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John Barrett: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many votes have been rejected for want of the official mark in each general election since 1979. [180516]
Mr. Leslie: The number of votes that have been rejected for want of the official mark in each general election since 1979 is as follows:
General election | UK | England | Wales | Scotland | Northern Ireland |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | 3,282 | 2,034 | 293 | 804 | 151 |
1983 | 2,819 | 1,698 | 166 | 709 | 246 |
1987 | 2,408 | 1,463 | 76 | 599 | 270 |
1992 | 2,593 | 1,381 | 123 | 660 | 429 |
1997 | 2,169 | 1,238 | 124 | 482 | 325 |
2001 | 2,548 | 1,486 | 142 | 686 | 234 |
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he offers to adjudication for the assessment of disability caused by laryngectomy in the award of (a) attendance and (b) disability living allowance. [180746]
Maria Eagle: Attendance allowance and disability living allowance are paid as a contribution towards the extra costs of severely disabled people. Entitlement to the benefits is not based on disability itself, but depends on the extent to which disability gives rise to the need for personal care or supervision from another person and, in the case of disability living allowance, on the effect that disability has on a person's ability to walk. Decision makers dealing with claims for the benefits have access to guidance about laryngectomy from a number of sources. These include the Disability Handbook produced by the Department's Corporate Medical Group, "DLAAB Update" published by the Disability Living Allowance Advisory Board, and doctors from the Department's Medical Services.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of benefit fraud were detected in Greater London in each of the last six years; and how many of these have resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions. [177185]
Mr. Pond: The number of cases of benefit fraud detected is not available. The number of cases resulting in prosecution and conviction are in the tables.
Prosecutions | Convictions | |
---|---|---|
200203 | 1,155 | 852 |
200304 | 978 | 782 |
Prosecutions | Convictions | |
---|---|---|
199798 | N/A | 180 |
199899 | N/A | 193 |
19992000 | N/A | 111 |
200001 | N/A | 119 |
200102 | 312 | 216 |
200203 | 372 | 294 |
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed (a) council tax benefit, (b) housing benefit and (c) housing benefit and council tax benefit in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne in the last three years; how many domestic council tax payers there were in each year; and what percentage of council tax payers claimed council tax benefit. [180444]
Mr. Pond:
The available information is in the table.
28 Jun 2004 : Column 82W
HB | CTB | CTB recipients as a percentage of chargeable dwellings | |
---|---|---|---|
November 2001 | 31,100 | 34,100 | 30.4 |
November 2002 | 30,500 | 33,600 | 30.0 |
November 2003 | 29,600 | 32,800 | 29.4 |
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what organisations have received grants from his Department to promote British Sign Language in the last three years; [180602]
(2) how much has been spent on grants by his Department to promote British Sign Language in the last three years; [180603]
(3) what organisations he consulted in the last three years before distributing grants to promote British Sign Language; and if he will make a statement. [180604]
Maria Eagle: On 4 May I announced that the Department was putting in place a programme of work to support the Government's position statement on British Sign Language (BSL). Funding of £1.5 million has been awarded to the following 10 lead organisations: the British Deaf Association; the Centre for Deaf People Leicester; the Centre for Deaf StudiesUniversity of Bristol; Christian Deaf Link; Consortium of Assessment and Training Providers; BSL ConsortiumUK Council on Deafness; Deafplus; Leeds University; National Deaf Children's Society; Remark!. The contracts will leave a legacy of improved access to training for BSL tutors and increased awareness of the language.
The Department established a BSL working group to advise, among other things, on priorities for allocating the additional funding described. Organisations represented on the group are the British Deaf Association; the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People; the Federation of Deaf People; The National Deaf Children's Society; The Royal National Institute for Deaf People; The UK Council on Deafness.
28 Jun 2004 : Column 83W
Earlier contracts to the value of £444,000 were awarded to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People and the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People to increase the number of BSL interpreters and to improve the training and assessment infrastructure for interpreters.
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