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5 Feb 2004 : Column 1055W—continued
Post-primary Education
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of how the proposed new Northern Ireland post-primary education system will affect current schooling arrangements under the Craigavon-Dixon scheme. [152124]
Jane Kennedy: The Government's decisions are not imposing a 'one size fits all' system. All existing school types, including Dickson plan schools, have a place in the new arrangements, provided they meet the requirements of the Entitlement Framework. Academic selection will end and new transfer arrangements will be based on informed pupil and parental choice.
Rates Relief
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many people are eligible to receive rates relief, broken down by parliamentary constituency; [152093]
- (2) how many pensioners (a) applied for rates relief and (b) were successful in their application in each of the last five years, broken down by parliamentary constituency. [152094]
Mr. Pearson: I have asked the Chief Executive of the Rate Collection Agency to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.
Recruitment Advertising
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent on recruitment advertisements in the press, broken down by publication, by (a) his Department, (b) quangos under the Department and (c) non-departmental Government bodies under the Department (i) in the last year and (ii) since 1997. [145806]
Mr. Pearson: Expenditure by the Recruitment Service on advertising in relation to appointments to the Northern Ireland civil service is as follows:
- 2003: £0.5 million
- 1998–2002: £1.8 million
The Recruitment Service uses the most appropriate publication for recruitment advertising (normally the regional press), depending on the nature of the vacancy to be filled.
Other information in the form requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
5 Feb 2004 : Column 1056W
WORK AND PENSIONS
Disability Discrimination Bill
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) on what basis (a) HIV, (b) cancer and (c) multiple sclerosis were included in the draft Disability Discrimination Bill's definitions of disability; and if he will make a statement; [152568]
- (2) on what basis (a) restricted growth conditions, (b) mental ill health and (c) high functioning autism were excluded from the draft Disability Discrimination Bill's definitions of disability; and if he will make a statement. [152569]
Maria Eagle: Anyone with a restricted growth condition, mental ill health or high functioning autism who meets the current definition of disability in the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is treated as a disabled person for the purposes of the Act and is entitled to protection against disability discrimination. A disabled person is defined in section 1 of the Act as a person who has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
In the particular case of people with progressive conditions (such as HIV, cancer or multiple sclerosis), the current definition treats them as disabled if their impairment has some effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities, even if not substantial, provided that it is eventually likely to have that effect.
We propose through the definition of disability clause in the draft Disability Discrimination Bill to extend the current definition of disability in the Act for the progressive conditions of HIV infection, cancer and multiple sclerosis to anyone who has that condition whether or not it has an effect on normal day-to-day activities; although there is a power which could be used to exclude cancers which do not require substantial treatment. The provisions relating to HIV infection and cancer follow recommendations by the Disability Rights Task Force. The extension for multiple sclerosis followed consideration of case law. No conditions already covered by the 1995 Act would be excluded by means of the draft Disability Discrimination Bill.
Attendance Allowance
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of attendance allowance claimants in England who would no longer qualify for this benefit if they were being given free personal care; and what estimate he has made of the consequent saving to his Department. [152835]
Maria Eagle: Data from which such estimates could be derived are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Benefit Fraud
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were successfully prosecuted in Scotland for (a) housing benefit, (b) income support, (c) council tax benefit and (d) jobseeker's allowance fraud in each of the last five years. [147829]
5 Feb 2004 : Column 1057W
Mr. Pond: The available information is in the table:
| (27)DSS/DWP Agencies | (28)Local authority | |
|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 598 | NA |
| 1999–2000 | 494 | NA |
| 2000–01 | 510 | NA |
| 2001–02 | 503 | 23 |
| 2002–03 | 486 | 73 |
(27) Fraud Information by Sector system
(28) Local authority subsidy returns
Note:
1. The DSS/DWP figures refer to prosecutions undertaken specifically by the Counter Fraud Investigation Services in Scotland. These figures cannot be broken down separately into individual benefits and include successful prosecutions for all benefits paid by the Department, including Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance. Figures relating to prosecutions carried out in Scotland by the National Investigation Service can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
2. The local authority figures are for successful prosecutions carried out by local authorities in Scotland in respect of Housing Benefit fraud and Council Tax Benefit fraud.
3. Information on the number of people successfully prosecuted by local authorities in Scotland is available only as a total figure for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and can not be provided separately.
4. For figures prior to 1999–2000, the Fraud Information by Sector database shows completed cases commenced in the relevant period. Due to the elapsed time between commencement of an investigation and completion of a prosecution there are cases which are inserted into previously completed data for earlier periods. All totals are therefore correct at the time when quoted but subject to adjustment at a later date.
5. Reliable information for local authority prosecutions in Scotland is not available for 1998–99 to 2000–01.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many whole time equivalent staff were employed by his Department on anti-benefit fraud programmes in each of the last six years; what the operational costs were in each of those years; how much additional benefit was recovered in each case; and what the unit cost ratio of cost to benefit was in each case. [151016]
Mr. Pond: The information is not available.
The overall aim of the Department's anti-fraud strategy is to have a benefit system which is secure from first claim to final payment. The implementation of this strategy means that an anti-fraud focus is integral to the work of all staff in the Department, as is dealing with the wider agenda of error and incorrectness in benefit payments. It is therefore not possible to account for the cost of anti-fraud work separately.
The information currently available shows that around 5,000 staff are employed nationally at any one time by the Department and its agencies in work to investigate suspicions of fraud.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls have been received by the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in each of the last six years; and how many (a) investigations, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions have resulted. [151018]
Mr. Pond: The available information is in the table.
5 Feb 2004 : Column 1058W
| Number of calls received | Investigations | Prosecutions | Convictions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1997–March 1998 | 188,038 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| April 1998–March 1999 | 170,032 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| April 1999–March 2000 | 162,067 | 31,686 | 376 | 335 |
| April 2000–March 2001 | 208,201 | 35,637 | 542 | 492 |
| April 2001–March 2002 | 205,999 | 40,447 | 768 | 703 |
| April 2002–March 2003 | 159,290 | 33,700 | 780 | 706 |
Notes:
Full information on the number of successful investigations, prosecutions and convictions resulting from calls to the National Benefit Fraud Hotline is available only from April 1999.
Source:
National Benefit Fraud Hotline and Fraud Information by Sector system
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff have been employed to investigate internal fraud within his Department in each of the last six years. [151021]
Mr. Pond: The Department for Work and Pensions was created following a machinery of Government change in June 2001 by a merger of Department of Social Security and parts of the Department for Education and Employment and the Employment Service. Staff numbers involved in internal fraud investigations prior to June 2001 is now no longer available.
Between July 2001 and March 2003, internal fraud investigations were undertaken by regionally based staff. In some instances these were dedicated staff, in others there was a panel of investigators called upon as and when required. The information on the number of staff involved in investigations during this period is not now available.
From the 1 April 2003 it was decided that all internal fraud investigations would be undertaken by an independent team managed by the Director of Internal Assurance. Currently there are 66 full-time investigators and support staff undertaking this work.
Mr.Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions the additional powers to obtain information from specified private and public sector organisations to tackle benefit fraud and error introduced by the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 have been used in each year since the powers took effect; and if he will list the organisations which (a) were asked to provide information and (b) supplied information. [151022]
Mr. Pond: The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
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