnings orders; and if he will make a statement; [135211]

(2) in (a) how many and (b) what percentage of cases in the last 12 months a maintenance enquiry form to the non-resident parent was not issued within (i) one month, (ii) two months and (iii) three months of an application being made to the Child Support Agency by the parent with care. [135212]

Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

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Letter from Mike Isaac to Mr. Steve Webb, dated 20 November 2003

In replying to your recent Parliamentary questions about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As heis currently on leave I am replying on his behalf.

You asked in how many cases since 1st January the Child Support Agency has incorrectly cancelled existing deductions from earnings orders.

You also asked in how many and what percentage of cases in the last 12 months a maintenance enquiry form to the non-resident parent was not issued within (a) one month, (b) two months and (c) three months of an application being made to the Child Support Agency by the parent with care.

I am afraid that the information, which you requested, is not available. There has been no requirement to collect it under the old Child Support scheme and computer system.

As you are aware the new Child Support scheme and computer system were introduced for new applications on 3rd March this year. It is our intention to collect information of the type, which you have requested, and we are working with EDS, the new system providers, to develop the functionality we need to do this.

It is worth pointing out that under the new scheme we are conducting as much of our work as possible by telephone, directly with both parents. Consequently, most maintenance enquiry forms are completed by our staff through telephone interviews with the non-resident parent. Only where we are unable to trace a telephone number for the non-resident parent do we issue a clerical form for his/her completion.

Judy Mallaber: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether, in determining the maintenance liability of self-employed parents, the Child Support Agency is obliged to take into account reductions in taxable income arising from capital depreciation and other allowances; [136774]

(2) whether the Child Support Agency is required to use the level of taxable income declared to the Inland Revenue as the basis for determining the maintenance liability of a self-employed parent. [136775]

Mr. Pond: No. The Child Support Agency is not obliged to take into account capital depreciation and other allowances or to use the level of taxable income declared to the Inland Revenue in establishing the earnings of self-employed parents. Regulations allow the use of information submitted to or provided by the Inland Revenue or of information relating to the parent's business expenses.

Departures and variations may be available in cases where the calculation of child support liability does not produce a fair rate.

Departmental Costs

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was to his Department for (a) ministerial cars and drivers, (b) taxis, (c) train travel, (d) the use of helicopters, (e) airline tickets and (f) chartered aeroplanes in each year since 1997. [123087]

Maria Eagle: For information on ministerial cars and drivers I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Mr. Alexander) on 13 November 2003, Official Report, columns 397–98W.

The amount spent for official use of taxis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

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The amount spent for official use of UK rail travel is ¹ as follows:

	£
1997–98	Information not available
1998–99	Information not available
1999–2000	7,442,100
2000–01	6,606,657
2001–02	7,621,545
2002–03	11,919,783

Note:

There has been no use of helicopters, at Departmental expense, since 1997.

The figures for air travel (UK and Overseas) ¹ are as follows:

	£
1997–98	Information not available
1998–99	Information not available
1999–2000	2,860,718
2000–01	2,879,011
2001–02	3,550,538
2002–03	5,306,126

Note:

There has been no use of chartered flights, at Departmental expense, since 1997.

⁽⁵⁰⁾ Figures relate to the former Department of Social Security and the Department for Work and Pensions from 2001.

Since 1999, the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of the lists covering the period 2 May 1997 to 31 March 2003 are available in the Library.

All official travel in the Department is undertaken in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office Management Code. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the 'Ministerial Code' and 'Travel by Ministers'—copies of which are available in the Library.

Departmental Energy Use

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) electricity and (b) other energy his Department has used in each year since 1997 (i) in total and (ii) per square metre; what the projected use is for each of the following years for which forecasts are made; what plans he has to reduce usage; and if he will make a statement. [135060]

Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Mr. Ben Bradshaw on 3 November 2003, Official Report Vol 412, Cols. 404w-408w. The Department for Work and Pensions supports and actively contributes to the UK Strategy For Sustainable Development and the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

A key element to the Department's overall strategy for Sustainable Development is effective energy management. A cross-Government target is being developed to achieve an ongoing reduction in carbon equivalent emissions from buildings against 1999–2000 levels, and DWP will contribute to this. This will be

20 Nov 2003 : Column 1342W

achieved by continuing to improve energy efficiency throughout the estate and by implementingspend to save investment schemes where viable. An ongoing strategy to raise staff awareness will also continue aimed at promoting good housekeeping and eliminating the wasteful use of energy in the workplace.

Energy performance is monitored against the Government's 'good practice' benchmarks and remedial action taken in buildings where excessive energy use is identified.

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