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13 May 2004 : Column 547W—continued
Departmental Computers
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to update computer (a) hardware and (b) software standard packages used in his Department. [166370]
Mr. Pond: By June this year we will have completed the modernisation of the desktop infrastructure across the Department. This has involved replacing almost all existing desktop hardware, and supporting file and print servers, upgrading the networks and delivering a standard set of software applications and packages.
In future, in common with standard industry practice, IT equipment and services will be updated in line with ongoing business needs, with value for money being an important factor in determining how and when any updates take place. Additionally, our strategy and thinking will be informed by opportunities presented by advances in technology, benchmarking against industry standards and consultation with our existing suppliers and other Government Departments.
Departmental Pay
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department's staff earn less than two-thirds of male median earnings. [170584]
13 May 2004 : Column 548W
Maria Eagle: The information is in the table. The figures reflect the first stage of the DWP 2003 pay award. The numbers of staff earning below two-thirds of the male median will reduce when the second stage of the award is paid with May 2004 salaries.
| DWP | Under £6.00 ph | Over £6.00 ph | Total staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total staff in post (Number) | 26,902 | 117,536 | 144,438 |
| Percentage of total | 18.6 | 81.4 | 100 |
Notes:
1. The Median of Male Gross Earnings (all employees) is £9.07 according to the Office for National Statistics Labour Force Survey for Winter 2003–04. Two-thirds is therefore £6.00.
2. DWP data is taken from the February 2004 payroll.
3. DWP salaries include allowances, but not overtime as the hourly rate calculations from which the numbers are derived are based on DWP standard contractual hours.
4. The standard contractual hours used for the figures are 41 for full-time staff in the London pay zones, 36 for part-time staff in the London pay zones, 42 and 37 respectively for staff working outside these areas.
Disability Benefits
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people are on disability benefits, broken down by (a) benefit and (b) region; and if he will make a statement. [171587]
Maria Eagle: The information is in the following tables.
| Region | Total | Percentage of population | DLA only | DLA and IIDB | DLA and AA | DLA, AA and IIDB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | 4,172.2 | 7.3 | 2,408.9 | 102.7 | 14.3 | 0.8 |
| North East | 250.7 | 10.0 | 141.3 | 13.0 | 0.8 | (25)— |
| North West | 625.4 | 9.3 | 381.1 | 18.1 | 2.1 | (24)0.2 |
| Yorkshire and Number | 391.2 | 7.9 | 235.7 | 10.1 | 0.9 | (24)0.1 |
| East Midlands | 308.8 | 7.3 | 170.3 | 10.2 | 0.9 | (24)0.1 |
| West Midlands | 412.3 | 7.8 | 230.5 | 10.6 | 1.6 | (24)0.1 |
| East | 320.4 | 5.9 | 170.7 | 6.1 | 1.3 | (25)— |
| London | 383.3 | 5.2 | 240.4 | 4.4 | 1.1 | (25)— |
| South East | 389.0 | 4.8 | 210.9 | 6.5 | 1.8 | (25)— |
| South West | 323.3 | 6.5 | 163.0 | 5.2 | 1.2 | (24)0.1 |
| Wales | 322.7 | 11.1 | 194.8 | 9.0 | 1.1 | (24)0.2 |
| Scotland | 444.8 | 8.8 | 270.1 | 9.5 | 1.5 | (25)— |
| Region | AA only | AA and IIDB | IIDB only |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 1408.1 | 19.2 | 218.2 |
| North East | 67.2 | 2.1 | 26.3 |
| North West | 191.4 | 2.7 | 29.8 |
| Yorkshire and Number | 117.2 | 2.1 | 25.2 |
| East Midlands | 104.5 | 1.9 | 20.8 |
| West Midlands | 146.9 | 2.1 | 20.6 |
| East | 126.7 | 0.8 | 14.7 |
| London | 126.4 | 0.7 | 10.4 |
| South East | 148.7 | 0.9 | 20.3 |
| South West | 137.4 | 1.3 | 15.2 |
| Wales | 102.5 | 2.6 | 12.6 |
| Scotland | 139.2 | 2.1 | 22.5 |
(24) Figures are less than 500 and subject to a high degree of sampling variation.
(25) Denotes nil or negligible.
Notes:
1. Figures taken from a 5 per cent. sample at 31 August 2003 for AA and DLA and at 30 September 2003 for IIDB.
2. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. 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.
4. Population Figures used to produce the percentages are mid 2002 for population of all ages. Source: Office for National Statistics.
5. DLA is payable to all ages, if claimed before 65. IIDB is payable to working age claimants. AA is only payable on new claims to those aged 65 plus. There remain a number of AA claims in payment from before 6 April 1992, which were not converted to DLA with the introduction of the new scheme, which explains why some people still receive a combination of DLA mobility component and AA for their care costs.
6. The total for AA does not match published individual benefit statistics as published AA statistics use rating factors to take account of late terminations.
Source:
IAD Information Centre.
13 May 2004 : Column 549W
Departmental Website
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of maintaining his Department's website was in the last 12 months; how many staff are responsible for the maintenance of the website; and how many hits it received in the last 12 months. [170589]
Jane Kennedy: Development of the DWP website is carried out by the Department's own in-house web team who are responsible for its production, management and maintenance. It is not possible to quantify internal costs for the site.
There were no contracted or quantifiable costs for the Department's website in the last 12 months.
The department's IT contractor provides hosting of departmental sites, and provision of web hosting services. However, internet services are not accounted for separately and it is not possible to disentangle these costs.
The equivalent of five full-time members of staff maintain the site.
The site attracted 77,031,942 hits in the last 12 months.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will publish an assessment of the incapacity benefit pilots; and if he will make a statement. [172855]
Maria Eagle: We will be publishing reports at intervals during the course of the evaluation of the incapacity benefit pilots, although the full and final impact assessment will not be available until early 2007. From later this year onwards, qualitative findings on areas such as personal advisers and customer experiences of the reforms will be published. An interim assessment of the impact of the incapacity benefit pilots will also be available in summer 2005. In parallel we will be assessing direct feedback from those responsible for, and participating in, the pilots in order to further improve the effectiveness of the support available, and apply appropriate lessons more widely.
Occupational Pension Schemes
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will fund compensation for members of occupational pension schemes who have suffered serious loss and will not be eligible for the Pension Protection Fund. [172712]
13 May 2004 : Column 550W
Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty) on 26 April 2004, Official Report, column 848W.
Pension Protection Fund
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether (a) the Chairman, (b) the Chief Executive and (c) the staff of the Pension Protection Fund will be in pensionable employment liable for the levy to the Pension Protection Fund. [172929]
Malcolm Wicks: As a part of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) employment terms and conditions the Chairman, the Chief Executive and the staff of the Pension Protection Fund will have the opportunity to join the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. This is in line with the pension provision currently provided for OPRA staff. The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme, along with other similar schemes, is a funded public service pension scheme with a crown guarantee and therefore will not be required to pay the pension protection fund levies.
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