| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
3 Dec 2003 : Column 83W—continued
WORK AND PENSIONS
Age Discrimination
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many times the Ministerial Group for Older People and Age Discrimination has met in the last 12 months. [141588]
Malcolm Wicks: It has been established practice under successive Governments not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees. This is covered by Exemption 2 of Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets Child Support Agency staff have for the transfer of old CSA cases to the new scheme. [140877]
Mr. Pond: There are no Public Service Agreement or Secretary of State's operational performance targets for the transfer of old cases to the new scheme. We will make a decision on the transfer of old scheme cases only once we are sure that the new scheme is working well.
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will put inactive Child Support Agency cases waiting to be transferred from the old to the new scheme into abeyance; and if he will make a statement. [140901]
Mr. Pond: Plans for transferring the old scheme caseload to the new scheme have yet to be finalised.
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the mechanisms for phasing in child support payments by people who transfer to the new scheme. [140903]
Mr. Pond: To give parents who have existing child support assessments time to adjust to the new amounts, child support liability will be phased over a period of five years and in stages of £2.50, £5 or £10, depending on the non-resident parent's net weekly income.
Community Care Grants
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many applications were made for community care grants in each of the last six years in (a) Orkney and Shetland and (b) Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland District; what proportion
3 Dec 2003 : Column 84W
of applications were rejected; what proportion were considered (i) high, (ii) medium and (iii) low priority; what proportion of high priority, medium priority and low priority awards were paid; and what the average amount (A) applied for, (B) awarded and (C) paid was in each category of priority; [140598]
- (2) what the Social Fund Budget for community care grants was in (a) Orkney and Shetland and (b) Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland District in the last six years in (i) cash and (ii) real terms; how much the budget has been overspent or underspent; and what the value was of in-year allocations for each year. [140599]
Mr. Pond: The available information is in the tables.
| District | Applications received | Proportion refused (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | Grampian and Shetland | 6,760 | 79.3 |
| 1998–99 | Grampian and Shetland | 7,010 | 79.2 |
| 1999–2000 | Grampian and Shetland | 4,160 | 64.8 |
| 2000–01 | Grampian and Shetland | 3,890 | 62.9 |
| 2001–02 | Grampian and Shetland | 3,730 | 55.1 |
| April to October 2002 | Grampian and Shetland | 2,110 | 62.4 |
| November 2002 | Area covered by new district | 370 | 39.4 |
| December 2002 to March 2003 | Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland | 1,480 | 55.4 |
Notes:
1. In November 2002, the Jobcentre Plus district of Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland was formed by combining Grampian and Shetland Social Fund district with part of Highlands and Islands Social Fund district. For the months before the boundary change as a whole data are given for the old district, for the month of the boundary change data is given for the area covered by the new district, and for the months after the boundary change as a whole data is given for the new district. Data are not available for part months.
2. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency or local authority.
3. Prior to April 1999, it was possible to make a dual application for a Community Care Grant (CCG) and for a Budgeting Loan (BL). One dual application is counted as one application for a CCG and one for a BL.
4. The number of applications is rounded to the nearest 10.
5. When an application is refused, no award is made. Figures refer to initial decisions only.
6. The data requested on CCG priority are not available.
Source:
All data are taken from the Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
| Original budget (cash terms) | Boundary change reallocation(cash terms) | Original budget (real terms) | Boundary change reallocation(real terms) | Underspend(cash terms) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 564,620 | 0 | 633,856 | 0 | 146 |
| 1998–99 | 570,865 | 0 | 623,848 | 0 | 1,251 |
| 1999–2000 | 570,865 | 0 | 612,542 | 0 | 387 |
| 2000–01 | 577,970 | 0 | 609,660 | 0 | 1,733 |
| 2001–02 | 589,529 | 0 | 606,330 | 0 | 3,760 |
| 2002–03 | 632,989 | 69,727 | 632,989 | 69,727 | 97 |
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
2. Real term costs are based on the GDP deflator and are expressed at 2002–03 values.
3. There were no allocations of contingency funds to this district during this period.
4. There were no overspends during this period.
5. In November 2002, the Jobcentre Plus district of Grampian, Moray, Orkney and Shetland was formed by combining Grampian and Shetland Social Fund district with part of Highlands and Islands district.
6. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency or local authority.
Source:
All data are taken from the Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
3 Dec 2003 : Column 85W
Pension Credit (Christchurch)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Christchurch constituency are in receipt of Pension Credit. [141521]
Malcolm Wicks: As at 17 October 2003, the number of pensioner households receiving Pension Credit in Christchurch constituency was 2,685.
- Notes:
- 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
- 2. Figures are based on 100 per cent. Generalised Matching Service (CMS) data.
- 3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
- Source:
- IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.
Pensions
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the means-testing of pensions. [141448]
Malcolm Wicks: Under Pension Credit pensioners are subject to a new form of assessment, which is much less intrusive and burdensome. Pension Credit has removed the old weekly means test. Instead, most pensioners aged 65 and over have their award fixed for five years and have to tell us only about major changes in their circumstances.
Around half of all pensioner households are eligible for Pension Credit and other income related benefits, and stand to gain, on average, £400 a year. Our priority is to target help on the poorest pensioners and there are already over 1.2 million pensioner households (around 1.4 million individuals) getting more money than they did before.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
European Union Citizenship
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs under which Act of Parliament citizens of the United Kingdom became citizens of the European Union; and on what electoral mandate. [141204]
Mr. Leslie: Article 17 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community, as amended by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty) and by the Treaty of Amsterdam, provides that any person holding the nationality of a member state is also a citizen of the European Union. The amended Treaty is given effect in the United Kingdom by the European Communities Act 1972.
3 Dec 2003 : Column 86W
Magistrates
Mr. Allen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many lay magistrates live in each constituency in the East Midlands region. [140614]
Mr. Leslie: Statistical data for the magistracy are recorded by Commission Area and Bench rather than constituency. The numbers of magistrates in the Commission Areas comprising the East Midlands constituencies are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Derbyshire | 425 |
| Leicestershire | 511 |
| Lincolnshire | 381 |
| Northamptonshire | 344 |
| Nottinghamshire | 664 |
Mr. Allen: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps he is taking to increase the number of magistrates from working class constituencies. [140616]
Mr. Leslie: On 7 October 2003 the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor published his National Strategy for the Recruitment of Lay Magistrates. One of the key aims of this strategy is to recruit magistrates from under-represented groups, including those from working class communities, and by doing so to improve the diversity of local benches. A more accurate way of determining the socio-economic balance of the bench, and of applicants, has been put in place. Various recruitment initiatives are being tried, including targeting community and social groups, local employers and trade union organisations. A regional bus advertising campaign began on 3 November highlighting the need for magistrates from all walks of life. The local Advisory Committees on Justices of the Peace actively attempt to recruit from under-represented sectors by approaching relevant special interest groups and advertising in community and trade media.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |