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Population Increase (London)

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision he has made for the increase in his Department's services to address London's projected population increase; and what plans he has put in place to deal with the employment needs for the population increase. [163407]

Mr. Browne: The Department for Work and Pensions has standards of service for each person receiving benefits or pensions and the Department's business plans ensure that there are sufficient staff and resource to deliver these standards of service.

Such planning will, of course, take account of the size of the London population. It will also need to take account of the proportion of people claiming benefits and pensions. For example, between May 1997 and May 2003 the numbers claiming working age benefits in London has fallen from 830,000 to 691,000 and the proportion of the population from 18.8 per cent. to 14.7 per cent.

At the time of the pre-Budget report 2003 DWP together with the Treasury published a report "Full Employment in Every Region". This examined the employment situation in all regions including London and set out the how labour market policy is developing to deal with London's employment needs.

Post Office Card Account

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the effect in terms of timescale and cost of altering the Post Office card account application process to allow account details to be provided from Post Office Limited direct to his Department; whether he has received representations from (a) Post Office Limited and (b) others relating to the Post Office card account application process; and if he will make a statement; [162800]

(2) what assessment he has made of the timescale involved in processing an application to receive pension and benefits into (a) a Post Office Card Account and (b) a bank or building society account; whether he has

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assessed differences in the timescale of the different application processes for direct payment; and if he will make a statement. [163073]

Mr. Pond [holding answer 22 March 2004]: We do recognise that some customers have been slow to send their Post Office card account details to the DWP. The DWP typically send out a conversion letter to customers shortly after they have been sent a new order book. As order books normally last for 20 weeks, this gives the customer plenty of time to open an account if necessary and supply account details.

However, it is clear that many customers do not realise that they then need to provide DWP with their card account details. We are working with the Post Office, sub-postmasters and others to solve this problem. We have improved customer information and sub-postmaster training. These actions have already had some impact and the number of customers returning account details is starting to increase. Further action will also be taken to simplify the process for customers returning account details to DWP.

Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent in marketing the Post Office Card Account in the last year in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK. [155474]

Maria Eagle: The Department does not market specifically the Post Office Card Account. Instead customers are given information on all the accounts available for Direct Payment. The information is presented in a way that enables customers to decide which account option is best for their individual circumstances.

The total publicity cost for the Direct Payment information campaign during 2003–04 is estimated to be £12,462,000. This includes advertising. As this is a national information campaign, it is not possible to isolate costs for Scotland.

Prescribed Disease A11

Liz Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he received the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council Report on Prescribed Disease A11; and when he will publish his response to the report. [164180]

Mr. Browne: My right hon. Friend received the report by the Industrial Injury Advisory Council on Prescribed Disease A11 on 23 March 2004. We are currently giving careful consideration to the Council's findings and hope to publish the report after the Easter recess.

Redundancies/Staff Reduction

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has conducted into the effects of his Department's planned redundancies and redeployment of staff over the next four years; if he will place copies in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [163295]

Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in achieving a gross reduction of 40,000 civil servants in his Department since the Budget. [165020]

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Maria Eagle: The Department has been developing plans for a reduction of up to 18,000 posts since 2002. This is now part of a four-year plan to reduce the number of posts by 30,000. This will reflect the new business model being rolled-out in Jobcentre Plus including more front-line staff conducting work-focused interviews; a Pension Transformation Programme and reductions in staffing in The Pension Service; the introduction of Child Support reform; and savings in "back office" functions in HR, finance and IT support.

The detail of how reductions will be allocated and profiled between businesses and corporate services will be developed in the normal way through our business planning processes and in discussion with the trade unions. We will provide further detail after the Spending Review settlement.

Register of Interests

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the requirements are on officials in his Department to declare current interests; and what register of interests is kept for his departmental officials. [164706]

Maria Eagle: The Civil Service Management Code sets out the requirement for civil servants declaring any conflicts of interest. The Department for Work and Pensions requires individuals to seek permission from their line managers before undertaking any outside employment or activity, which could have a conflict of interest with working for the Department. These include: Political Activities, Outside Business Appointments, Non-Executive Directorships, secondary jobs, managing a board and lodging establishment/nursing home, membership of non-political organisations, Public Service, enlistment in HM Forces, voluntary reserve and auxiliary forces. There is no central register of interests; it is up to individuals and line managers to record them.

Vaccine Damages Payments

Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1608W, which of the 571 cases identified involved (a) an extension of time limits for claiming and (b) the reduction of the disability threshold; and how many claims in each of these categories have been (i) successful and (ii) unsuccessful. [164716]

Maria Eagle: The 571 cases identified under the Regulatory Reform Order (RRO), break down into the following:

208 were originally disallowed because they were out of time;

363 were below the original disability threshold.

Of the 571 cases identified, 337 further claims have so far been received. Of these:

150 were originally disallowed on time limit grounds. Two of these have been successful, 143 ¹ have been unsuccessful and five are pending;

187 were originally disallowed on disablement grounds. Six of these have been successful, 173 ² have been unsuccessful and eight are pending.

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Notes:
^{1 , 2} Of these 316 subsequent disallowances, 275 have been disallowed on the grounds that causation has not been accepted, while 41 have been disallowed where causation has been accepted but the vaccinated person is deemed not to be over 60 per cent. disabled.
³ Causation is accepted where on the balance of probability, it is determined that a person is, or was immediately before their death, severely disabled due to vaccination against any of the specified diseases.

Working at Height

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Working at Height Directive applies to (a) mountaineering, (b) rock climbing, (c) acrobatics in circuses and gymnasiums and (d) other outdoor leisure activities. [163673]

Mr. Browne: The Temporary Work at Height Directive (2001/45/EC) is intended to reduce the risk of falls from height, which account for a large percentage of fatal or major injuries at work. The Directive has the same scope of application as the Framework Directive (89/391/EEC), and applies to all sectors of activity where temporary work at height is carried out.

Therefore, the Directive would apply to all these activities when performed as a work activity. It would not apply to private individuals who partake in these tasks as a sport, or leisure activity. However, it is expected to have little impact on activities where employers fully comply with existing good practice.

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