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16 Jul 2004 : Column 1351W—continued

WORK AND PENSIONS

Mr. Peter Beamish

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons Mr. Peter Beamish of Harbertonford, Devon was not advised by the social security office that he would not receive payments for working tax credit and child tax credit until April 2003;
 
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for what reasons Mr. Beamish was not advised to reapply for working families tax credit to cover the period January to March 2003; and for what reasons Mr. Beamish's application for special payment for a misdirection has been rejected. [182766]

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Anthony Steen, dated 16 July 2004:

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question concerning the advice given to Mr. Peter Beamish by the social security office about tax credits. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.

Details of individual claims are confidential and I will write to you directly on the matter in question.

This is in line with Part 2, paragraph 12 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Pensioner Income

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what median pensioner income is; and how many and what percentage of (a) individual pensioners and (b) pensioner households have an income below median pension income. [182076]

Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him on 21 June 2004, Official Report, column 1260W.

State Pension

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the level of expenditure on the basic state pension in financial years (a) 2004–05, (b) 2005–06 and (c) 2006–07 in (i) the UK and (ii) Scotland. [184573]

Malcolm Wicks: The available information is the table.
Basic State Pension Great Britain and Scotland £ million

	Great Britain(1)	Scotland 2
2004–05	41,230	3,691
2005–06	42,981	3,848
2006–07	44,829	4,013

⁽¹⁾ Figures are for Great Britain and have been rounded to the nearest million and are consistent with the Comprehensive Spending Review 2004. Information for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office.
⁽²⁾ Figures for Scotland are derived from information used to inform the Public Expenditure Statistical Analysis, 2004, and are not explicitly forecast. The figures assume that the future proportion of expenditure on Basic State Pension is the same as that in 2002–03.

Unclaimed Assets

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans the Government have to use unclaimed assets to boost the assistance he has offered those members of occupational pension schemes who will not be covered by the Pension Protection Fund. [183263]

 
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Malcolm Wicks: I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member for Mid-Bedfordshire (Mr. Sayeed) on 5 July 2004, Official Report, columns 546–47.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Departmental Accounting Practice

Mr. Bacon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs who the Finance Director of the (a) National Archives, (b) Land Registry, (c) Crown Office and (d) the Department is; what accountancy qualifications each Director holds; and whether there has been a qualified opinion on (i) the resource accounts and (ii) other accounts of each in the last five years. [183431]

Mr. Lammy: The information is as follows:

(a) The National Archives' Director of Strategy, Finance and Resources does not have formal accountancy qualifications. The Head of Financial Services, who reports to the Director, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

(b) The Finance Director of Land Registry is Mrs. Heather Foster, who is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

(c) Crown Office does not have a separate Director of Finance, and its financial management being administered by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

(d) The Director General, Finance of the Department for Constitutional Affairs is Mr. Simon Ball, who is a qualified Associate Chartered Accountant and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

(a), (b) There has been an unqualified opinion on accounts for the National Archives and the Land Registry in each of the last five years.

(c), (d) The resource accounts for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 for the Department for Constitutional Affairs, which includes the Crown Office, were qualified. The accounts for 2001–02 and 2002–03 received an unqualified opinion. Accounts for 2003–04 will be published later in this year.

Environmental Court

Norman Baker: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the Department's policy is on the establishment of an environmental court; and what representations have been received from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on this matter. [184545]

Mr. Leslie: The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) is concerned to ensure a high quality of justice in environmental matters. Establishing a dedicated environmental court or tribunal would require primary legislation as well as re-prioritisation of funding and resources within government. DCA and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs are working together on a wider review of environmental justice
 
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systems in England and Wales, and are considering evidence and arguments for and against a dedicated court in that context.

House Prices

Mr. Tony Clarke: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the percentage change in house prices in Northampton was in each of the last five years. [184839]

Mr. Lammy: Based on the average house prices in Northampton for each year, the percentage changes are:

	Percentage
1998–99	6.6
1999–2000	19.0
2000–01	13.5
2001–02	15.6
2002–03	16.7

Mr. Flook: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the percentage change in house prices was in (a) Taunton Deane, (b) West Somerset and (c) Somerset in each of the last five years. [184648]

Mr. Lammy: Based on the average house prices in the three areas for each complete year, the percentage changes are:

	Percentage
Taunton Deane
1998–99	8.5
1999–2000	18.0
2000–01	8.6
2001–02	26.0
2002–03	18.2
West Somerset
1998–99	1.0
1999–2000	13.0
2000–01	19.0
2001–02	21.0
2002–03	22.0
Somerset
1998–99	10.7
1999–2000	16.7
2000–01	10.8
2001–02	22.3
2002–03	17.5

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible have been (a) established and (b) abolished since 1997. [182947]

Mr. Lammy: Since 1997, 12 non-departmental public bodies have been established and seven have been abolished.
 
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