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16 Jun 2004 : Column 1015W—continued

UNESCO

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent on maintaining a British ambassador to UNESCO in each year since 1997. [178124]

Hilary Benn: The figures in pound sterling are as follows:
£

Amount
199730,063
1998190,773
1999118,175
2000120,626
2001124,695
2002128,853
2003115,732
200458,575

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what formal consultations the British ambassador to UNESCO has held with leading British museums, libraries and galleries in relation to the formation of international cultural policy in the last 12 months. [178125]

Hilary Benn: The current British Ambassador to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has been in post for six months. During that time his main efforts have concentrated on re-establishing the UK National Commission for UNESCO which will have a role in advising Government on international cultural policy. The Commission will have representations from links with a wide cross-section of civil society, including museums, libraries and galleries. A temporary national committee has now been set up. The Ambassador has had discussions with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) on international cultural policy, and informal discussions with a number of representatives of museums including on specific issues such as help for developing countries' heritage work.

Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what instructions he has issued to the British Ambassador to UNESCO in relation to the position of the United States Administration on the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. [178127]


 
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Hilary Benn: None. It is a matter for individual sovereign states to decide whether they will become a party to an international agreement. The Minister for Heritage, Lord Mclntosh, announced on 14 May the UK's intention to ratify the Hague Convention.

Working Time Directive

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many employees in his Department have (a) signed a formal opt out from and (b) are exempt from the Working Time Directive; and how many employees in his Department have recorded hours, including any accruing on a flexitime basis, in excess of the maximum allowed under the Working Time Directive in the last month for which figures are available. [178375]

Mr. Gareth Thomas: (a) None, (b) None. It is DFID's policy to discourage the regular working of long hours. There will always be occasions when, for example, emergency situations or parliamentary demands will mean that long hours may be required as a short-term response, but DFID guidance to managers emphasises that regular long hour working must never be ignored or overlooked and that DFID has a duty to ensure the health and safety of our staff.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Council Tax Benefit (Stroud)

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out the level of council tax benefit for the Stroud district council area for each of the last three years. [178463]

Mr. Pond: Council tax benefit is an income related benefit and is paid according to the financial circumstances of the person claiming it. Therefore, there is not a single set level of council tax benefit. The average weekly amount of council tax benefit in the Stroud local authority area is in the table.
Average weekly council tax benefit in Stroud local authority area

As at August£
200110.37
200211.39
200313.14




Notes:
1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
2. The average amounts have been rounded to the nearest penny.
3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in August 2001, 2002 and 2003.




Attendance Allowance

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many attendance allowance claims in Scotland (a) were subject to appeal between February 2002 and February 2003, broken down by (i) disability benefit
 
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centre and (ii) quarter and (b) have been subject to appeal since February 2003, broken down by month. [176762]


 
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Mr. Pond: The information requested is set out in the tables.
Attendance allowance appeals for Scotland received at the Appeals Service (tAS) by office, for February 2002–03

Originating officeNumber of received appeals at tAS
Edinburgh DBC390
Glasgow DBC890
Disability Benefits Unit85
Total1,365

Attendance allowance appeals for Scotland received at tAS by office and quarter, for February 2002–03

Quarter 1(March–ay 2002)
Quarter 2(June–ugust 2002)
Originating officeAppealsAA claims (Thousand)Appeals/claims (Percentage)AppealsAA claims (Thousand)Appeals/claims (Percentage)
Edinburgh DBC12056.80.211057.40.2
Glasgow DBC23048.00.519048.60.4
Disability Benefits Unit3035
Total380104.8335106.0

Quarter 3(September–November 2002)
Quarter 4(December 2002–ebruary 2003)
Originating officeAppealsAA claims (Thousand)Appeals/claims (Percentage)AppealsAA claims (Thousand)Appeals/claims (Percentage)
Edinburgh DBC8058.80.13558.80.1
Glasgow DBC18050.40.419050.90.4
Disability Benefits Unit1015
Total270109.2240109.7




Note:
In the above period the Disability Benefits Unit processed the specified number of appeals on behalf of claims originating in Scotland.





Attendance allowance appeals for Scotland received at tAS by month, from February 2003 to April 2004

MonthNumber
February 200370
March 200375
April 200360
May 200355
June 2003140
July 200395
August 200390
September 2003100
October 2003115
November 2003120
December 200390
January 2004115
February 2004100
March 2004105
April 200460
Total1,390




Source:
IAD information centre. 100 per cent. download of the Generic Appeals Processing System.




Carers

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost would be of increasing carers' allowance to the level of the full basic state pension; and what assessment he has made of the consequent effect upon payments of means-tested benefits. [178597]

Maria Eagle: The gross cost of increasing carer's allowance from its current rate of £44.35 per week to the level of the full basic state pension (£79.60 per week) would be around £770 million in 2004–05. After allowing for offsets in means-tested benefits the cost would be around £370 million. Some of those who would benefit would see their increased CA payment fully eroded by reduced income support.


 
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Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of working age carers in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland are credited with Class 1 national insurance contributions in respect of their caring commitments. [178600]

Mr. Pond: The information is not available in the form requested. In 2003–04, a total of 520,000 working age carers in the UK who were entitled to carer's allowance, were also given Nl credits for periods ranging from one week to a full year.

Separate figures are not available for Scotland.

Other carers entitled to CA may receive credits because they are in receipt of benefits such as incapacity benefit or jobseeker's allowance. Women who have elected to pay married women's reduced rate contributions would not receive credits.

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the merits of payments for all carers. [178601]

Mr. Pond: The needs of carers are diverse and the support they need is not always financial. As well as having access to the full range of social security benefits and tax credits, depending on their individual circumstances, carers also have access to a wide range of support services available through local authorities and health authorities, which take account of local factors.

Carer's allowance provides a measure of income maintenance to those carers who are spending substantial amounts of time caring for a severely disabled person, and are over pension age or unable to undertake full-time work. The Government are satisfied that targeting help in this way represents the best use of resources.


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