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12 Sept 2005 : Column 2502W—continued

Children in Poverty

Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children of school age in (a) the Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England were living in poverty in each year since 1997. [12045]

Mr. Timms: Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in 'Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04'. The threshold of below 60 per cent. median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.

The number of school age children in the North East in 2003–04 living in households with low incomes was 110,000 when incomes were reported Before Housing Costs, and 130,000 when incomes were reported After Housing Costs. The reporting of year on year changes in low-income rates for regions is not reliable and Information is not available below regional level.

Information regarding England is in the table.
School age children living in England living in low income households

	Income below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income		Income below 60 per cent. of 1996–97 median income held constant in real terms
	Before housing costs	After housing costs	Before housing costs	After housing costs
1997–98	2,100,000	2,800,000	2,100,000	2,700,000
1998–99	2,100,000	2,800,000	2,000,000	2,600,000
1999–00	2,000,000	2,700,000	1,600,000	2,400,000
2000–01	1,800,000	2,600,000	1,400,000	2,100,000
2001–02	1,800,000	2,500,000	1,100,000	1,800,000
2002–03	1,800,000	2,400,000	1,000,000	1,600,000
2003–04	1,800,000	2,400,000	1,000,000	1,500,000

Note:
The table shows the number of children rounded to the nearest 100,000.
Source:
Family Resources Survey





 
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Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) children and (b) disabled children in single parent families have been assessed as living in poverty in (i) the Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the north-east and (iv) the UK in each year since 1997. [12066]

Mr. Timms: Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in 'Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2003–04'. The threshold of below 60 per cent. median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.

The number of children in 2003–04 living in lone parents families in households with low incomes in the North East was 60,000 when incomes were measured
 
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Before Housing Costs, and 80,000 when incomes were measured After Housing Costs.

Information regarding the number of children living in lone parent families in low income households is not available below regional level. Information regarding the number of disabled children in single parent families living in low income households is not available below national level.

The number of children living in lone parent families in households with low incomes in Great Britain in each year since 1997 and the number of disabled children living in lone parent families in households with low incomes in Great Britain in each year since 1997 is presented in the tables:
Children living in lone parent families in households with low incomes in Great Britain

	Income below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income		Income below 60 per cent. of 1996–97 median income held constant in real terms
	Before housing costs	After housing costs	Before housing costs	After housing costs
1997–98	1,100,000	1,700,000	1,100,000	1,700,000
1998–99	1,100,000	1,700,000	1,000,000	1,600,000
1999–2000	1,100,000	1,800,000	900,000	1,600,000
2000–01	1,000,000	1,600,000	700,000	1,300,000
2001–02	1,000,000	1,600,000	500,000	1,100,000
2002–03	1,000,000	1,600,000	400,000	900,000
2003–04	900,000	1,400,000	400,000	900,000

Disabled children living in lone parent families in households with low incomes in Great Britain

	Income below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income		Income below 60 per cent. of 1996–97 median income held constant in real terms
	Before housing costs	After housing costs	Before housing costs	After housing costs
1997–98	111,000	150,000	110,000	150,000
1998–99	70,000	110,000	60,000	100,000
1999–00	80,000	120,000	70,000	110,000
2000–01	90,000	130,000	60,000	100,000
2001–02	50,000	100,000	20,000	60,000
2002–03	60,000	90,000	20,000	60,000
2003–04	60,000	100,000	30,000	70,000

Notes:
1. GB has been provided in the table to provide a consistent time series because UK information is only available from 2002–03.
2. The table shows national results for the number of children rounded to the nearest 100,000. Regional figures for 2003–04 are presented to the nearest 10,000. The results are drawn from a survey of a sample of households. While the tables give an indication of trends over time, the figures, especially those at regional level, should not be viewed as giving an accurate picture of year-on-year changes.
3. The definition for disabled here is consistent across all year, and is defined where a long standing illness that limits mobility is reported.
Source:
Family Resources Survey

Computer Crime

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft his Department recorded in each year since 2001–02; and on how many occasions computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (i) within and (ii) outside his Department in each year.; [13107]

(2) how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft his Department recorded in each year since 2001–02; and for each year on how many occasions computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (i) within and (ii) outside his Department. [6950]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is in the following table. Appropriate action is taken following an examination of all incidences on a case-by-case basis.

	Hacking	Fraud	Theft
2002–03	0	2	128
2003–04	0	2	185
2004–05	1	4	82

Note:
1. The single hacking incident was perpetrated by a person outside the Department.
2. All fraud cases relate to frauds committed by staff within the Department.

Conferences

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Department spent on organising or sponsoring conferences in each of the last five years. [10259]

Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is not available centrally in the format requested and could be collected only at disproportionate cost.
 
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Construction Industry

Mr. Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been reported to him from the Health and Safety Commission in meeting the targets for the reduction of deaths and injuries at work in the construction industry; what the most recent figure is for the (a) fatal and (b) non-fatal injury rate for the construction sector in the UK: and what the EU comparator is. [13977]

Mr. Timms: The Chief Inspector of Construction last reported to Ministers on progress towards health and safety targets in February this year.

The latest available statistics for 2003–04 (provisional) show the rate of fatal injury to workers was 3.5 per 100,000, the rate of major injuries to employees was 335.1 and over three-day injuries to employees was 683.6. These rates represent the lowest on record and exceed the all-industry Revitalising Health and Safety targets set by the Government in 2000. However, so far, progress falls short of meeting targets set and announced in 2001 by the industry itself for achievement in 2010.

Provisional fatal injury statistics for 2004–05 will be published shortly.

The latest figures available from Eurostat show that in 2000 the EU average rate for fatal injuries in construction was 11.4 per 100,000 workers and 7548.0 over three-day injuries per 100,000 workers. Eurostat's rate of over three-day injury includes those injuries defined in the UK as 'major' injuries. When GB's over three-day and major injury rates are combined, the rate is 1018.7.

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