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22 Jun 2006 : Column 2064W—continued

Pensions

Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners receive their pension (a) every week in advance, (b) every four weeks in arrears and (c) every 13 weeks in arrears. [76632]

James Purnell: The information requested is not available.

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effect of implementation of the Pensions White Paper proposals on achieving the Government’s target of raising from 40 to 60 per cent., by 2020, the proportion of a pensioner’s income coming from investments rather than taxes. [79614]

James Purnell: The proposals in the White Paper, ‘Security in Retirement—Towards a New Pensions System’ (Cm 6841) provide the basis for an affordable and sustainable pensions system, which strikes a new balance of responsibility between employers, the State and individuals. As set out on p175 (para C.6) of the White Paper,


22 Jun 2006 : Column 2065W

Staff Absenteeism

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many working days were lost to his Department and its executive agencies in each year since 1997 due to staff absenteeism, expressed as the average annual number of absent days per employee; and what the estimated total cost to the Department and its agencies of absenteeism was in each year. [76891]

Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 19 June 2006]: The information is contained in the following tables. The
22 Jun 2006 : Column 2066W
source of the figures is the Cabinet Office’s annual reports on sickness absence in the Civil Service. Information for 2005 is not yet available.

Absenteeism has been taken to mean absences due to sickness absence.

The Department for Work and Pensions was created in July 2001, but it was not until 2003 that the systems for recording the relevant data were combined. The figures prior to 2003 therefore reflect the position in the Employment Service and Department for Social Security (and its agencies). The tables do not contain information about the Disability and Carers Agency because it did not exist as an executive agency prior to 2005.

Table 1: Average working days lost per staff year through sickness
Organisation 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Appeals Service

Child Support Agency

11.9

11.1

12.1

11.1

11.0

11.6

13.8

11.6

Employment Service

11.5

11.8

12.8

13.5

Jobcentre Plus

(1)12.5

(1)11.1

(1)11.0

(1)11.1

(1)10.6

(1)10.8

12.0

9.8

The Pension Service

10.5

9.5

DWP Overall

(2)12.2

(2)10.8

(2)10.9

(2)11.0

11.1

10.8

11.6

9.6

DWP Staffing Numbers

(2)91,499

(2)97,089

(2)90,170

(2)88,696

127,260

133,908

133,867

131,741

(1) Benefits Agency. (2) DSS only.

Table 2: Estimated total cost of sickness absence in £ million
Organisation 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

Appeals Service

Child Support Agency

6.2

6.1

7.1

7.4

8.3

9.7

12.2

10.6

Employment Service

27.4

29.3

33.9

37.4

Jobcentre Plus

(1)58.8

(1)56.8

(1)57.1

(1)57.6

(1)53.1

(1)52.5

78.9

67.5

The Pension Service

15.4

13.6

DWP overall

(2)75.2

(2)72.1

(2)67.9

(2)68.7

102.9

109.1

122.6

106.2

DWP staffing numbers

(2)91,499

(2)97,089

(2)90,170

(2)88,696

127,260

133,908

133,867

131,741

(1) Benefits Agency. (2) DSS only.

Prime Minister

Muslim Community (Government Policy)

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Prime Minister which Government Department is responsible for tackling (a) extremism and (b) racial hatred in communities. [78268]

Harry Cohen: To ask the Prime Minister which Government Ministers have responsibility for an aspect of policy on the Muslim community; what the aspect of policy is in each case; who has a co-ordinating role; and if he will make a statement. [79489]

The Prime Minister: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Ruth Kelly) has lead responsibility for these issues, working closely with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary (John Reid) and a number of other Ministers.

Natural Gas Sales (Israel)

Mr. Crabb: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make a statement on his recent discussions with the Israeli Prime Minister on the sale of natural gas to Israel. [79446]

The Prime Minister: I discussed a wide range of issues with Prime Minister Olmert during his recent visit. The sale of natural gas to Israel was not raised during our discussions.

I also refer the hon. Member to the press conference I held with Prime Minister Olmert on 13 June. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.

Constitutional Affairs

Black/Asian Employees

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many (a) black and Asian and (b) other people are employed in her Department’s press office. [74365]

Bridget Prentice: 13 staff are employed in the DCA press office.

In accordance with civil service policy, information concerning the ethnic origin (or disability status) of individuals may not be disclosed where the number of staff in a particular category is less than five. This is to ensure that individuals cannot be identified.


22 Jun 2006 : Column 2067W

Court Fines

Mr. Amess: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was collected in fines in each magistrates court area in England and Wales in each year since 1997; how much and what percentage was not collected; and if she will make a statement. [78833]


22 Jun 2006 : Column 2068W

Ms Harman: In response to how much was collected in fines in each magistrates court area in England and Wales, how much and what percentage was not collected, please see the following summary table. It is not possible to supply data before the financial year 1999-2000.

Enforcement of penalties—amount imposed, amount paid and payment rates in financial years 1999-2000 to 2001-02
Financial year 1999-2000 Financial year 2000-01
Amount imposed (£) Amount paid (£) Payment rate indicator (%) Amount imposed (£) Amount paid (£) Payment rate indicator (%)

Avon and Somerset

21,234,453

8,731,309

41

8,256,037

5,118,519

62

Bedfordshire

6,237,890

3,431,592

55

4,762,726

2,625,514

55

Cambridgeshire

5,500,017

3,473,988

63

6,118,702

3,155,588

52

Cheshire

5,981,812

4,388,875

73

6,420,224

4,313,584

67

Cleveland

3,197,606

2,665,031

83

3,380,616

2,319,844

69

Cumbria

3,967,216

3,156,013

80

4,185,093

3,188,304

76

Derbyshire

7,935,635

4,985,939

63

7,020,849

4,675,106

67

Devon and Cornwall

7,180,005

4,974,813

69

7,279,584

5,290,410

73

Dorset

3,558,750

2,530,147

71

3,592,052

2,675,217

74

Durham

4,474,739

3,036,341

68

5,310,342

3,542,709

67

Dyfed Powys

3,880,391

3,707,494

96

3,041,018

3,053,108

100

Essex

9,718,017

7,703,981

79

9,632,053

7,349,376

76

Gloucestershire

3,760,810

2,539,166

68

3,287,009

1,961,654

60

Greater Manchester

25,484,149

13,761,052

54

24,215,936

14,562,131

60

Gwent

5,064,062

3,486,064

69

4,269,866

2,865,115

67

Hampshire and IoW

11,707,087

9,267,215

79

10,245,223

6,858,802

67

Hertfordshire

6,561,714

4,964,653

76

6,103,980

4,558,579

75

Humberside

5,214,617

3,716,800

71

6,597,406

4,293,588

65

Kent

12,056,575

6,016,680

50

9,697,386

5,915,759

61

Lancashire

13,602,372

9,379,132

69

12,690,739

8,193,617

65

Leicestershire

6,110,729

4,473,995

73

7,492,423

4,723,608

63

Lincolnshire

4,235,761

2,790,950

66

3,056,365

2,972,011

97

London

94,967,927

46,421,680

49

76,577,889

39,432,244

51

Merseyside

11,840,748

6,103,342

52

11,833,950

5,538,307

47

Norfolk

4,805,503

3,356,849

70

4,264,754

2,942,701

69

North Wales

4,597,264

2,520,358

55

5,267,895

2,683,157

51

North Yorkshire

4,543,781

3,590,521

79

4,066,104

3,338,156

82

Northamptonshire

5,438,515

3,188,007

59

4,910,690

3,060,016

62

Northumbria

8,159,506

5,284,590

65

9,550,385

5,846,038

61

Nottinghamshire

6,262,892

4,984,975

80

6,770,234

4,726,266

70

South Wales

10,834,839

6,363,479

59

10,037,578

5,633,387

56

South Yorkshire

8,490,089

5,532,959

65

8,405,414

6,095,843

73

Staffordshire

6,960,328

5,938,204

85

6,590,544

5,961,893

90

Suffolk

3,998,615

2,888,133

72

3,894,154

3,009,437

77

Surrey

5,103,426

3,791,834

74

5,928,060

3,446,024

58

Sussex

6,004,383

5,611,954

93

7,323,641

4,648,440

63

Thames Valley

14,545,047

9,140,923

63

11,159,793

6,953,327

62

Warwickshire

3,222,646

2,357,257

73

3,334,594

2,379,783

71

West Mercia

7,770,822

6,944,215

89

6,914,544

4,296,436

62

West Midlands

24,265,354

14,149,512

58

20,861,358

13,248,381

64

West Yorkshire

18,619,468

12,672,455

68

17,135,576

12,129,269

71

Wiltshire

4,015,688

3,304,395

82

3,475,273

2,874,453

83

England and Wales

431,111,249

267,326,873

62

384,958,059

242,455,701

63


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