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19 Jan 2005 : Column 1025W—continued
WORK AND PENSIONS
APW Electronics (Pension Fund)
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received regarding the APW Electronics Pension Fund; what assistance will be made available to its members; and if he will make a statement. [208527]
Malcolm Wicks: My right hon. Friend is aware of the difficult situation faced by members of the APW Electronics Pension Fund, and sympathises with their position.
I met members of the APW Electronics Pension Fund and their constituency MPs on 20 December to discuss their concerns about the pension scheme.
The Government believe that solvent employers should ensure that there are sufficient funds in schemes which are winding up to meet the full costs of the rights accrued by scheme members. Regulations came into force on 15 March 2004 that introduce a "full buy-out" requirement to ensure that where a scheme is wound up and its sponsoring employer is solvent, the scheme members are more likely to receive the pensions they expect.
It is also possible for individual scheme members, in certain circumstances, to opt to have some or all of their State Scheme rights restored for the period they were contracted-out, an option that may be pursued by the APW scheme members.
Civil Service Property
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many items of civil service property within his Department are unaccounted for, broken down by type; [205572]
(2) if he will list the property belonging to his Department that has been (a) stolen and (b) reported lost in each year since 1997, broken down by type of article. [206373]
Maria Eagle: DWP was formed in June 2001 from Department of Social Security and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment, including the Employment Service. Information prior to June 2001 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Information is collected only for capital assets, which comprise all IT equipment, regardless of value, as well as other assets with a value of £2,500 or over.
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Information on the numbers of such assets lost, stolen or unaccounted for in each year since June 2001 is in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 1,567 |
| 2002–03 | 1,204 |
| 2003–04 | 1,016 |
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants have been in receipt of incapacity benefit in the Easington constituency in each year since 2000. [208987]
Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.
| As at August | Number |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 9,800 |
| 2001 | 10,500 |
| 2002 | 10,000 |
| 2003 | 10,300 |
| 2004 | 9,800 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance (including IB credits only cases).
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples
New Deal
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of people who entered the new deal for (a) 50 Plus, (b) 25 Plus, (c) disabled people and (d) lone parents, have found sustained employment (i) in Great Britain and (ii) in each constituency, in each quarter in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [200236]
Jane Kennedy: Information on new deal for disabled people is not available at constituency level. Information on new deal 50 plus is not available at constituency level after March 2003.
A measure of sustainability is not available for new deal 50 plus and new deal for lone parents, therefore tables have been provided showing the proportion of programme starts to job starts.
The available information has been placed in the Library.
Poverty (Wales)
Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in poverty there have been in Wales in each year since 1998. [208791]
Mr. Pond:
Poverty is about more than low income; it also impacts on the way people live—their health, housing and the quality of their environment. The sixth annual "Opportunity for all" report (Cm 6239), published in September 2004, sets out the Government's
19 Jan 2005 : Column 1027W
strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents information on the indicators used to measure progress against this strategy.
Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in "Households Below Average Income 1994–95—2002–03'. It should be noted that the reporting of year on year changes of low-income rates for countries and regions are not reliable.
These publications are available in the Library.
CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS
Constitutional Treaty
John Cryer: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Electoral Commission regarding the proposed referendum on the Constitutional Treaty for the European Union. [208551]
Mr. Leslie: Some informal discussions have taken place with the Electoral Commission to inform policy in relation to the mechanics of holding the referendum on the European Constitution.
Criminal Justice
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what plans there are to speed up the criminal justice system. [209425]
Mr. Leslie: The Strategic Plan for Criminal Justice 2004–08, laid before Parliament in July 2004, sets out the Government's plans for improving timeliness in the criminal justice system. It includes a number of initiatives such as the increased use of Fixed penalty notices as well as reform of the legal aid system to eliminate time wasting and delay and to focus help and support where it is most needed.
Other specific initiatives include the Criminal Case Management Programme (CCMP), which aims to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system. As part of the CCMP, the Effective Trial Management Programme aims to reduce the number of ineffective trials by improving case preparation and progression from point of charge through to trial or earlier conclusion.
Moreover, Local Criminal Justice Boards are required to report on their timeliness performance generally and specifically on the timeliness of cases involving persistent young offenders (PYO) where the Government's pledge to reduce the time taken from 142 to 71 days was achieved ahead of target and continues to be met.
Electronic Devices
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many electronic devices are owned by the Department, broken down by type. [207678]
Mr. Lammy:
I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on the 12 January 2005, Official Report, column. 565W.
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The last year that figures are available for my Department is 2004, however they relate only to the number of items of electronic devices that were in use and are not broken down by type of item. Further, they relate to DCA HQ and Associated Offices only, and exclude the court service, which does not hold this information centrally and cannot provide the information without incurring disproportionate costs.
The total number of electronic items owned by my Department in 2004 was 21,410.
Special Advisers
Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs whether the contracts signed by his special advisers differ from the Model Contract for Special Advisers. [207227]
Mr. Leslie: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 17 January 2005, Official Report, column 753W.
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