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21 Mar 2006 : Column 231W—continued
Benefit Disregards
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of disregarding for all benefits earned income up to the value of £80.80 per week from any work undertaken by any claimant. [58738]
Mr. Plaskitt: Such an estimate could be made only at disproportionate cost.
Child Support
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of how many children child maintenance payments were received in each year since 1997. [56772]
Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 7 March 2006]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive. As the Chief Executive is currently on leave, I am responding on his behalf.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in respect of how many children child maintenance payments were received in each year since 1997.
As you are aware, maintenance is paid on the basis of cases, each of which may be associated with one or more qualifying children. The Agency's data reflects this.
You will note from the table that the number of children associated with cases in receipt of maintenance, or with a Maintenance Direct arrangement in place, fell between February 2003 and February 2005. This is part of a larger trend, and the ratio of children per case has fallen steadily between February 1997 and December 2005. However the overall number of cases benefiting has continued to increase throughout this period.
Notes:
1.Robust data from the new IT system (CS2) covering period March 2003 to March 2004 are not currently available, and is under development.
2.Maintenance Direct is an arrangement in which the Agency have carried out a maintenance calculation or assessment, and the non resident parent then pays his/her maintenance liability directly to the parent with care. As the Agency is no longer directly involved in the case, it is not possible to say definitively if payment is received where such an arrangement is in place.
3.December 2005 is the latest data currently available.
4.Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total cost of administering child support maintenance debt has been in each year since 1993. [56745]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is not available. Current accounting systems do not enable the Child Support Agency to match costs with specific outputs.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many members of staff employed by his Department are on temporary contracts. [56948]
Mrs. McGuire: As at 31 January 2006 the Department for Work and Pensions employed a total of 5,096 FTE staff on temporary contracts. Of this total, 2,076 were staff on fixed term appointments and 3,020 were staff on short term temporary contracts.
Departmental Expenditure
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many widescreen televisions have been purchased by his Department for use in London headquarters in each of the last five years; and what the cost was in each year. [39139]
Mrs. McGuire: Wide screen televisions are not capitalised on our balance sheet as they fall below the £5,000 threshold for office machinery. We do not have any wide screen televisions on the fixed asset register.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs in his Department have been relocated to Wales since 2001. [57670]
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Mrs. McGuire: The basis of the Department's relocation strategy resulting from the Lyons' review is to relocate posts rather than people. Information on the number of posts relocated from London and the south-east to Wales between 1 June 2003 and 28 February 2006 is contained in the following table:
| Location | Number of posts |
|---|---|
| Cwmbran | 286 |
| Wrexham | 510 |
| Pembroke Dock | 386 |
| Bridgend | 77 |
Disability Allowance
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people have been registered for disability allowance in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 1997. [58435]
Mrs. McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people have been registered for disability allowance in West Lancashire constituency in each year since 1997.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
Notes:
1.Totals show cases either in payment or suspended.
2.Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by postcode using ONS data.
3.Definitions and Conventions:
Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study for totals and 5 per cent. for older time series.
Housing Allowance
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2006, Official Report, column 1550W, on benefits, whether he expects to be able to provide an estimate of the cost of a national rollout of local housing allowance before the final decision on the amount of transitional funding is announced. [58051]
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Mr. Plaskitt: The cost estimates of the national roll out of the local housing allowance will cover the impact on benefit expenditure and expenditure required to cover the transitional administrative costs of introducing the local housing allowance. Both these cost estimates will be determined by the final design of the local housing allowance. This will depend on the findings of the ongoing evaluation of the local housing allowance in the pathfinder areas and the outcome of the Welfare Reform Green Paper consultation A New Deal for Welfare: Empowering People to Work".
Housing Benefit
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 247W, on housing benefit, (1) how many people he estimates will have their housing benefit withdrawn as a result of antisocial behaviour in each year; and with which local authorities he is discussing pilot schemes to withdraw housing benefit as a result of antisocial behaviour; [57837]
(2) whether he plans to include provisions for withdrawing housing benefit as a result of antisocial behaviour in the forthcoming Welfare Reform Bill; [57838]
(3) pursuant to the answer of 27 February 2006, Official Report, column 247W, on housing benefit, if he will list the relevant bodies, stakeholders and experts he plans to consult informally on his plans to withdraw housing benefit as a result of antisocial behaviour. [57961]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Government announced in the Respect Action Plan, published on 10 January, that it is considering the use of sanctions to ensure that those households who are evicted for antisocial behaviour take up the help offered to them. We are currently assessing this idea more fully before deciding who to consult and whether to legislate. We have not held discussions about piloting with any local authorities.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) disabled claimants and (b) care leavers under-25 years are (i) exempt from and (ii) subject to the single room rate restriction on housing benefit. [57955]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available.
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