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15 Dec 2003 : Column 687W—continued
Big Conversation
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what visits (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department (i) have made and (ii) plan to make using public funds in connection with the Big Conversation; how many civil servants accompanied each Minister in respect of such visits; what the cost to public funds was of visits by (A) each Minister and (B) civil servants in connection with the Big Conversation; and if he will make a statement. [143159]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House of Commons on 9 December 2003, Official Report, column 355W.
Carers Allowance
Sir Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people (a) over and (b) under 65 were entitled to carers allowance but did not receive payment in each (i) Scottish constituency and (ii) local authority area in the last year for which figures are available. [143718]
Maria Eagle: Information on the numbers of people in Scotland entitled to carers allowance, but not receiving payment due to the overlapping benefit regulations, is in the tables.
15 Dec 2003 : Column 688W
| May 2003 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Parliamentary constituencies | All | Under 65 | 65 and over |
| All | 15,155 | 8,665 | 6,490 |
| Aberdeen Central | 95 | 50 | 45 |
| Aberdeen North | 150 | 90 | 60 |
| Aberdeen South | 105 | 60 | 45 |
| Airdrie and Shotts | 335 | 220 | 115 |
| Angus | 220 | 100 | 120 |
| Argyll and Bute | 115 | 70 | 45 |
| Ayr | 210 | 115 | 95 |
| Banff and Buchan | 185 | 115 | 70 |
| Caithness Sunderland and Easter Ross | 145 | 95 | 50 |
| Carrick Cumnock and Doon Valley | 345 | 200 | 145 |
| Central Fife | 190 | 120 | 75 |
| Clydebank and Milngavie | 275 | 135 | 140 |
| Clydesdale | 370 | 220 | 145 |
| Coatbridge and Chryston | 290 | 175 | 110 |
| Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | 175 | 120 | 55 |
| Cunninghame North | 175 | 115 | 60 |
| Cunninghame South | 205 | 135 | 75 |
| Dumbarton | 250 | 120 | 130 |
| Dumfries | 280 | 160 | 115 |
| Dundee East | 335 | 145 | 190 |
| Dundee West | 385 | 175 | 210 |
| Dunfermline East | 140 | 100 | 40 |
| Dunfermline West | 120 | 75 | 45 |
| East Kilbride | 265 | 135 | 130 |
| East Lothian | 210 | 115 | 95 |
| Inverclyde | 300 | 195 | 105 |
| Midlothian | 210 | 125 | 85 |
| Moray | 170 | 95 | 75 |
| North Ayrshire | 385 | 250 | 135 |
| North Lanarkshire | 1,215 | 790 | 425 |
| Orkney Islands | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| Perth and Kinross (previously Perthshire and Kinross) | 320 | 155 | 165 |
| Renfrewshire | 490 | 285 | 205 |
| Shetland Islands | 25 | 20 | 5 |
| South Ayrshire | 365 | 195 | 165 |
| South Lanarkshire | 1,255 | 755 | 500 |
| Stirling | 215 | 135 | 80 |
| West Lothian | 840 | 365 | 475 |
| Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (previously Western Isles) | 80 | 45 | 35 |
15 Dec 2003 : Column 689W
Child Support Agency
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will write to the hon. Member for Wycombe about the Child Support Agency with reference to the debate in Westminster Hall on 12 November. [140902]
Mr. Pond: A letter was sent to the hon. Member for Wycombe on 3 December 2003.
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the implications of the appeal by Helena Smith against the Child Support Agency. [141261]
Mr. Pond: The period for appeal against the decision has not yet expired. However, the Agency is issuing guidance to its staff to assist them in handling inquiries arising from the decision.
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the Child Support Agency takes of court orders when assessing the level of maintenance to be paid by non-resident parents; and if he will make a statement. [141937]
Mr. Pond: Where an application to the Child Support Agency is made as a result of a parent with care claiming a relevant benefit, any court order for the child concerned is cancelled.
Under the new child support scheme, in non-benefit cases either parent can choose to use the services of the Agency even though they may have a court order. In such cases the court order is cancelled. The new provisions only apply to court orders made on or after 3 March 2003 and provided that the order has been in place for at least a year.
Court orders for other children may be taken into account when the Agency determines a non-resident parent's liability for child support maintenance.
Child Support Payments (North-west)
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of families are entitled to child support payments in (a) St. Helens, (b) Merseyside and (c) the North West region in the last year for which figures are available. [141299]
Mr. Pond: The information is in the table.
| Number of families (Thousand) | Total number of Child Benefit families (Thousand) | Proportion of families entitled to Child Support payments (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Helens | 4.6 | 22.1 | 20.9 |
| Merseyside | 32.9 | 173.6 | 18.9 |
| North West | 148.3 | 848.1 | 17.5 |
Notes:
1. CSA figures include all full maintenance assessment cases only and include direct pay cases and zero assessments.
2. CSA figures produced using IAD 5 per cent. scan of Child Support Computer System (CSCS) and therefore may be subject to sampling variation.
3. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
4. As a family can occasionally be part of more than one CSA case (when a parent with care has children by more than one non-resident parent) these figures represent a small over-estimate.
5. The proportion of families entitled to Child Support payments is derived by comparing the number of CSA cases with the number of families in receipt of Child Benefit.
15 Dec 2003 : Column 690W
Council Tax Benefit
Mr. Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of pensioners eligible for council tax benefit in Blackpool. [141362]
Mr. Pond: I regret that the information is not available in the format requested.
Statistics for Great Britain are presented in the DWP series "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up". The latest estimates relate to financial year 2000–01 and are in the Library.
Disability Living Allowance
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) City of Edinburgh local authority area, (b) the Edinburgh West parliamentary constituency, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK are in receipt of (i) the middle rate of disability living allowance care component, (ii) the higher rate of disability living allowance care component and (iii) the higher rate of the disability living allowance mobility component. [142831]
Maria Eagle: The breakdown by area and component of disability living allowance received is outlined in the tables:
| Edinburgh LA | |
|---|---|
| All | 18.5 |
| Highest rate care and higher rate mobility | 3.0 |
| Highest rate care and lower rate mobility | 0.9 |
| Highest rate care only | *0.3 |
| Middle rate care and higher rate mobility | 3.0 |
| Middle rate care and lower rate mobility | 2.3 |
| Middle rate care only | 0.6 |
| Lowest rate care and higher rate mobility | 1.9 |
| Lowest rate care and lower rate mobility | 1.0 |
| Lowest rate care only | 1.3 |
| Higher rate mobility only | 3.3 |
| Lower rate mobility only | 0.9 |
| Edinburgh WestParliamentary constituency | |
|---|---|
| All | 2.6 |
| Higher rate care and higher rate mobility | *0.3 |
| Higher rate care and lower rate mobility | *0.1 |
| Higher rate care only | *0.1 |
| Middle rate care and higher rate mobility | *0.4 |
| Middle rate care and lower rate mobility | *0.4 |
| Middle rate care only | *0.1 |
| Lower rate care and higher rate mobility | *0.3 |
| Lower rate care and lower rate mobility | *0.2 |
| Lower rate care only | *0.2 |
| Higher rate mobility only | *0.4 |
| Lower rate mobility only | *0.1 |
15 Dec 2003 : Column 691W
| GB | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| All | 2,497.6 | 277.7 |
| Highest rate care and higher rate mobility | 378.1 | 44.3 |
| Highest rate care and lower rate mobility | 110.3 | 12.9 |
| Highest rate care only | 41.2 | 3.6 |
| Middle rate care and higher rate mobility | 367.3 | 45.2 |
| Middle rate care and lower rate mobility | 286.5 | 33.0 |
| Middle rate care only | 102.6 | 8.8 |
| Lowest rate care and higher rate mobility | 342.1 | 34.5 |
| Lowest rate care and lower rate mobility | 107.5 | 12.6 |
| Lowest rate care only | 187.9 | 17.1 |
| Higher rate mobility only | 469.9 | 54.3 |
| Lower rate mobility only | 104.1 | 11.5 |
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent.
Sample
Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
Figures marked * are less than 500 and subject to a high degree of sampling variation. From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were found to be fraudulently claiming the disability living allowance in (a) 2000, (b) 2001 and (c) 2002. [141928]
Maria Eagle: Information on Disability Living Allowance fraud investigations is recorded by financial year rather than calendar year. The available information is in the table:
| Year | DLA Fraud investigations which resulted in a change in the rate of benefit and/or an overpayment |
|---|---|
| April 2000-March 2001 | 1,546 |
| April 2000-March 2002 | 1,381 |
| April 2000-March 2003 | 1,275 |
Source:
DLA Fraud Database
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