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22 Jul 2004 : Column 424W—continued
Water and Sewerage Services
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average monthly cost to consumers is of (a) water services and (b) sewerage services in each water supply area (i) in total and (ii) broken down by those who were (A) metered and (B) unmetered in 2003–04. [184861]
Mr. Morley: Water bills and sewerage bills are set separately by each water and sewerage company and water company in England and Wales.
The average monthly costs to household consumers of water and sewerage services in each supply area in total and broken down into metered and unmetered customers in 2003–04 are set out in the following table.
| Water | Sewerage | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Measured | Unmeasured | Total | Measured | Unmeasured | Total |
| Anglian | 8 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 16 | 13 |
| Dwr Cymru | 7 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 13 |
| United Utilities | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 |
| Northumbrian/Essex and Suffolk | 7 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — |
| Northumbrian | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| Essex and Suffolk | 7 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — |
| Severn Trent | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| South West | 8 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 18 |
| Southern | 7 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 13 |
| Thames | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Wessex | 8 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 12 |
| Yorkshire/York | 8 | 10 | 9 | — | — | — |
| Yorkshire | 8 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| York | 6 | 8 | 8 | — | — | — |
| Bournemouth and W. Hampshire | 7 | 9 | 8 | — | — | — |
| Bristol | 8 | 9 | 9 | — | — | — |
| Cambridge | 7 | 8 | 8 | — | — | — |
| Cholderton | 15 | 12 | 12 | — | — | — |
| Dee Valley | 6 | 10 | 9 | — | — | — |
| Folkestone and Dover | 9 | 13 | 11 | — | — | — |
| Mid Kent | 9 | 11 | 11 | — | — | — |
| Portsmouth | 7 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — |
| South East | 9 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — |
| South Staffs | 7 | 7 | 7 | — | — | — |
| Sutton and East Surrey | 9 | 11 | 10 | — | — | — |
| Tendring Hundred | 11 | 16 | 13 | — | — | — |
| Three Valleys/North Surrey | 8 | 10 | 10 | — | — | — |
| Three Valleys | 8 | 10 | 10 | — | — | — |
| North Surrey | 8 | 10 | 9 | — | — | — |
| Industry average | 8 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 |
22 Jul 2004 : Column 425W
Level of average bills for 2003–04 are based on estimated data provided by each company.
Wheat
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the price of wheat. [185141]
Alun Michael: Wheat prices rose sharply last year as a response to the lower than expected harvest in central and southern Europe, but have since fallen to more normal levels in response to the gradual improvement in the supply situation and forecasts for the level of the harvest in 2004. In this immediate pre-harvest period, there is a certain amount of price volatility as old stocks are run down and the trade waits for more certainty about the availability and quality of the new harvest. Quotes for feed wheat currently range from £88.50-tonne spot July to £65.50-tonne at harvest.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Appeals Service (Liverpool)
Mr. Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has for changes to the Appeals Service office in Liverpool. [185121]
Mr. Pond: This is a matter for Christina Townsend, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Christina Townsend to Mr. Peter Kilfoyle, dated 22 July 2004:
The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your question regarding planned changes to the Appeals Service in Liverpool.
The Appeals Service is currently considering a number of proposals about its current organisation.
No decisions have yet been made on how many operating sites the Appeals Service will have in the future. However, agreement has been reached with the Pensions Service to take over their Burnley site which it is planned will be a future operating centre.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Automated Payments
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions in the last year automated payments of benefits and pensions have been delayed; for how long payments were delayed; and what recompense was offered to recipients for the delay. [185673]
Mr. Pond:
There have been four occasions in the last year when automated payments of benefits have been paid late to DWP customers. Some disability living allowance customers received their payment two banking days late on one occasion, and one banking day late on another. The other occasions delayed payments to some jobseeker's allowance customers and income support customers by one banking day. Departmental policy provides a scheme for financial redress for maladministration. This scheme is available to consider ex-gratia payments for customers who face financial inconvenience or distress because of late payments. This is dependent on the individual circumstances of the case.
22 Jul 2004 : Column 426W
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average weekly amount of (a) housing benefit fraud and (b) council tax benefit fraud was (i) in total and (ii) for each local authority, detected under the Security Against Fraud and Error scheme in 2002–03. [183167]
Mr. Pond: For local authorities, the Weekly Benefit Saving (WBS) scheme was replaced by the Security Against Fraud and Error (SAFE) scheme on 1 April 2002. Unlike WBS which recorded fraud only, the SAFE scheme records fraud and error.
The average weekly amount of housing benefit fraud and error detected under the SAFE scheme for 2002–03 was £52.52 and the average weekly amount of council tax benefit fraud and error detected under the SAFE scheme for 2002–03 was £11.97.
The available information about the average weekly amount of housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud and error for local authorities has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls were received by the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in 2003–04; and how many (a) investigations, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions resulted. [184683]
Mr. Pond: The information is in the table.
| April 2003 to March 2004 | Total |
|---|---|
| Number of calls received | 211,054 |
| Investigations | 44,127 |
| Prosecutions | 672 |
| Convictions | 619 |
Note:
Some convictions may relate to prosecutions from previous years.
Source:
National Benefit Fraud Hotline and Fraud Information by Sector system
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of benefit fraud were detected in 2003–04; and how many of these resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions. [184684]
Mr. Pond: The number of cases of benefit fraud detected is not available. The number of cases resulting in prosecution and cases resulting in conviction is in the table.
| DWP | Local authorities | |
|---|---|---|
| Prosecutions | 9,204 | 4,601 |
| Convictions | 9,091 | 3,747 |
Note:
Some convictions may relate to prosecutions from previous years.
Sources:
1. DWP—Fraud Information by Sector and National Investigation Service.
2. Local authorities—local authority subsidy claim forms.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the (a) operational and (b) advertising costs of the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in 2003–04. [184685]
22 Jul 2004 : Column 427W
Mr. Pond: The operational cost of the National Benefit Fraud Hotline in 2003–04 was £1,038,505. The cost of advertising is not separately assessed.
Notes:
1. Since the Targeting Benefit Fraud advertising campaign started in 2003, the NBFH has been included in the campaign advertising and has not been the subject of its own advertising.
2. Operational costs include staffing and goods and service costs.
3. The operational costs of administering the NBFH include the costs of administering report-a-cheat-online. These costs cannot be separated.
Source:
National Benefit Fraud Hotline (NBFH)
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the recorded benefit fraud savings for (a) his Department and (b) local authorities were in 2003–04. [184686]
Mr. Pond: The available information is in the table.
For local authorities, the Weekly Benefit Savings (WBS) scheme was replaced by the Security against Fraud and Error (SAFE) scheme in April 2002, with some local authorities joining in April 2001. Like WBS, the SAFE scheme provides rewards for detected overpayments. However, it provides rewards for the detection of both fraud and claimant error overpayments and it is not possible to identify fraud overpayments separately.
| MVA (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 14,588,905 |
Notes:
1. MVA is the difference between the weekly amount of benefit, which would have been paid or would have continued to be paid and the benefit paid following the decision maker's decision on the information gathered. It includes both increases and decreases.
2. The figure includes Instrument of Payment (IOP) adjustments
3. The figure includes adjustments in addition to those attributable to fraud as it is not possible to separate them out.
Source:
Fraud Information by Sector and General Matching Service.
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