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Overhead Power Lines
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has issued to local authorities on the building of new properties in close proximity to electric pylons. [71583]
Meg Munn: The Government have not issued guidance concerning the building of new properties near pylons.
However, following the publication of the (then) National Radiological Protection Board's new Electromagnetic Field guidelines in March 2004, and the associated advice to Government, the Government are giving further consideration to taking the issue of building near power lines and pylons and is consulting with all the relevant stakeholder groups.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate the Government have made of the impact of revised health guidance on overhead power lines on (a) the planning process, (b) house prices, (c) compulsory purchase orders and (d) power line burial in new housing developments; and if she will make a statement. [70599]
Meg Munn: The Government are considering the implications of Health Protection Agency advice regarding power lines with all stakeholders. Implications for the areas outlined in the question will be fully considered in deciding how to implement the advice.
When appropriate policy options have been formulated the Government will undertake a consultation on the options in the normal manner.
Population Estimates
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authority areas have made representations to her about the accuracy of (a) the internal migration statistics and (b) the mid-year population estimates. [81983]
Mr. Woolas: The information is as follows.
(a) Since 5 December 2005, in the context of the local government finance settlement, we have received representations about the accuracy of the internal migration statistics used in the mid-year population estimates from Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Hounslow, Lambeth, Newham and Slough.
(b) Since 5 December 2005, in the context of the local government finance settlement, we have received representations about the accuracy of the mid-year population estimates from Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Enfield, Hounslow, Lambeth, Leeds, Lewisham, Newham, North Tyneside, Slough, Southwark, Telford and the Wrekin.
South East England Development Agency
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the expenditure of the South East England Development Agency has been in each year since its inception in (a) each county and (b) each district in the south east, (i) in total, (ii) per capita and (iii) as a percentage of its budget. [82603]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Prime Minister
Nuclear Deterrent
Mr. Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what (a) approval for and (b) instructions relating to additional expenditure on replacing the UK's existing nuclear deterrent he has given to (i) the Ministry of Defence and (ii) HM Treasury since April 2005; and if he will make a statement. [81682]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) at Prime Minister's Questions on 28 June 2006, Official Report, columns 253-4.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Prime Minister whether he gave prior approval for the reference to replacing the UK's nuclear deterrent in the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Mansion House speech; and if he will make a statement. [81683]
The Prime Minister: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions (a) he and (b) staff at 10 Downing Street have had with (i) President Bush and (ii) White House staff since April 2005 about sustaining the UK's nuclear deterrent; and if he will make a statement. [81684]
The Prime Minister: It is not the practice of the Government to make public details of all discussions with foreign Governments.
Work and Pensions
Carers
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with carers’ organisations about carers’ needs. [76781]
Mrs. McGuire: I last met representatives of Carers UK on 15 February and discussed a range of issues in connection with the needs of carers.
During the recent Carers Week I visited the Charlie Ratchford Centre in Camden to celebrate the launch of initiatives to help local carers and to discuss with them issues related to their needs.
Carer's Allowance
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many more people would be eligible for carer’s allowance if the gainfully employed rate was (a) raised to £168 per week and (b) abolished; and if he will make a statement. [80136]
Mrs. McGuire: The requested information is not available because there is no reliable data from which robust estimates might be obtained.
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have lost their carer’s allowance as a result of reaching pensionable age in each of the last five years. [80447]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 26 June 2006]: The information requested is not available. The information that is available is in the table. Carer’s allowance is payable to carers of state pension age who meet the conditions of entitlement to the allowance and do not receive a state pension, or where the weekly rate of state pension paid is lower than the weekly rate of carer’s allowance. In those cases a reduced rate of carer’s allowance is paid to bring the total amount of state pension and carer’s allowance paid up to the carer’s allowance weekly rate.
Carer’s allowance and state pension cannot be paid at the same time because both of them are non-income-related benefits designed to provide a degree of replacement for lost or forgone income.
In cases where these arrangements preclude the payment of carer’s allowance, the carer’s entitlement to the allowance gives them access to the carer premium, currently £26.35 a week, in the income-related benefits such as income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit and to the equivalent additional amount for carers in pension credit.
| Carer’s allowance: number of women aged 60 and men aged 65 awarded a state pension from December 2001 to November 2005 who in the quarterly statistical period in which the award was made were recorded as entitled to, but not receiving payments of, the allowance | |
| Quarterly statistical periods spanning (December to November) | Number( 1) |
| (1)
Sum of figures for four quarterly statistical periods, rounded to the
nearest 10. (2) Figure is for the period March 2002 to November 2002. Data are not available for the period December 2001 to February 2002. Source: Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of staff in his Department are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension. [73105]
Mrs. McGuire: Members of the principal civil service pension scheme (PCSPS) can pay additional contributions to top up their pension either through the civil service additional voluntary contributions scheme (CSAVCS), a money purchase arrangement, or by buying added years of service in the PCSPS. As an alternative to membership of the PCSPS recruits from 1 October 2002 have been able to join a stakeholder arrangement, the partnership pension account.
The number and percentage of staff in the Department who are making additional voluntary contributions to their pension as at 31 May 2006 are shown in the table.
| Number | Percentage | |
Disability and Carers Service
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1477-79W, on sickness/unauthorised absence, what information his Department has on levels of sickness absence at the Disability and Carers Service; and if he will make a statement. [81759]
Mrs. McGuire: The Disability and Carers' Service became an Executive Agency of the Department of Work and Pensions on 1 November 2004. The information has been drawn from the Agency's own records, and the only full year's data is for 2005. The figures represent average working days lost per staff year.
2005: 9.9
The rolling year to date data which is captured on a month by month basis within the Agency continues to show a modest but steady trend of improvement; the April 2006 year to date figure was 9.5 AWDL.
Disability Living Allowance Statistics
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in Surrey include a person with a learning disability who receives the care component of disability living allowance at the (a) highest, (b) middle and (c) lowest rate. [82449]
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 the hon. Member with the information requested.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many households in Surrey include a person with a learning disability who receives the care component of disability living allowance at the (a) highest (b) middle and (c) lowest rate.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
The information available is in the following table:
| Recipients of disability living allowance with learning difficulties by rate of care award as at November 2005 in Surrey parliamentary constituencies | ||||
| Care component | ||||
| Total with care component | Higher rate | Middle rate | Lowest rate | |
| Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 4. Figures are based on the care component condition only. 5. Information is only available for the Surrey parliamentary constituencies. Source: DWP, WPLS 100 percent data. | ||||
I hope this is helpful.
Health and Safety Executive
Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Freedom of Information requests were received by the Health and Safety Executive in (a) 2005 and (b) 2006; how many of these were rejected; and how many of those rejected were subsequently upheld by the Commissioner. [80460]
Mrs. McGuire: Information on Freedom of Information requests made to the Health and Safety Executive is as follows:
| 2005 | 2006( 1) | |
| (1)
To
date. | ||
To date HSE has not received any decisions from the Information Commissioner’s Office regarding referred cases.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants moved from the short-term lower rate on to the short-term higher rate without first undertaking the personal capability assessment in each year since the introduction of the assessment. [70791]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 12 May 2006]: Information about the timing of the personal capability assessment (PCA) in relation to the point at which the higher rates of incapacity benefit become payable is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants there have been in Bristol East in each year since 2000. [80588]
Mrs. McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
| Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in the Bristol East parliamentary constituency, as at November each year | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. ‘Claimants’ figures include all incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, including incapacity benefit credits only cases. Source: DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data. | |
Ministerial Visits (Overnight Stays)
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 18 May 2006, Official Report, column 1154W, on overnight stays, how the cost of overnight stays by Ministers of State in his Department is monitored; and if he will begin to keep a separate record of such stays. [77190]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department does not keep a separate record of overnight accommodation costs for Ministers. Overnight stays are carried out in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers. There are no plans to start keeping a separate record of the cost of overnight stays.
Motability Scheme
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged 13 to 19 years were refused help from the Motability scheme in 2005. [69740]
Mrs. McGuire: The number of people aged 13 to 19 that were unable to receive assistance from Motability in 2005 are in the following table:
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