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13 Dec 2004 : Column 844W—continued

Special Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, (1) if he will list the attributable interviews
 
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that his Department's special advisers gave to (a) newspapers, (b) journals, (c) books and (d) other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004; [201427]

(2) if he will list the attributable (a) articles and (b) contributions that his Department's special advisers made to (i) newspapers, (ii) journals, (iii) books and (iv) other media in their official capacity between 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2004. [201452]

Mr. Blunkett: All special advisers' contacts with the media, and speeches and presentations made by them are conducted in accordance with the requirements of the 'Code of Conduct for Special Advisers.' A list of the attributable articles and interviews made by my Departmental Special Advisers can not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

Stop and Search

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will place in the Library guidance to police forces following the publication of an ethnic breakdown of stop and search under the Terrorism Act 2000 on 2 July 2004. [202974]

Mr. Blunkett: The Stop and Search Action Team (SSAT) was launched on 2 July 2004. SSAT is working towards the production of a Stop and Search manual which will include guidance on all Stop and Search powers, including those under the Terrorism Act 2000. Publication of the manual is expected in early 2005 and a copy will be placed in the Library.

UK Visas

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of those granted UK work permits were refused entry clearance by UK Visas, broken down by nationality, in the last year for which figures are available. [201849]

Mr. Mullin: I have been asked to reply.

Information on the proportion of those granted work permits and refused entry clearance by nationality for the financial year 2003–04 can be found on the UKvisas website www.ukvisas.gov.uk at "Entry Clearance: Facts and Figures", pages 46–54.

Vehicle Searches

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to collect data on the ethnicity of individuals whose vehicles are searched under section 44(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000. [201387]

Mr. Blunkett: Details are collected on the ethnicity of those who have been stopped and searched under section 44(1) of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Ethnicity data relating to the use of these powers has most recently been published in table 4.8 in the Home Office publication 'Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System 2003', published in July 2004, which is available on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/section951.html
 
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X-Ray Scanners

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the health implications of the increased usage of x-ray scanners on the general public. [201823]

Mr. Blunkett: The Secretary of State for the Home Department takes great care to ensure the safety of any security system deployed by the Home Office on behalf of the public. Public safety is established through the expertise of the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB), who advise on the implications of using x-ray scanners and other systems. All equipment deployed by the Home Office has to meet strict standards and guidelines set by NRPB. Wherever x-ray equipment is deployed, radiation levels are carefully monitored by suitably qualified scientific staff to ensure the safety of the public.

WORK AND PENSIONS

IT Procurement

17. David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment has been made of his Department's IT procurement strategy. [203865]

Mr. Pond: The DWP Information Systems and Information Technology strategy was reviewed in 2002, and a new procurement strategy was formulated to support it. In line with Treasury guidance, we have moved away from PFI and are seeking to access a much wider range of suppliers.

National Insurance Numbers

18. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the issuing of national insurance numbers. [203866]

Mr. Pond: The vast majority of national insurance numbers are issued to UK-born residents automatically at the age of 15 years and nine months through the juvenile registration process. This process is triggered through a claim to child benefit.

Adult NINO allocation is administered by Jobcentre Plus. The vast majority of these allocations are to people entering the UK from abroad.

Benefit Calculations

19. Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will reform the housing and council tax benefit rules to exclude pension credit receipts from the calculation of entitlements. [203867]

Mr. Pond: For people who are in receipt of the guarantee element of pension credit, all of their income and capital is disregarded when their entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit is calculated. This includes the pension credit itself.

Retaining a capital limit for those not entitled to the guarantee credit element of pension credit helps us ensure that benefit goes to those people who need the most help; we have no plans to change this.
 
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Child Support Agency

20. Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the working of the Child Support Agency. [203868]

Mr. Pond: The agency now collects over £280 million more in child maintenance than it did in 1997–98. In 2003–04 alone, it collected over £600 million in total.

We are continuing to work towards improving the services we provide. We have always made it clear that old scheme cases will not be transferred to the new scheme until we are sure that the new arrangements are working well.

Money continues to flow under the old scheme to children. We are not willing to risk that flow of money and put at risk these cases by bringing them across before we are sure that the new system is robust.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the current length of wait is for assessment by the Child Support Agency once a case has been referred off computer to the manual clerical system. [202292]

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 Doug Smith to Bob Spink, dated 13 December 2004:

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many child support cases the Child Support Agency is dealing with relating to people in Greater London; and if he will make a statement. [202728]

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 Doug Smith to Tom Cox, dated 13 December 2004:

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