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24 Mar 2004 : Column 856W—continued
Information Technology
Mr. Allan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what audit mechanisms are in place to determine whether information technology (a) hardware and (b) software products are being used properly in his Department. [150936]
Mr. Caplin: The Ministry of Defence has several hundred computer systems in use ranging from corporate IT systems serving thousands of users to business area systems serving smaller communities. This means that a detailed and specific answer to this question could be provided only at disproportionate cost. There are, however, some practices which are standard across the department and these are detailed as follows.
Information systems within the Department are controlled by Security and Operating Procedures (SyOps). Each System is only accredited for use once the procedures have been approved by the Departmental Security Officer. All users are required to observe the SyOps; enforcement is the responsibility of individual System Security Officer(SSO's)/Information Technology Security Officers (ITSO's).
Joint Service Publication (JSP) 440, covering these issues was revised last year. SyOps are revised as necessary as and when new threats to security arise. A recent example is the appearance of photo-messaging which has required that mobile phones be prohibited in some areas where formally they were permitted.
Iraq
Mr. Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the names of (a) full-time and (b) reservist personnel who refused to serve in Iraq, and the action taken against them; and if he will make a statement. [162401]
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Mr. Ingram [holding answer 23 March 2004]: No regular or reserve personnel have refused to serve in Iraq. However, one regular member of the armed forces registered a conscientious objection on the grounds of religion, which was accepted and he was subsequently discharged.
Typhoon
Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what suppression of enemy air defences capabilities the Typhoon will have. [162646]
Mr. Ingram: The baseline design for Typhoon includes the ability to integrate a SEAD capability such as ALARM. The United Kingdom is currently negotiating with industry and partner negotiations on what weapons fit will be incorporated into Typhoon as part of Tranche 2.
Warships
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when HMS Bulwark will enter service. [162950]
Mr. Ingram: HMS Bulwark is planned to enter service with the Royal Navy by the end of March 2005.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Sure Start Maternity Grant
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many workers in Buckingham have taken up the Sure Start maternity grant. [161564]
Mr. Pond: The information is not available in the format requested; the available information is in the table.
| Income support | Jobseekers allowance (Income based) | Tax credits | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 1,317 | 199 | 505 | 2,021 |
| 2001–02 | 1,414 | 189 | 783 | 2,386 |
| 2002–03 | 1,499 | 225 | 1,151 | 2,875 |
| 2003–04 | 1,379 | 242 | 1,166 | 2,787 |
Notes:
1. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency. Buckingham parliamentary constituency is part of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Jobcentre Plus District, which was formed by merging Buckinghamshire Social Fund District and Oxfordshire Social Fund District in December 2002. For comparison purposes, data before the merger is given for Buckinghamshire Social Fund District and Oxfordshire Social Fund District combined.
2. Data on applications by workers are not available.
3. The available data are given in the tables above. Prior to 2003–04, tax credits refer to Working Families' Tax Credit and Disabled Person's Tax Credit. From 2003–04, tax credits refer to Child Tax Credit (CTC) payable at a rate higher than the family element and Working Tax Credit where the disability or severe disability element is included in the award. Where a Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) is awarded and the applicant or partner is in receipt of both Income Support (IS) and CTC at the appropriate rate, the SSMG award will be recorded under IS. Similarly, where a SSMG is awarded and the applicant or partner is in receipt of both Jobseeker's Allowance (Income-Based) (JSA(IB)) and CTC at the appropriate rate, the SSMG award should be recorded under JSA(IB).
4. Data for 2003–04 are for April 2003 to February 2004 only.
Source:
DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
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Departmental Scientific Adviser
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has a chief scientific adviser. [162478]
Malcolm Wicks: Professor Mansel Aylward, CB is the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department for Work and Pensions. Dr. Paul Davies is the Chief Scientific Adviser to the Health and Safety Executive.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Department has decided to discontinue the Activities for Managing Life system for assessing claims for disability living allowance; and if he will make a statement. [163265]
Maria Eagle: Initial tests of the Activities for Managing Life (AMLs) assessment model as a potential alternative method of assessing entitlement to Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance were not sufficiently encouraging to justify further development and testing of the model. We believe that our delivery objectives of substantially improved customer service and more speedy, accurate and consistent decision making can best be achieved through the Disability and Carers Service's change programme, which is designed to modernise the delivery of the benefits on the basis of the current assessment arrangements.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women receiving incapacity benefit payments made on mental health grounds in relation to (i) stress and (ii) depression received these payments for longer than (A) one month, (B) six months, (C) a year and (D) two years in each year since 1997; and if he will break down these payments by region. [163052]
Maria Eagle [holding answer 22 March 2004]: The information has been placed in the Library.
Mental Health
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with mental ill health have been classified as hospital in-patients for more than a year for the purposes of benefit, broken down by (a) age, (b) diagnosis and (c) category of mental ill health. [163264]
Maria Eagle: The information is not available.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the types of establishment accommodating people with mental ill health who are classified as hospital in-patients for more than a year for the purposes of benefit. [163263]
Malcolm Wicks: For benefit purposes, a person is regarded as receiving or having received free in-patient treatment for any period when they are maintained free
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of charge while undergoing medical or other treatment in a hospital or similar institution, under the National Health Service Act 1997, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 or the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 or in a hospital or similar institution maintained or administered by the Defence Council.
Pensions
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to address the imbalances in levels of pensions between men and women, with particular reference to women from ethnic minorities. [162862]
Malcolm Wicks: Measures instituted by this Government since 1997 to improve pensioners' incomes have been targeted largely on those in the lower part of the income distribution who tend to be older, female, and from ethnic minorities.
The main measures since 1997 include: above inflation increases in the Basic State Pension between April 2000 and April 2003; the introduction of the Minimum Income Guarantee and then Pension Credit which, from April 2004, will ensure that no single pensioner need live on less than £105.45 a week and no couple on less than £160.95 a week, as well as providing extra support for those with modest savings; Winter Fuel payments of £200 a year for the remainder of this Parliament; an extra £100 a year within the Winter Fuel Payments for those aged 80 or over; free TV licences for individuals aged 75 or over; and an extra 100 for households with at least one pensioner aged 70 or over.
The Government will be spending around £10 billion a year extra on pensioners in 2004–05 as a result of these measures. They have resulted in pensioner households gaining £1,350 a year in real terms with the poorest third of pensioners gaining £1,750 a year in real terms.
In addition, the DWP provides comprehensive guidance to staff on providing a service to ethnic minority communities. The Department also provides information in a range of languages and holds an annual Ethnic Minority forum at which issues affecting black and minority ethnic pensioners are discussed.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans his Department has to require compulsory employer contributions to workers' pensions. [162863]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government currently have no plans to require compulsory employer contributions. We believe in the value of employer contributions but also in the pensions partnership that is at the heart of the voluntarist system.
It is, however, important that progress is independently monitored. That is why we have established the Pensions Commission to monitor how the voluntarist system is developing. On the basis of the Commission's recommendations, we will decide whether there is a case for moving beyond the current voluntary approach.
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to reach a conclusion prior to the report stage of the Pensions Bill
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as to his policy on the position of those pension fund holders who have already lost out and are precluded from cover by the proposed protection fund as a result of the proposed date of entry of the same. [162946]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government are sympathetic to all those people who will not receive the pension they worked so hard to build up for their future retirement. We have been meeting some of those affected and listened to suggestions regarding assistance ahead of the Pension Protection Fund's introduction. But there are complex arguments on both sides.
We are now exploring with industry representatives the basis on which we can establish firm estimates of the extent of the problem of defined benefit schemes winding-up under funded, the numbers affected and the potential scale of losses. Once those data have been collated, I will be in a better position to report more fully the findings of our examinations and what, if any, the appropriate course of action should be.
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