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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 | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 30,063 |
| 1998 | 190,773 |
| 1999 | 118,175 |
| 2000 | 120,626 |
| 2001 | 124,695 |
| 2002 | 128,853 |
| 2003 | 115,732 |
| 2004 | 58,575 |
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.
| As at August | £ |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 10.37 |
| 2002 | 11.39 |
| 2003 | 13.14 |
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
16 Jun 2004 : Column 1017W
centre and (ii) quarter and (b) have been subject to appeal since February 2003, broken down by month. [176762]
16 Jun 2004 : Column 1018W
Mr. Pond: The information requested is set out in the tables.
| Originating office | Number of received appeals at tAS |
|---|---|
| Edinburgh DBC | 390 |
| Glasgow DBC | 890 |
| Disability Benefits Unit | 85 |
| Total | 1,365 |
| Quarter 1(March–ay 2002) | Quarter 2(June–ugust 2002) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Originating office | Appeals | AA claims (Thousand) | Appeals/claims (Percentage) | Appeals | AA claims (Thousand) | Appeals/claims (Percentage) |
| Edinburgh DBC | 120 | 56.8 | 0.2 | 110 | 57.4 | 0.2 |
| Glasgow DBC | 230 | 48.0 | 0.5 | 190 | 48.6 | 0.4 |
| Disability Benefits Unit | 30 | — | — | 35 | — | — |
| Total | 380 | 104.8 | — | 335 | 106.0 | — |
| Quarter 3(September–November 2002) | Quarter 4(December 2002–ebruary 2003) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Originating office | Appeals | AA claims (Thousand) | Appeals/claims (Percentage) | Appeals | AA claims (Thousand) | Appeals/claims (Percentage) |
| Edinburgh DBC | 80 | 58.8 | 0.1 | 35 | 58.8 | 0.1 |
| Glasgow DBC | 180 | 50.4 | 0.4 | 190 | 50.9 | 0.4 |
| Disability Benefits Unit | 10 | — | — | 15 | — | — |
| Total | 270 | 109.2 | — | 240 | 109.7 | — |
Note:
In the above period the Disability Benefits Unit processed the specified number of appeals on behalf of claims originating in Scotland.
| Month | Number |
|---|---|
| February 2003 | 70 |
| March 2003 | 75 |
| April 2003 | 60 |
| May 2003 | 55 |
| June 2003 | 140 |
| July 2003 | 95 |
| August 2003 | 90 |
| September 2003 | 100 |
| October 2003 | 115 |
| November 2003 | 120 |
| December 2003 | 90 |
| January 2004 | 115 |
| February 2004 | 100 |
| March 2004 | 105 |
| April 2004 | 60 |
| Total | 1,390 |
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.
Notes:
1. Estimates use benefit rates for 2004–05 and are based on a 100 per cent. extract of CA claims on the CA computer system for May 2003, a 5 per cent. extract from the claims on the IS computer system in 2003 and a 1 per cent. extract of the housing benefit/council tax benefit claims of May 2001.
2. The estimates do not take account of any potential behavioural changes that may result from increasing the rate of CA.
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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