| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
13 Dec 2004 : Column 851W—continued
CSA
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what calculation he has made of the effect of delays in the transfer of old cases to the new system by the Child Support Agency on progress towards the Government's poverty targets. [203084]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 7 December 2004]: Although there have been well publicised difficulties, the Child Support Agency is still collecting £280 million more in child maintenance than it did in 1997–98.
These difficulties do not affect our assessment that we are broadly on course to meet our PSA target to reduce the number of children in low income households by a quarter by 2004–05.
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff working for the Child Support Agency in each year since 2001 had been working for the Agency for (a) more than five years, (b) more than two years, (c) more than a year and (d) less than a year. [203087]
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 Mr. Paul Goodman, dated 13 December 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 staff working for the Child Support Agency in each year since 2001 had been working for the Agency for (a) more than five years (b) more than two years (c) more than a year and (d) less than a year.
| Less than one year | More than one year | More than two years | More than five years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 1,342 | 7,845 | 6,753 | 4,742 |
| 2001–02 | 1,665 | 7,806 | 6,747 | 4,600 |
| 2002–03 | 1,335 | 8,952 | 7,408 | 4,919 |
| 2003–04 | 967 | 9,248 | 8,154 | 5,250 |
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make a statement on the operation of the Child Support Agency. [203847]
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 have acknowledged problems with the new IT. The Agency is working with EDS to resolve those problems. Work to stabilise the system is underway and this has already brought about improvements. We expect the remedial work to be complete in spring 2005.
13 Dec 2004 : Column 852W
We want people who are still on the old scheme to experience the advantages of the reforms as soon as possible. But we are determined not to repeat the mistakes of 1993 when the old scheme was brought in far too quickly.
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to his Department was for accountancy services in each of the last two years. [202430]
Jane Kennedy: The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on energy costs incurred by his Department in each of the last two years. [202433]
Mr. Pond: The energy costs incurred by the Department for Work and Pensions in the last two years are as shown in the following table.
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 13,869,498 | 15,075,730 |
| Gas | 4,764,390 | 4,932,292 |
| Oil | 417,694 | 409,999 |
This Department occupies approximately 1,800 buildings.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of refurbishing each ministerial private office was in the last two years. [202436]
Maria Eagle: There have been no refurbishments to the Department for Work and Pensions ministerial offices in the last two years.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total external spending by his Department was on private finance initiative (PFI) consultants in each of the last two years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PFI consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [202439]
Jane Kennedy: The Department does not record information about the use of PFI consultants in the form requested and an answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost to his Department was for the use of external consultants in each of the last two years. [202447]
Jane Kennedy:
The total cost to the Department for Work and Pensions of the use of external management and IT consultants was £141.0 million in 2002–03 and £306.7 million in 2003–04.
13 Dec 2004 : Column 853W
The increased consultancy costs have principally been met from specifically allocated modernisation funds not from normal running cost allocations.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total external spending by his Department was on public-private partnership (PPP) consultants in each of the last two years; how many full-time equivalent consultants were employed over this period; how many billed consultancy days there were per year; what the implied average cost of each PPP consultant was; how many consultancy firms were used by his Department over this period; and if he will make a statement. [202449]
Jane Kennedy: The Department does not record information about the use of public private partnership (PPP) consultants in the form requested and an answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Disabled People (Scotland)
David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people in Midlothian were in receipt of (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance in 2003–04; and how much was paid to them in total; [200209]
(2) how many people are in receipt of attendance allowance in the constituency of Midlothian. [200224]
Maria Eagle: In 2003–04 in the parliamentary constituency of Midlothian, around 1,600 people received attendance allowance and around 4,100 people received disability living allowance at August 2003. The total paid for both benefits was approximately £16 million pounds.
(1) Figures based on a 5 per cent. sample of disability living allowance and attendance allowance cases and average amounts paid. (2) The numbers of people receiving benefits is rounded to the nearest 100 and are based on figures as at August 2003. Figures for 2004–05 on the same basis are not currently available, but should be available in January 2005. (3) The expenditure figure is rounded to the nearest £ million.
EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the European Union directives and regulations relating to his Department that have been implemented in each of the last two years, specifying (a) the title and purpose of each, (b) the cost to public funds of each and (c) the cost to businesses of each. [202445]
Mr. Pond:
The relevant European Union directives and regulations are in the following list. Information on the cost to public funds is generally not held and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost but, where this information is available, it has been included. Departments are required to produce regulatory impact assessments (RIAs) for proposals, including those originating in European legislation, likely to impose costs on business, charities or voluntary organisations. Copies of these are available in the Library, and on departmental websites.
13 Dec 2004 : Column 854W
Commission Directive 2000/32/EEC—26th Adaptation to Council Directive 67/548/EEC (Dangerous Substances Directive)
Commission Directive 2000/33/EEC—27th Adaptation to Council Directive 67/548/EEC (Dangerous Substances Directive)
Commission Directive 2001/58/EEC—2nd Amendment to Commission Directive 91/155/EEC (Safety Data Sheets Directive)
Commission Directive 2001/60/EEC—1st Adaptation to Council Directive 1999/45/EEC (Dangerous Preparations Directive)
The above set out a framework for the classification and labelling of dangerous chemicals to indicate hazards to people and the environment. Their purpose is to protect the environment, consumers and workers and to enable a single European Market in chemicals.
Commission Directive 2001/59/EEC—28th Adaptation to Council Directive 67/548/EEC (Dangerous Substances Directive). Introduced a less costly notification process.
Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work. Included rights to take action for breaches of obligations.
Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (fourteenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)
Directive 1999/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1999 on minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres (15th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)
Council Directive 1999/38/EC of 29 April 1999 amending for the second time Directive 90/394/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work and extending it to mutagens
Commission Directive 2002/50/EC of 6 June 2002 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 1999/36/EC on transportable pressure equipment (Text with EEA relevance)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2032/2003 of 4 November 2003 on the second phase of the 10-year work programme referred to in Article 16(2) of Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market, and amending Regulation (EC) No 1896/2000 (Text with EEA relevance.) After 14 December 2003, only products with registered active ingredients can be placed on the market.
Regulation (EC) No 304/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 concerning the export and import of dangerous chemicals (Text with EEA relevance).
Parts of Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. Some of the disability discrimination aspects of the directive fell to DWP to implement. For these aspects, costs to Government as the employer of police and prison officers newly covered by the employment duties of the Disability Discrimination Act are estimated at around £90,000 recurring and £30,000 one-off costs, and recurring costs to Government as the body responsible for the Tribunal Service are estimated at around £0.4 million in connection with an estimated increased level of complaints to tribunal.
Council Regulation (EC) 859/2003 of 14 May 2003 extending the provisions of Regulation (EEC) 1408/71 and Regulation (EEC) 574/72 to cover nationals of third countries who are not already covered by those provisions solely on the ground of their nationality. These regulations remove barriers to free movement of workers within the Community and provide for the coordination of member states' social security systems.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |