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27 Oct 2004 : Column 1280W—continued

Prisons

Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his plans to increase the capacity of the prison estate. [186562]

Paul Goggins: There are a number of programmes underway to expand and improve the operational capacity of the prison estate. Through this current programme some 2,400 new prison places are scheduled
 
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to come into use by the end of 2006, including a new private prison at Peterborough, due to open in spring 2005.

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary also announced on 29 September that £100 million from the Home Office budget for 2005–06 would fund the start of a new programme to create an additional 1,300 prison places. Taken altogether this will provide over 80,000 prison places.

Terrorism Act

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether a race impact assessment was carried out for the (a) Terrorism Act 2000 and (b) Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. [191320]

Mr. Blunkett: The Race Relations Act 1976 (Statutory Duties) Order 2001 placed a requirement on listed public authorities, including Government departments, to publish a Race Equality Scheme by 31 May 2002 setting out specific duties, including the carrying out of Race Impact Assessments on the likely impact of proposed future policies.

The Home Office's Race Equality Scheme was published on 25 April 2002. Race Impact Assessments were not therefore carried out for either the Terrorism Act 2000, or the Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001, as both acts came into force at an earlier date.

However, we have subsequently established specific working groups on aspects of policy and community relations—including on stop and search—to inform the development of both policy and practice.

The Home Office's Race Equality Schemes can be found at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/comrace/race.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Back to Work Bonuses

Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Morley and Rothwell and (b) England have claimed Back to Work bonuses; and what the average amount claimed was in each case. [192513]

Mr. Pond: Data on the Back to Work bonus is not available below the level of Great Britain. The available information is in the tables.
Income support/pension credit customers that have claimed back to work bonuses Great Britain

	January 1999 to September 2004
Total claims received	174,790
Total claims processed	166,295
Total claims refused	83,905
Total claims paid	82,390
Total amount of bonus paid (£)	36,208,420.08
Average amount of bonus paid (£)	439.48

 
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Jobseeker's allowance customers that have claimed back to work bonuses: Great Britain

	January 1999 to September 2004
Total claims received	120,290
Total claims processed	125,675
Total claims refused	19,980
Total claims paid	105,695
Total amount of bonus paid (£)	34,544,873
Average amount of bonus paid (£)	326.84

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5.
2. Figures are taken from a 100 per cent. scan.
3. Amounts are given to the nearest penny.
4. Excludes May 2003 for IS. These figures are not available due to system errors.
5. Figures are not reliable prior to January 1999.
Source:
ISCS & JSAPS 100 per cent. monthly cans.

Benefit Overpayment

Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much is provided for in his Department's accounts for overpaid benefits unrecovered from claimants. [192177]

Mr. Pond: At 31 March 2003, the figure within the Consolidated Resource Account for Bad Debt Provision for overpayments is £475,271,794.

Child Care (London)

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the relationship between child poverty, unemployment and the availability of affordable child care provision in London; [192092]

(2) what assessment he has made of the relationship between the costs of child care in London and the number of workless households in London; and if he will make a statement. [192093]

Mr. Pond: Poverty is about more than low income, it also affects the way people live—their health, housing and the quality of their environment. The Government believes that for many work is the best route out of poverty.

We are determined to make work pay. That is why we have introduced the New Tax Credits from which over 6 million families are already benefiting and which has helped lift over half a million children out of low income since 1997. However, we know that there is still more to do, both in London and in other regions of the UK.

We recognise that the availability of affordable child care is key to improving parents' ability to take up and stay in work.

Since 1998, the Sure Start Unit has created over 81,000 new child care places in London (against a target of 63,000) and delivered 8,000 new Neighbourhood Nursery places. We plan to further improve the availability of child care in London by creating an additional 37,000 places and over 8,000 full-time integrated child care and education places in over 200 new Children's Centres by March 2006.

Child care provision is only one of many factors affecting employment and poverty in London. For example, London has a much higher proportion of lone
 
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mothers than anywhere else in the UK; more lone parents in London have no previous work experience, are full-time students, live in social rented properties and are less likely than those living elsewhere to be receiving any maintenance. All of these factors are associated with lower levels of paid work and contribute to the differences in employment rate between London and the rest of the UK.

The Government will continue to address these issues through our successful active labour market programmes such as the New Deal and by ensuring, through the Tax Credit system, that there are sufficient financial incentives to make work pay.

Child Support Agency

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the original cost was of the new IT system for the Child Support Agency; how much was to be paid in each year; how much of the contract EDS has been paid in each year; and what the penalty clauses are. [192911]

Mr. Pond [holding answer 21 October 2004]: 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 27 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, what the original cost was of the new IT system for the Child Support Agency; how much was to be paid in each year; how much of the contract EDS has been paid in each year; and what penalty clauses are in existence.

All costs of design, development and implementation of the new IT system fall initially to EDS who provide this as a managed service to the Agency. The cost of the service is expected to be £456 million payable over the period to the completion of the contract in 2010.

The payment due each year is determined by the contract. It is linked to service levels and to the degree of functionality delivered. Between 3rd March 2003 and 19th September 2004, EDS were paid £62.08 million. In that period the Agency retained £12.1 million because of performance problems.

The contract does not explicitly have penalty clauses. Instead there are provisions to seek remedy where service delivery falls short of expectation or where the business incurs additional costs as a result of the supplier being late in meeting key, agreed delivery points.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his strategy is for rolling out the new Child Support Agency assessment rules for all absent parents. [193510]

Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1092W.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects existing Child Support Agency cases to migrate to the new system of liability calculation; and if he will make a statement. [193681]

Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to expedite the transfer of all Child Support Agency payments to the system
 
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applying to new cases since March 2003; when he expects all payments to be made under the new formula; and if he will make a statement. [193846]

Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Members to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1092W.

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