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1 Nov 2005 : Column 920W—continued

Housing Benefit

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of housing benefit claimants in deregulated tenancies renting from private landlords faced housing benefit shortfalls as a result of (a) rent officer determined restrictions and (b) rent officer determined single room rent restrictions in the last period for which figures are available; what the average value of the shortfall was for (i) housing benefit claimants with a shortfall and (ii) housing benefit claimants with a single room rent shortfall; and if he will make a statement. [19931]


 
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Mr. Plaskitt: The available information is in the tables.
The proportion of housing benefit claimants in deregulated tenancies renting from private landlords who face housing benefit shortfalls as a result of rent officer determined restrictions: England

Percentage
All housing benefit claimants with a shortfall as a result
of rent officer determined restrictions
55
All housing benefit claimants with a shortfall as a result
of rent officer determined single room rent restrictions
5




Source:
Rent Officer Data 2003–04 (England only)




The average shortfall for housing benefit private-sector de-regulated caseload: England

£
All housing benefit claimants with a shortfall23
Housing benefit claimants receiving the single room rent
with a shortfall
44




Notes:
1. A shortfall is defined as the difference between the contractual rent and the maximum amount of housing benefit a claimant could receive. This does not take into account non-dependant deductions or any income over the applicable amount.
2. Average amounts are rounded to the nearest pound.
Source:
Rent Officer Data 2003–04 (England only)



Miss Helen Thomas

Mrs. James: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he has completed his consideration of correspondence of 8 June from the hon. Member for Swansea, East concerning the case of Miss Helen Thomas. [17959]

Mrs. McGuire: A reply has been sent to the hon. Member today. I regret that the correspondence was not handled correctly and that a reply was not sent sooner.

Pensions

Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the impact the changes in pension rules relating to the purchase of commercial property will have on businesses. [22248]

Mr. Ivan Lewis: I have been asked to reply.

The regulatory impact assessment (RIA) Simplifying the Taxation of Pensions" published in April 2004 sets out an assessment of the potential impact of the whole pensions simplification package.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of the Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy; and if he will make a statement. [21975]


 
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Hazel Blears: The Home Office and Department of Health are responsible for the Alcohol Harm Reduction Programme, which has led the Government response to the strategy.

The programme has made good progress in introducing measures in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder; implementing the Tackling Violent Crime Programme and Alcohol Misuse Enforcement Campaigns in partnership with the police and other stakeholders and working with the alcohol industry to develop a principles and standards document and National Producers Fund, both of which are due to be launched shortly.

The Department of Health has recently completed an audit of services available for alcohol treatment and is shortly due to start demonstration projects targeting screening and brief interventions for hazardous drinkers.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of antisocial behaviour orders have been breached, broken down by those imposed on (a) juveniles and (b) adults. [21845]

Hazel Blears: Data on convictions for breach of an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO) are currently available from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2003. Of the 1,892 ASBOs issued during this period, as reported to the Home Office, 42 per cent. of persons (793) breached their ASBO on one or more occasions. Of these, 49 per cent. were juveniles (392) and 51 per cent. were adults (401).

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in the constituency of Hemel Hempstead since 1997. [22743]

Hazel Blears: Antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) have been available to the courts since 1 April 1999. From commencement up to 31 May 2000 data were collected, on aggregate numbers only, by police force area. From copies of the orders received, since 1 June 2000, we are able to determine the local government authority areas in which restrictions are imposed.

The number of ASBOs issued, as notified to the Home Office, in the local government authority area of Dacorum borough council, in which the Hemel Hempstead constituency is situated, from 1 June 2000 to 31 December 2004 (latest available) is seven.

Armed Police

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of police officers have been armed in each year since 1992. [22969]

Hazel Blears: It is not possible to provide accurate figures in the form requested. However, the number of authorised firearms officers (AFOs) in police forces in England and Wales for years 1994–2004 are shown in the table.
 
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Authorised firearms officers (AFOs) in police forces in England and Wales for years 1994–2004

Number
1994–956,837
1995–966,554
1996–976,738
1997–986,585
1998–996,308
1999–20006,262
2000–016,064
2001–025,776
2002–035,763
2003–046,096

Atos Origin

Mark Fisher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the minutes of the meetings between his officials and Atos Origin. [10713]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Meetings between Home Department officials and Atos Origin are based on an IT contract awarded in August 2004 which commenced on 1 November 2004. The engagement between IND and Atos Origin results in significant quantities of recorded minutes, covering all aspects of the working relationship. Consideration could be given to making minutes of meetings or action plans available to address a specific query, subject to commercial considerations and disproportionate cost.

Consultants

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which consultants have been employed by his Department in each of the last three years. [895]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Department does not hold central records of all the consultancy companies that have been employed in each of the last three years. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

The Home Office is currently addressing this problem with the implementation of an Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, Adelphi, in the core Home Office and in the Prison Service, Phoenix, which will provide accurate management information on the Department's use of consultants.

Crime

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of the Partners against Crime partnership between the Post Office and Dyfed-Powys police constabulary. [10343]

Hazel Blears [holding answer 6 July 2005]: I understand that this six-month trial initiative, which was set up in partnership by Dyfed-Powys police and the Post Office Ltd., has yet to be formally evaluated. A local evaluation will take place in October at the end of the pilot scheme. I am pleased to say that early feedback is positive, and suggests that public reassurance has improved as a result of the initiative.
 
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Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the level of violent crime in Sussex in each of the last five years. [17768]

Hazel Blears: The number of recorded offences of violent crime in Sussex is given in the tables. It is estimated that the effect of the introduction nationally of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in April 2002 was a 20 per cent. increase in recorded violent crime in its first year.
Table 1: Offences of violent crime recorded in Sussex, 2000–01 and 2001–02

Number of offences
2000–0119,505
2001–0219,879




Note:
The data in this table is prior to the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard. These figures are not directly comparable with those for later years.




Table 2: Offences of violent crime recorded in Sussex, 2002–03 to 2004–05

Number of offences
2002–0320,590
2003–0422,126
2004–0530,122




Note:
The data in this table takes account of the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002. These figures are not directly comparable with those for earlier years.




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