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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,
“it is proposed to cease monitoring progress against this PSA target from the start of the 2007 CSR period, and to investigate a more appropriate target regime”.
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
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 |
| (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 |
| (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.
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]
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 (%) | |
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