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22 Jun 2004 : Column 1300W—continued
WALES
Fallen Stock
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) hunt kennels, (b) knacker's yards and (c) renderers are approved under the EU Animal By-products Regulation to collect and process fallen stock in each county in Wales. [176779]
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Mr. Touhig: The figures in the following table show the number of hunting kennels and knacker's yards approved under the Animal By-products (Wales) Regulations 2003.
The National Assembly for Wales currently have three applications for rendering plants. These plants (if approved) will not process fallen stock.
| County | Knacker's yards | Hunt kennels(2) |
|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Gwent | 0 | 0 |
| Bridgend | 0 | 2 |
| Caerphilly | 0 | 0 |
| Cardiff | 0 | 1 |
| Carmarthenshire | 1 | 5 |
| Ceredigion | 1 | 2 |
| Conwy | 0 | 0 |
| Denbighshire | 0 | 1 |
| Flintshire | 0 | 0 |
| Gwynedd | 1 | 3 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 0 | 1 |
| Monmouthshire | 0 | 2 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 0 | 1 |
| Newport | 1 | 0 |
| Pembrokeshire | 0 | 0 |
| Powys | 1 | 2 |
| Rhonnda Cynon Taff | 0 | 0 |
| Swansea | 0 | 0 |
| Torfaen | 0 | 0 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 0 | 0 |
| Wrexham | 1 | 0 |
| Ynys Mon | 0 | 0 |
(2) Hunt kennels that accept fallen stock.
Source:
Statistics provided by the National Assembly for Wales.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Solicitors
Harry Cohen: To ask the Solicitor-General which solicitors do pro bono work in Leyton and Wanstead; how much they did in 2003; what it covered; and if she will make a statement. [179335]
The Solicitor-General: Details of which solicitors do pro bono work in Leyton and Wanstead can be found on the national pro bono website, www.probonouk.net, using the postcode locator facility. At present, the website does not provide information on how much pro bono work is undertaken by solicitors or what areas are covered.
CABINET OFFICE
Public Bodies
24. Julie Morgan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has to make public bodies more representative of the community. [179606]
Mr. Alexander:
The 2003 publication "Delivering Diversity in Public Appointments" outlines the action being taken by each department to increase diversity on the boards of their public bodies and the targets they have set for 2006.
22 Jun 2004 : Column 1302W
Regulations (Reduction)
25. Bob Spink : To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress he has made in reducing regulation across Government. [179607]
Mr. Alexander: Progress in reducing regulation includes delivering over 300 of the measures in the Government's Regulatory Reform Action Plan, published in December 2003. Recent surveys by the World Bank, OECD and others show regulatory burdens in the UK to be among the lowest in the industrialised world.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were prosecuted for fraudulent benefit claims in each year since 1997. [179437]
Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) on 12 February 2004, Official Report, column 1588W.
Benefits (Battersea)
Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were claiming (a) working age benefits and (b) benefits in addition to the state pension in the Battersea constituency in each year since 1997. [178675]
Mr. Pond: The available information is in the tables.
| As at November | Income support | Jobseeker's allowance | Incapacity benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 7.6 | 3.1 | 2.7 |
| 1998 | 7.2 | 2.6 | 2.7 |
| 1999 | 7.1 | 2.1 | 2.8 |
| 2000 | 6.9 | 1.9 | 2.7 |
| 2001 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| 2002 | 6.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 |
| 2003 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| As at November | State pension with minimum income guarantee | State pension with pension credit |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1.2 | — |
| 2000 | 1.3 | — |
| 2001 | 1.3 | — |
| 2002 | 1.3 | — |
| 2003 | — | 1.4 |
Notes:
1. Prior to 1999, a split by parliamentary constituency for state pension is not available.
2. Income support (IS), incapacity benefit and state pension (SP) figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to sampling variation. JSA is based on 100 per cent. count.
3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and quoted in thousands.
4. JSA claimants includes income-based JSA, contribution-based JSA claimants and those persons not receiving benefit but signing for national insurance credits only.
5. Income support parliamentary constituencies are allocated by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory, and represent constituency boundaries as at May 1997.
6. November 2003 IS figures are affected by the introduction of pension credit (PC), which replaced MIG on 6 October 2003.
7. The number of people receiving housing benefit and/or council tax benefit in addition to the state pension is not available below a national level.
Sources:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample.
100 per cent. count of Jobcentre Plus computer systems for jobseeker's allowance (JSA).
22 Jun 2004 : Column 1303W
Child Support Agency
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints from Child Support Agency users were received in each year since the establishment of the Agency. [177971]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 10 June 2004]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints from Child Support Agency users were received in each year since the establishment of the Agency.
The figures you requested are summarised in the following table:
| Total written complaints | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 23,588 |
| 1997–98 | 27,875 |
| 1998–99 | 28,073 |
| 1999–2000 | 21,015 |
| 2000–01 | 19,634 |
| 2001–02 | 27,735 |
| 2002–03 | 21,734 |
From April 2003 we changed our complaints handling processes. This has ensured the more accurate recording of complaints and in particular count, for the first time, telephone complaints. In 2003–04 we received a total of 49,215 complaints.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many Child Support Agency cases where money has been collected from the absent parent money (a) has not been paid over to the parent with care and (b) has been paid back in error to the absent parent. [177972]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 10 June 2004]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many Child Support Agency cases where money has been collected from the absent parent money (a) has not been paid over to the parent with care and (b) has been paid back by accident to the absent parent.
I do not have the information that you seek. However, I can say that in the period 3 March 2003 to 29 April 2004, nearly 600,000 payments were made automatically by the new computer system to parents with care. In the same period 3,544 payments were made manually because of system difficulties.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases there are in which the non-resident parent is in receipt of the child tax credit element of the new tax credit which cannot be progressed to a decision; and if he will make a statement. [177973]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 10 June 2004]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Child Support Agency cases there are in which the non-resident parent is in receipt of the child tax credit element of the new tax credit which cannot be progressed to a decision; and if he will make a statement.
I regret to say that the Agency does not have the information that you seek.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases the Child Support Agency has on its files that were enrolled (a) under the old rules and for which the old system operates, (b) under the old rules and for which the new system should operate and (c) under the new rules to which the new system applies. [177975]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 10 June 2004]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases the Child Support Agency has on its files that were enrolled (a) under the old rules and for whom the old system operates, (b) under the old rules and for whom the new system should operate and (c) under the new rules to whom the new system applies.
We do not have the information in the format that you require. However, I can tell you that around 1.3 million cases are currently being dealt with by the Child Support Agency. Of these cases over 425,000 have been registered on the new computer system; approximately 235,000 of these cases are being dealt with under the new legislation and 190,000 under the old legislation. In addition 890,800 are currently old scheme cases on the old computer system.
Mr. Tynan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many compensatory or special payments have been made by the Child Support Agency in each of
22 Jun 2004 : Column 1305W
the last five years; what the total value of these payments was in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these (a) have been and (b) will be reclaimed from companies providing services or support to the CSA where a problem with the services or support necessitated the compensatory or special payment. [178602]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Bill Tynan, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many compensatory or special payments have been made by the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years; what the total value of these payments was in each of the last five years; and what proportion of these (a) have been and (b) will be reclaimed from companies providing services or support to the CSA where a problem with the services or support necessitated the compensatory or special payment.
The following payments have been made to clients of the Child Support Agency in accordance with the Department for Work and Pensions consolatory and redress payments guidance:
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 4,351,000 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,075,000 |
| 2000–01 | 3,053,000 |
| 2001–02 | 2,590,000 |
| 2002–03 | 2,478,000 |
None of the payments have been directly reclaimed from companies providing services or support to the Child Support Agency where a problem with the services or support necessitated the compensatory or special payment. The Department continues to discuss with EDS the provision of their computer service to the Agency and it is possible that some part of these payments may form one element in these commercial discussions.
Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to resolve delays in processing cases by the Child Support Agency. [178904]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Ian Taylor, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to resolve delays in processing cases by the Child Support Agency.
The Agency is continuing to work closely with EDS to remove the defects within EDS's computer service and which are causing many of the current delays in processing cases. It is also providing further guidance, advice and coaching to members of teams handling new applications with a view to increasing their productivity even within the constraints of the existing computer service.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the rescue package for the Child Support Agency which EDS is to implement by August of this year. [179498]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 22 June 2004:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the rescue package for Child Support Agency which EDS is to implement by August of this year.
EDS commenced work on remedying defects within their IT system providing support to the Child Support Agency, in November 2003. They have subsequently implemented a number of software releases and hardware upgrades that are progressively improving that service. There are plans for further releases later this year and in the early part of next year. The activity plan for August refers to enhancements to the telephony service.
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