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Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if he will make a statement on the eligibility criteria for specialist school status. [187703]
Mr. Charles Clarke: All maintained secondary schools in England are eligible to apply for specialist schools status. We lifted the funding cap in 2002 and expect all secondary schools to become specialist as and when they are ready. Specialist schools now account for 62 per cent. of maintained secondary schools. The eligibility criteria for specialist schools has been placed in the library.
Ann Winterton: What recent meetings he has had with employers to discuss vocational education. [187711]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
I hold regular meetings with the CBI, the TUC and educationists about skills and vocational education. We have established a new Skills Alliance which Charles Clarke chairs jointly with Patricia Hewitt. This Skills Alliance brings Ministers from four Departments of State, the CBI, the TUC and Small Business Council together on a twice yearly basis. I also meet regularly with representatives of the 19 employer led Sector Skills Councils. I visit individual employers to discuss their workforce development plans and needs.
9 Sept 2004 : Column 1372W
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to extend the number of Employment Zones. [186424]
Jane Kennedy: There are no current plans to extend the number of Employment Zones.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households containing a person aged 60 years or over were in receipt of council tax benefit in each of the last 12 months. [187164]
Mr. Pond: The information is not available in the format requested. At May 2002 the number of council tax benefit recipients aged 60 years or over in Great Britain was 2,363,000.
Notes:
1. The figure is based on a 1 per cent. sample and therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2. The figure is rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.
4. The figure refers to cases where the claimant and/or partner is aged 60 or over.
5. The figure refers to benefit units, which might be a single person, couple or family.
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2002.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of local authorities have produced a written take-up strategy of a sufficient standard to satisfy his Department's performance standard on take-up of housing and council tax benefits; and which local authorities have failed to meet this standard. [187163]
Mr. Pond: The Performance Standards for housing benefit and council tax benefit set out the standards of performance the Department expects local authorities to achieve over a period of time. Self-assessment is voluntary so local authorities are not required to report performance against them to the Department, although we encourage them to do so. Of the 64 local authorities who have so far supplied information about their performance, 49 (77 per cent.) have a written take-up strategy which meets the standard. Insufficient data are available to provide a comprehensive list of all the local authorities who do not meet this standard.
Mr. Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate the Government have made of the cost to the Exchequer of men and women over the age of 50 who are long-term unemployed in each year since 1997. [186937]
Jane Kennedy:
Figures on the direct benefit costs for long term unemployed people aged over 50 are in the following table. Official estimates are not available for wider aspects of cost such as tax payments forgone.
9 Sept 2004 : Column 1373W
£ million | |
---|---|
199798 | 405 |
199899 | 378 |
199900 | 333 |
200001 | 316 |
200102 | 239 |
200203 | 235 |
200304(6) | 232 |
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in receipt of pension credit also receive (a) housing benefit, (b) council tax benefit and (c) other means-tested benefits. [186780]
Mr. Pond: The most recent housing benefit/council tax benefit data analysed by age and reference to other benefits is at May 2002, which predates the introduction of pension credit.
With the introduction of pension credit, around 2 million pensioner households will now qualify for more help, or qualify for help for the first time, with their council tax and/or rent.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the rate is at which a pensioner with average housing costs and council tax costs would have (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit withdrawn if they were in receipt of pension credit and had a total gross weekly income of (i) £80, (ii) £100, (iii) £120, (iv) £140, (v) £160, (vi) £180, (vii) £200 and (viii) other incomes as are available. [187343]
Mr. Pond: The answer is in the table.
Percentage | |||
---|---|---|---|
Gross weekly income | Net weekly income | Housing benefit withdrawal rate | Council tax benefit withdrawal rate |
£80.00 | £80.00 | 0 | 0 |
£100.00 | £98.14 | 0 | 0 |
£120.00 | £113.94 | 39 | 12 |
£140.00 | £128.55 | 39 | 12 |
£160.00 | £141.95 | 39 | 12 |
£180.00 | £155.35 | 65 | 20 |
£200.00 | £168.75 | 65 | 20 |
£220.00 | £182.15 | 65 | n/a |
£240.00 | £195.55 | n/a | n/a |
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is available for assisting employees suffering from (a) stress and (b) depression from the human resources department of his Department. [187165]
Maria Eagle: Comprehensive advice surrounding managing attendance in the DWP is contained in the Department and Youthe Corporate HR guidance. This is accessible via the Department's intranet and contains practical guidance for the Departments human resources (HR) practitioners and line managers to follow.
In cases of stress or depression affecting employees, HR is able to offer a range of guidance to help individuals. This includes referral to our occupational health service and/or to our employee assistance service. Both providers offer a professional service and would discuss, separately, with individuals affected by stress or depression ways in which both conditions might be addressed and overcome. The Department has recently launched a Well-being at work policy to offer assistance to people affected by stress.
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