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26 Jan 2006 : Column 2391W—continued
Bereavement Payments
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what bereavement payments are available to pensioners; and what the eligibility criteria are. [44569]
Mr. Plaskitt: Pensioners may be entitled to the bereavement payment. This is a lump sum of £2,000. The bereavement payment is available to a person over state pension age if their late spouse was not entitled to a category A retirement pension. A category A retirement pension is one earned by virtue of a person's own national insurance contributions.
Widows and widowers over pension age who are not entitled to receive any bereavement benefits may, subject to the normal qualifying conditions, be entitled to income-related benefits in the same way as any other person, including help towards funeral costs through the Social Fund.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will increase bereavement payments available to people over 65. [44604]
Mr. Plaskitt: We keep all our policies under review but there are no plans to increase the bereavement payment available to people over state pension age.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Child Support Agency case compliance rate was on the (a) new scheme and (b) old scheme in each month since 1 January 2004; and if he will make a statement. [41373]
Mr. Plaskitt:
The information can be found in table seven of the Child Support Agency's Quarterly Summary Statistics, a copy of which can be found in the House Library.
26 Jan 2006 : Column 2392W
Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Workand Pensions (1) how many claims were rejected by the Child Support Agency as a result of computer error in the 12 months up to December (a) 2004 and (b) 2005; [43367]
(2) what the (a) target time is and (b) average time taken has been before the claim is processed manually when there is a Child Support Agency computer fault that means a claim cannot be processed. [43368]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to my hon. and learned Friend.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 January 2006:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
(1) You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims were rejected by the Child Support Agency computer in the 12 months up to December (a) 2004 and (b)2005.
There are still a number of defects in the new child support (CS2) computer system which can prevent some cases from progressing. I am unable to provide a full response to your question, as we do not collect information at the level of detail you have requested. The figures in the table below show the total number of cases requiring technical intervention to progress against all identified defects, outstanding at the end of each month. Data for 2004 is only available for November and December.
These figures include cases which have been removed from the system and are being progressed clerically as well as cases for which no further action is required but which cannot be closed without technical intervention.
The clerical process allows staff to assess these cases off-line and to ensure that any money paid in by the non-resident parent is paid out to the parent with care.
Note:
Figures in the table show the total number of cases not being progressed at that point in time. An IT scan is run monthly to provide this information.
Work is on-going to remedy these problems, and IT releases are planned during 2006 and 2007 to resolve the various system performance issues.
(2) You also asked what the (a) target time is and (b) average time taken has been where there is a Child Support Agency computer fault that means a claim cannot be processed before the claim is processed manually.
(a) The Agency does not have a set target time to move to clerical action as the final decision to progress clerically is taken on a case-by-case basis. This decision is determined by the
- Agency's ability to progress the case and address the customer's needs. Where faults arise, the Agency makes every effort to identify the problem and rectify it as quickly as possible.
(b) Information on the average length of time elapsed before a case is progressed clerically is not available. Each case is decided individually, taking into account the needs of the customer.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in how many cases over the last five years the United Tribunal has made orders for compensation against the Child Support Agency. [44254]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Appeals Service cannot make orders for compensation against the Child Support Agency.
Departmental Travel
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent by his Department on taxi travel in the 2005–06 financial year; and what proportion of such travel was undertaken in each nation and region of the UK, including London. [37480]
Mrs. McGuire: The information is not available
Disability Benefits Unit
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures are in place to ensure services to clients are not disrupted during the reorganisation of the Disability Benefits Unit; and if he will make a statement. [44326]
Mrs. McGuire: The reorganisation of the Disability Benefits Unit is a matter for the chief executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Terry Moran, dated 26 January 2006:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what measures are in place to ensure services to clients are not disrupted during the reorganisation of the Disability Benefits Unit.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
In my reply to PQ41115, I referred to pre-implementation activities designed to safeguard services to customers during the reorganisation of the DBU. These include the deployment of a dedicated team that has targeted specific areas of work.
Additional measures include the gathering of management information on a daily and weekly basis through our IT systems and by means of clerical counts. This will ensure that all available work is visible and accounted for and the situation will be reviewed daily. The dedicated team will continue to be used to target specific areas, should this prove necessary.
The Customer Care Helpline will remain open during its usual hours throughout the implementation period and will continue to provide the full range of services. Normal contingencies will be used at periods of peak demand.
National Insurance Numbers
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the UK are eligible to receive a national insurance number. [44113]
Mr. Plaskitt:
This information is not available.
26 Jan 2006 : Column 2394W
Norcross
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what agencies and directorates within the responsibilities of his Department are located at Norcross. [45939]
Mrs. McGuire: The following agencies and directorates for which the Department is responsible are located at Norcross:
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 January 2006, Official Report, column 43W, on Norcross (job losses), how many staff have been re-deployed from (a) Norcross, (b) Peel Park, (c) Warbreck House and (d) Moorland Road; and to where these staff have been redeployed. [44845]
Mrs. McGuire: Information on the number of staff who have been redeployed from Norcross, Peel Park, Warbreck House and Lytham St. Anne's is in the following table. Staff redeployed from Moorland Road are not separately identified but are included in the total for Lytham St. Anne's.
| Site | Staff redeployed on site | Staff redeployed to other sites | Total number of staff redeployed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norcross | 35 | 28 | 63 |
| Peel Park | 34 | 12 | 46 |
| Warbreck House | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Lytham St. Anne's | 99 | 16 | 115 |
| Total Redeployments 169 | 56 | 225 | |
Note:
Numbers of redeployments are cumulative from 1 April 2004.
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