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21 Oct 2004 : Column 903W—continued
Theft and Fraud
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the cost of theft and fraud to (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997. [191424]
Mr. Rammell: The information is as follows:
| April to March | Fraud | Sum recovered | Net loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 114,385 | 4,396 | 109,989 |
| 1998–99 | 102,202 | 6,705 | 95,497 |
| 1999–2000 | 11,183 | 11,183 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 16,326 | 15,553 | 773 |
| 2001–02 | 41,459 | 4,481 | 36,978 |
| 2002–03 | 171,798 | 152,429 | 19,369 |
| 2003–04 | 172,976 | 180,826 | 0 |
Note:
HM Treasury fraud reporting requirements changed with effect from 2002–03, at which time Departments were required to report attempted frauds as well, not just instances of actual fraud.
In February 1998, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) heard evidence about a £110,000 fraud in Amman. It involved false and inflated utility bills that were presented for duplicate cash payment. The criminal case has recently found the fraudster guilty and he has been ordered by the courts to repay the full sum to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
A further PAC Hearing in February 2000 heard evidence of a £82,000 fraud at our offices in Calcutta. The criminal trial for this fraud is set to begin very soon. The civil trial to pursue restitution of the defrauded sum has just started.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. [192061]
Mr. MacShane:
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and receives the support of the UK and the vast majority of the international community. It has the largest membership of any arms control treaty. The NPT creates an international norm for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The large increase in the number of states with nuclear weapons, as feared by some in the 1960s has not taken place. However, there have been a small number of instances where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in its prescribed role under the treaty, has raised concerns about the compliance of Non Nuclear Weapon States with their obligations under the NPT. The UK shares those concerns and also supports the six party talks intended to resolve the worrying case of North Korea's nuclear programmes. It is within that context that we emphasise the case for stronger and more effective
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counter-proliferation measures and the importance of compliance with the treaty and with the IAEA's efforts in this regard.
The NPT has survived many challenges in its 34-year history and it remains a strong treaty. The UK looks forward to participating fully in the Review Conference in May 2005.
Tsar Appointments
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many tsars have been appointed with responsibilities which cover part of the work of his Department; and if he will make a statement. [191916]
WORK AND PENSIONS
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who have successfully claimed asylum claimed jobseeker's allowance in each of the last three years. [191256]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available. The Department is unable to identify successful asylum applicants from jobseeker's allowance (JSA) data as, once in receipt of this benefit, these customers are subject to the same benefit rules as all our JSA recipients.
Winter Fuel Allowance
Sir Teddy Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions why British residents in (a) Guadeloupe, (b) Martinique and (c) the Azores receive the winter fuel allowance; what the annual cost has been since 2002 of such payments; and what assessment the Government have made of temperature levels in these areas. [190641]
Malcolm Wicks: Guadeloupe and Martinique are overseas 'Départements' of France and the Azores is a Portuguese island. As such all are treated as constituents of the European Union. Eligible people living in these regions can continue to receive a winter fuel payment if they satisfy the qualifying criteria. We are not able to provide the annual cost of these payments as data are held on a national basis. For winter 2003–04 there were 3,797 payments made to eligible people living in France at a cost of £603,500 and 257 to eligible people living in Portugal at a cost of £42,500. No assessment has been made of temperature levels in these areas.
Asbestos
Mr. Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans the Government have to extend asbestos industrial injury benefit to sufferers who have come into contact with asbestos via a family member working in an industrial environment; and if he will make a statement. [191795]
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Jane Kennedy: The statutory provisions of the Industrial Injuries scheme provide benefits to employed earners only where an illness or injury is due to their occupation. There are no plans to extend the scope of the Industrial Injuries scheme to the family members of those diagnosed with asbestosis or to people who have been exposed to asbestos outside of their work.
Benefits
Mr. Pickthall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will re-examine the proposals to remove (a) benefit processing and (b) drop-in services from Skelmersdale. [192799]
Jane Kennedy:
Jobcentre Plus is changing the way it processes benefits across the county, and the changes for Skelmersdale are part of this plan to achieve greater
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efficiency and effectiveness. The benefit processing work currently undertaken in Skelmersdale will move to either Blackpool or Preston. We have now started detailed planning and expect to complete these changes by 2007–08 at the latest. These plans are still subject to change during the planning phase.
I am pleased to confirm that the Jobcentre Plus office at Whelmar House, Skelmersdale will continue to deliver the full range of services to customers.
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many reconsiderations for disability living allowance and attendance allowance there were in each year since 2000 in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland; and how many reconsiderations resulted in a change to the initial decision [192161]
Maria Eagle: The available information is in the table.
| Financial year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
| DLA | |||||
| Reconsiderations(22) | 277,940 | 304,350 | 253,105 | 271,165 | 259,955 |
| DLA changed | 76,850 | 86,875 | 67,400 | 75,550 | 74,155 |
| AA | |||||
| Reconsiderations(22) | 90,605 | 103,690 | 84,600 | 86,985 | 83,775 |
| AA changed | 36,375 | 55,530 | 45,940 | 47,080 | 46,915 |
(21) All figures are for Great Britain. It is not possible to provide figures separately for Scotland. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is responsible for social security matters within Northern Ireland.
(22) The reconsiderations figure includes withdrawn decisions, lapsed decisions and defective decisions.
Notes:
1. Figures taken from the AA/DLA 100 per cent. MIS System.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
Source:
DWP IAD Information Centre.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what percentage of CSA cases which have been migrated to the new system manual intervention has been required in order to make payments to the parent with care; and if he will make a statement. [190946]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Mr. Doug Smith to Mr. David Drew dated, 21 October 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 what percentage of Child Support Agency cases which have been migrated to the new system manual intervention has been required in order to make payments to the parent with care; and if he will make a statement.
I am unable to provide the number of migrated cases on which manual payments have been made to a parent with care as we do not capture this information. I can however indicate the total number of manual payments that have been made. Since March 2004 approximately 2,450,000 payments have been made and, of these, around 18,500 have required manual intervention. The vast majority of these will refer to payments to parents with care in respect of cases that have been migrated to the new system.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency compensation payments were made to (a) parents with residence and (b) absent parents in each financial range in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [190979]
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 Mr. Doug Smith to Mr. Bob Spink dated 21 October 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 compensation payments were made to (a) parents with residence and (b) absent parents in each financial range over each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
The Agency does not record an analysis of payments on a basis that permits me to split the total between parents with care and non-resident parents. I can however indicate the total number of
- payments of redress for financial loss attributable to maladministration arising from the Agency's caseload of 1.3 million. This is:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2001–2002 | 6,325 |
| 2002–2003 | 5,863 |
| 2003–2004 | 4,897 |
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Child Support Agency cases are being calculated manually; and if he will make a statement. [192912]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr Doug Smith. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 21 October 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, whether any Child Support Agency cases are being calculated manually; and if he will make a statement.
The Agency commenced applying new arrangements for child support from March 2003. Between that date and 30 June 2004 the Agency made around 117,000 calculations of maintenance under the new arrangements, of these around 1,100 were calculated manually.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date the new IT system for the Child Support Agency was to come into force; how many new claims have been successfully processed; and how much money has been paid to the parent with care in each month. [192913]
Mr. Pond: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr Doug Smith. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 21 October 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, on what date the new IT system for the Child Support Agency was to come into force; and (a) how many new claims have been successfully processed and (b) how much money has been paid over to the parent with care in each month.
We have been using EDS' new computer service for new applications from 3 March 2003. Between that date and 30 June 2004 around 197,500 cases were successfully processed. In that period around £35 million was paid to parents with care in respect of applications made under the new arrangements. I am unable to provide the figures on a monthly basis.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what date existing cases will be transferred to the new Child Support Agency IT system. [192914]
Mr. Pond:
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
21 Oct 2004 : Column 908W
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Frank Field, dated 21October 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, by what date the existing cases will be transferred to the new Child Support Agency IT system.
We do not intend to transfer existing cases to EDS' new computer service until we are satisfied that it is working well for new applications and those cases linked in some way to those applications. No date has yet been set.
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