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Sakhalin II

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what account she will take of the potential impact on (a) saffron cod and (b) herring populations when assessing the Sakhalin II phase 2 oil and gas project under consideration for support by the Export Credits and Guarantee Department. [157904]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Both saffron cod and herring will be considered as part of the overall assessment of potential impacts on fishing resulting from the Sakhalin II project.

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions have been undertaken with other Departments on the Sakhalin II phase 2 oil and gas project which the Export Credit Guarantee Department is considering. [158073]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: ECGD has consulted officials in DEFRA, DFID and FCO with regard to Sakhalin II.

I have also consulted the Minister for Environment.

Scottish Electricity Generators

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on her Department's assessment of the overall cost of the British Electricity Transmission and Trading Arrangements for Scottish electricity generators. [158534]

Mr. Timms: BETTA is a package of reforms, elements of which are likely to result in higher costs for Scottish generators, whilst others are likely to reduce costs. In aggregate, however, Ofgem estimates that the net impact of BETTA on Scottish generators will be broadly neutral.

This is because any increase in transmission charges will be offset by the removal of the current interconnector charges and charges for access to the England-Wales market. There will also be lower connection charges for Scottish generation.

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The DTI has carried out an analysis of the possible impact of BETTA as part of the Energy Bill Regulatory Impact Assessment www.dti.gov.uk/energy/leg and reg/acts/ria.pdf. This found that the relevant market participants—principally British Energy and the two vertically integrated incumbents, Scottish Power and SSE—would be exposed to initial costs of around £7.5 million and on-going costs of some £0.5 million per year, although this excludes the redistributive effects brought about by a Great Britain-wide transmission charging regime.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make it her policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall. [159613]

Ms Hewitt: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Housing Benefit

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the annual cost of (a) administering Housing Benefit and (b) Housing Benefit fraud; and if he will make a statement. [156596]

Mr. Pond: The most recent available estimate of the annual cost of administering Housing Benefit is in the table:

Housing Benefit administration costs in Great Britain 2001–02

	£ million
England	360
Scotland	32
Wales	15
Total	407

Notes:

1. Figures are Net Current Expenditure.

2. Amounts are rounded to the nearest million

Source:

Figures for England provided by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

Scotland figures provided by the Scottish Executive.

Wales figures provided by the Welsh Assembly.

For Housing Benefit Fraud, we published "Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit, April 2002 to March 2003" on 11 December 2003. This report represents the first national headline estimates, for the level of fraud and error in Housing Benefit, derived via the statistical analysis of data collected by the Housing Benefit Review (HBR) continuous measurement exercise. Copies of the reports are available in the Library.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the proposal to give local authorities the ability to withhold payment of housing benefits to tenants as a method of controlling anti-social behaviour. [159457]

Mr. Pond: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) on 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1105.

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Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made since the formal consultation about ground rents and the referral of rent to local rent officers under the proposed changes to housing benefit. [157489]

Mr. Pond: The first step in our reform of Housing Benefit has been the introduction from November 2003 of a flat rate Local Housing Allowance in the private rented sector in nine pathfinder local authorities; with flat rate allowances for same size properties in the same area. Early indications are that the shift away from making payments direct to landlords is going well.

In the pathfinders, Housing Benefit is no longer linked to individual rents, so there is no need for individual rents to be referred to the local rent officer. The local rent service will however continue to support the local authorities by calculating monthly Local Housing Allowance rates and setting the Broad Rental Market Areas.

We have also put a comprehensive evaluation strategy in place. This will include interviews with claimants, landlords, local authority staff and stakeholder organisations, as well as an analysis of administrative data.

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of landlords in pathfinder areas who have stopped taking on housing benefit tenants. [158079]

Mr. Pond: We are making good progress in applying our ground-breaking Local Housing Allowance to tenants with mainstream tenancies in the private rented sector. All the nine pathfinder local authorities, who are taking this forward for us, have begun to implement the reforms. We have made an encouraging start: implementation has been smooth and early indications are that the shift away from making payments direct to landlords is going well. Initial concerns from landlords have now been addressed to a large extent and we are not aware of any landlords withdrawing from the market.

The reforms are intended to help landlords, as well as tenants, by creating a more transparent system that will be simpler for local authorities to administer, thereby speeding up overall processing times. Also, the safeguards we have built in regarding direct payment to landlords in particular circumstances are designed to protect the interests of both landlord and tenant.

It is too early to fully assess the response of tenants and landlords, but we have put a comprehensive evaluation strategy in place.

Child Support Agency

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to bring older Child Support Agency cases into the new system for assessment. [158880]

Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1092W.

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Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many payments of maintenance to parents with care have been delayed in the last six months because of the failure of the system in the issuing of maintenance payments; and if he will make a statement. [157984]

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.

Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Bill O'Brien dated 9 March 2004:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many payments of maintenance to parents with care have been delayed in the last six months because of the failure of the system in the issuing of maintenance payments; and if he will make a statement.

Between August 2003 and February 2004 the new computer system generated over 346,000 payments. In the same period 1,741 payments were issued manually. I do not have a record of how many of these payments represent a delay in the issue of maintenance

Departmental Estate

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department plans to sell its premises in Beeches Road, Chelmsford; and if he will make a statement. [159994]

Maria Eagle: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Simon Burns, dated 9 March 2004:

As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question concerning plans to sell off the Jobcentre Plus premises at Beeches Road, Chelmsford. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.

In Essex, Jobcentre Plus consulted with partners and stakeholders during 2001 and 2002 and their views were taken into account in the final delivery plan that has now been put into place across this District.

Jobcentre Plus has now been introduced to all the offices in Essex District, including Beeches Road, to deliver a radical change in the way that benefits and employment services are provided to people of working age. We have no current plans to vacate that office.

Through the development of these new modern offices, we are providing an integrated, work-focused service to all people of working age. The introduction of work-focused interviews is extending the opportunity to more people who are taking advantage of the help, guidance and support we can provide to assist them to move into sustainable employment.

In all our plans we have focused on the needs of our customers. The new offices offer customers a seamless service, where they are able to make enquires about their benefit entitlement, and the training and employment opportunities available to them, under one roof.

In addition to these services Jobcentre Plus provides access to a telephone contact centre network where our customers are able to make enquiries without having to come into one of our offices. Our Beeches Road site offers both face to face and contact centre services.

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Jobcentre Plus keeps under constant review our Estates and operational delivery to customers. I hope it will reassure you to know that, at the present time, there are no plans to vacate the Beeches Road premises.

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