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11 Oct 2005 : Column 469W—continued
Western Sahara
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) Morocco and (b) UN officials on a possible referendum on the future of the Western Sahara. [16206]
Dr. Howells: I discussed the question of Western Sahara with Moroccan Ministers and senior officials in July.
The United Kingdom fully supports the efforts of the UN Secretary-General and his new Personal Envoy to Western Sahara, Peter van Walsum, to find a just, lasting and mutually acceptable solution to the Western Sahara dispute. The UK supported UN Security Council resolution 1598, adopted on 28 April, which extends the mandate of the UN Mission for the
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Referendum in Western Sahara until 31 October 2005. However, there are no plans for a UN referendum to be held in the near future.
We continue to urge all parties to the dispute to engage constructively with the UN. To this end senior UK officials regularly meet UN officials, including recently with Peter van Walsum.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Benefit Fraud Hotline
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what contracts have been awarded to advertising and public relations agencies in connection with the benefit fraud hotline in each year since the service commenced; and what the value of each contract was; [8195]
(2) how much was spent on advertising and communications to promote the benefit fraud hotline in each year since the service started. [8214]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Department has not run any campaigns specifically to promote the benefit fraud hotline since 2001, although the number has been featured in the targeting benefit fraud campaign since 2001. We could only provide details regarding contracts awarded to advertising agencies prior to 2001 at disproportionate cost. This is because we have no centrally held records relating to the awarding of such contracts.
There have been no contracts awarded to public relations agencies.
National Benefit Fraud Hotline advertising costs from 1996 to 2001 are in the following table.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| 1996–97 | 476,000 |
| 1997–98 | 225,000 |
| 1998–99 | 290,247 |
| 1999–2000 | 337,672 |
| 2000–01 | 425,178 |
Incapacity Benefit
Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants there have been in each year since 2001, broken down by region and diagnosis. [15035]
Margaret Hodge: The information has been placed in the Library.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Julie Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate, how many (a) adults and (b) adults aged (i) 16 to 24, (ii) 25 to 49, (iii) 50 to 55, (iv) 55 to 59 and (v) over 60 years made a claim for jobseeker's allowance in the last year for which figures are available; and of these how many (A) left the benefit within six months, (B) left the benefit within six months and claimed another benefit, (C) left the benefit within
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six months and returned to work and (D) left the benefit within six months, returned to work, but claimed another benefit within a year. [15197]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available in the form requested. The available information is in the following table. The figures in the table refer to the number of awards of jobseeker's allowance. Claimants can flow on and off benefit more than once, therefore it is not possible to calculate the number of people flowing onto jobseeker's allowance within a year.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| All ages | 2,389,140 |
| 16–24 | 932,460 |
| 25–49 | 1,152,425 |
| 50–54 | 147,635 |
| 55–59 | 130,825 |
| 60 and over | 25,790 |
Notes:
1. Figures are based on 100 per cent. claimant count, and are rounded to the nearest 5.
2. Figures refer to number of awards and not people flowing onto jobseeker's allowance.
3. Claimants can flow on and off benefit more than once.
4. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source:
Count of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre Plus computer systems (computer held cases only).
Pathways to Work
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many existing recipients of incapacity benefit have attended a work focused interview through the Pathways to Work pilots since February; and how many have received the job preparation premium. [14336]
Margaret Hodge: As part of the extension of Pathways to Work to existing customers, 6,200 existing recipients of incapacity benefit have attended a mandatory work focused interview (WFI) between 7 February 2005 and the end of June 2005.
Participants have access to an extensive menu of support and back to work help. Between 7 February and the end of June 26 job preparation premium (JPP) awards were made.
Tax Credits
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of households in receipt of tax credit awards were receiving less money than their actual weekly entitlement due to an in-year adjustment to their awards or payments on 31 January; and what percentage of households receiving less money than their actual entitlement were households on maximum tax credit receiving less than 30 per cent. of their weekly tax credit entitlement. [16581]
Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is not available.
Tax credit awards can be adjusted during the year to take account of a change in circumstances or income. Where the amount payable is reduced, payments are adjusted with the aim of paying out the right amount for
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the year as a whole. This is explained in HMRC's Code of Practice 26 "What happens if we have paid you too much tax credit?", which is accessible at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/cop26.htm. This is part of the normal operation of the tax credit system, and no count of such occurrences is maintained.
Wareham Job Centre
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons it is proposed to reduce the opening times of the Wareham Job Centre to two days a week. [15934]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 10 October 2005]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lesley Strathie to Annette Brooke, dated 11 October 2005:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the proposed reduction in opening hours for Wareham Jobcentre. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
We have recently reviewed the way in which we deliver our services from our Jobcentre Plus offices and we are proposing that some of our smaller sites will be open for the number of days most appropriate to meeting the needs of our customers. Some of our offices have become too small to support all of the specialist advisory services which we will provide to those who need most assistance in entering employment. Wareham Jobcentre is one of those offices involved in the review.
We propose to deliver many of these services from nearby larger Jobcentre Plus offices together with improved access to our services through telephone and e-channels. We will, however, continue to deliver job search activity for jobseekers and some tailored advisory support to individuals from smaller offices such as Wareham, after the change in opening times.
Further proposals are under consideration with regard to opening on additional days, if this is considered necessary, to offer a targeted service to our most disadvantaged customers. This would be in addition to the days the office would normally be open, to meet the needs of our customers already actively seeking employment. This proposal is in the early stages of being considered and no decision has yet been made. The Jobcentre Plus District Manager for Dorset and Somerset, will inform you once a decision has been reached.
You have my assurance that it is our intention to continue to provide our customers with a service designed to target their needs. These changes will allow us to improve upon the services which we provide.
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