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Football
Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many football coaches have been funded from public funds in Crewe and Nantwich constituency in the last two years for (a) ethnic minorities, (b) women and girls and (c) children with learning difficulties; where these sessions were held; how many sessions were held for each group; how many primary and after school sessions have been arranged; where; by whom; and at what cost. [83359]
Mr.
Caborn: Through its Whole Sport Plan, the FA provides
coaching in the Crewe and Nantwich area. Detailed information in the
requested format is not available. However, I can confirm that 15
Community Sports Coaches are employed within the Cheshire and
Warrington Sports Partnership to provide coaching sessions, including
in primary schools and after school. Three of these coaches spend a
proportion of their coaching time in Crewe and Nantwich. Two of the
Community Sports Coaches coach football, although not in Crewe and
Nantwich. However, the local
authority in Crewe and Nantwich has recruited a part-time football
Community Sports Coach who will focus on females, ethnic minorities and
people with
disabilities.
According to Sport England figures, between April 2005 and March 2006, there were 108,209 attendances at coaching sessions provided by Community Sports Coaches in the Cheshire and Warrington Sports Partnership area. Of these, 36,428 were female, 2,632 had a disability and 2,306 were from black, Asian or other minority ethnic group.
London Olympics
Mr. Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government is taking to extend the benefits of the 2012 London Olympics to (a) Ealing, Southall and (b) West London. [83825]
Mr. Caborn: The Government are determined that the whole of London and the UK will benefit from the games in 2012.
The Greater London Authority, which is the body responsible for co-ordinating the delivery of the legacy and benefits of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics Games for London, is working closely with the London Development Agency and local and sub-regional partnerships to ensure that people and businesses all over London have the information and skills they need to take advantage of the full range of opportunities arising from hosting the games.
Specifically, the London borough of Ealing has been working at a local level through the West London Alliance Olympic Officers Group, to develop an action plan to maximise benefits to Ealing and West London as a whole.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much the 2012 London Olympic park is expected to cost. [84240]
Mr. Caborn: The Olympic Delivery Authority is currently procuring the delivery partner that willhelp the ODA to deliver the Olympic and legacy construction. One element of the delivery partner's role will be to examine the programme for the Olympic Park and costs associated with it. We expect this assessment to be completed within six to nine months of the appointment.
Lottery Funding (School Facilities)
Dr. Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much national lottery funding has been made available for local sports facilities over the past five years. [84643]
Mr. Caborn: Since the start of 2001, 17,689 lottery awards worth a total value of £1.3 billion have been made by the five sports lottery distributors.
Local sports facilities are not identified as a category on the Department’s lottery grants database. The information could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Information on all lottery awards is available from the database, searchable at www.lottery.culture.gov.uk, which uses information supplied by the lottery distributors.
Royal Parks Agency
Mr. Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was given in grants by her Department to the Royal Parks Agency in each of the past five financial years. [84121]
Mr. Lammy: The table shows the funding received by the Royal Parks from the Department for the periods shown.
| Amount of public funding given by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (£) | ||
| Financial year | Resource | Capital |
| (1)
Budgeted figures rather than actual
outturn. | ||
Constitutional Affairs
Comprehensive Spending Review
Dr. Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what discussions the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs has had with (a) the Treasury and (b) the Cabinet Office regarding the pre-comprehensive spending review report; and if she will make a statement. [82841]
Bridget Prentice: The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs had a formal discussion (bi-lateral) on the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) with the Chief Secretary HM Treasury in June 2006. All other discussions between the Department of Constitutional Affairs and (a) HM Treasury and (b) Cabinet Office on the CSR have been at official level.
No discussions regarding the CSR have been had by the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs with the Cabinet Office.
Electoral Register
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what steps she plans to take to increase voter registration in inner city areas. [84552]
Bridget Prentice: The Government have embarked on a number of initiatives to increase voter registration and promote participation in democracy.
The 1824 collective campaign, promoted awareness of voter registration amongst London's urban youth in the run up to local London election in May this year.
We are funding seven local authorities, working with community organisations and education institutions to explore new methods of encouraging people to register to vote and participate in elections.
The Electoral Administration Bill makes a number of changes to improve the registration process. These include a new duty setting out the minimum steps that the ERO will be expected to take to ensure a comprehensive register and enable people to register after an election has been called. The Bill also provides a new power for returning officers to promote participation at elections, and the Government have made available £2.5 million to support the new power.
Electoral Registration Officers
Mr. Betts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what powers will be available to local electoral registration officers under the Electoral Registration Bill to share data in drawing up election registers; if she will provide a list of the sources of data which will be able to be used under powers contained within the Bill; and if she will make a statement. [83524]
Bridget Prentice: Electoral registration officers are currently able to inspect and take copies of any records kept by their own council, and to inspect and take copies of records kept by any registrar of births and deaths.
The Electoral Administration Bill does not change this. However, it does require electoral registration officers, when compiling the electoral register, to make full use of their powers to inspect those records which they are permitted to inspect.
We are also looking at whether there are records which are not covered by existing powers, but which could be covered by secondary legislation, if it were appropriate to do so.
Mr. Betts: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what powers are available to local electoral registration officers to share data in drawing-up election registers; if she will provide a list of sources of data which can be used; and if she will make a statement. [83525]
Bridget Prentice: Electoral registration officers are currently able to inspect and take copies of any records kept by their own council, and to inspect and take copies of records kept by any registrar of births and deaths.
Family Visitor Appeals
Mr. Binley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many family visitor appeals were lodged in 2005-06; and how many are awaiting a decision. [84607]
Bridget
Prentice: In the period from 1 April 2005 to 31 March
2006, a total of 59,047 family visitor appeals were received by the
Asylum and Immigration Tribunal. Of those appeals, 18,063 remain to be
decided and are currently either listed for a hearing before, or
awaiting a decision from, an Immigration
Judge.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to the answer to Question 80303, what meetings she has held with Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss their response to the president of the tribunal's reports on their standards in making incapacity benefit decisions; and if she will make a statement on (a) resulting initiatives and (b) the expected levels of tribunal workload over the next two years. [83883]
Bridget Prentice: No meetings have been held with Ministers in the Department for Work and Pensions on this subject since responsibility for appeal tribunals transferred to this Department on 1 April 2006. The president of appeal tribunals’ sixth report on the standard of decisions made on behalf of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in cases which come before appeal tribunals was published on 6 July 2006, Official Report, Column 52WS.
A Joint Steering Committee has been established between the Tribunals Service and Jobcentre Plus,the agency which administers Incapacity Benefit, to provide feedback on cases considered by appeal tribunals and to look for ways to avoid customers having to go through the appeals process.
Legal Profession (Consumer Demands)
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (1) what plans she has to ensure the legal profession is more responsive to consumer demands; [84564]
(2) what progress she has made in increasing consumer choice in legal services. [84565]
Bridget Prentice: The draft Legal Services Bill,which was published on 24 May 2006, builds on recommendations made by Sir David Clementi following his independent review of the regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales which was published in December 2004. Both Sir David and the Government have been keen to ensure wide engagement with stakeholders in developing these proposals.
The proposals in the draft Bill respond to consumer demands. They provide for a new and independent oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board, and a single and independent Office for Legal Complaints. They also provide, through the licensing of alternative business structures, for legal services to be delivered in new ways. The Government are committed to putting the consumer at the heart of these reforms, and there is also a statutory duty on the Legal Services Board to establish a consumer panel to advise it.
Taken
together, these proposals will provide for greater independence in
regulation and complaints handling, and increased competition through a
more flexible approach to the delivery of legal services.
Subject to robust safeguards, lawyers and non-lawyers will be able to
work together on an equal footing to deliver legal and other services.
External investment will also be possible. These arrangements will
provide practitioners with flexibility to respond to market demands by
providing consumers with the services they want, when they want them,
and in the packages they want them.
The draft Bill is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee. The Joint Committee is due to report by 25 July. After considering the Committee's report, the Government intend to introduce legislation as soon as Parliamentary time allows.
Work and Pensions
Access to Work Scheme
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) central Government Departments’ budgets and (b) disabled people of the ending of Access to Work funding in October. [79932]
Mrs. McGuire: The Secretary of State is not in a position to assess the implications for other Government Departments’ budgets. However, the large majority of these workplace adjustments are inexpensive.
Our intention is that disabled staff should continue to receive the support they need as now, including obtaining advice from specialist staff in Jobcentre Plus. However, instead of their support being paid for by the Access to Work programme, it will be funded out of departmental running costs. Officials will be working with those in other Government Departments to help them implement this requirement.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent changes to the Access to Work Scheme have applied to employees of (a) central Government departments and agencies, (b) large private sector employers and (c) other employers; and if he will make a statement. [81941]
Mrs. McGuire: Access to Work funding will be removed from employees working in central government departments from October 2006. Our intention is that disabled staff should continue to receive the support they need as now, including obtaining advice from specialist staff in Jobcentre Plus. However, instead of their support being paid for by the Access to Work programme, it will be funded out of departmental running costs. Officials from the Office of Disability Issues will be working with those in other Government Departments to help them implement this requirement.
No changes have been made to Access to Work which affect people working for large private sector employers or other employers.
Carer's Allowance
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the annual cost of removing the 21-hour study rule for carer’s allowance. [80550]
Mrs. McGuire: We estimate that the annual cost of removing the 21-hour full-time education rule for carer’s allowance would amount to approximately £30 million for the first full year following its removal. This total is made up of £16 million for carer’s allowance and £14 million in respect of income-related benefits.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria were used to determine performance-related bonus payments for senior civil servants at the Child Support Agency in each of the last four years. [77976]
Mrs. McGuire: For each of the last four years decisions have been made by relatively assessing individuals in relation to others in the same senior civil service pay band. When determining performance-related bonus payments the following criteria were used:
Performance against agreed priority business objectives or targets;
Total delivery record over the year;
Relative stretch;
Response to unforeseen events which affected the performance.
How successful staff were in meeting their objectives;
How difficult/challenging the objectives were, given available resources, foreseen and unforeseen factors;
How the success had been achieved taking account of the Departmental Aims and Values.
Disability Living Allowance
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to review the requirement for those with lifelong disabilities to make periodic reapplications for disability living allowance. [82665]
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, whether he plans to review the requirement for those with lifelong disabilities to make periodic reapplications for disability living allowance.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
There is no specific requirement for those with lifelong disabilities to make periodic reapplications for disability living allowance (DLA). As you may be aware, entitlement to DLA does not depend on the diagnosis of a condition but on how that condition affects a person on a daily basis. It is entirely possible for a person with permanent disability not to satisfy the conditions for an award of DLA. There is a wide variation in the amount of help required by people with similar disabilities and for this reason entitlement to DLA is based on needs rather than diagnosis.
Where a Decision Maker concludes that a customer is entitled to DLA, and in their judgment there is unlikely to be any change in the way the customer’s disabling condition affects their mobility or ability to self-care, an indefinite award would be the expected outcome. Such customers would not be required to renew their claims at intervals.
However, even where entitlement to benefit is awarded indefinitely, it can be affected by a change in the disabled person’s circumstances. There is a statutory obligation for the customer to report relevant changes of circumstances that may affect entitlement.
Awards for a limited period are made where the Decision Maker judges that there might be some material change, affecting either the entitlement or the rate of benefit as a person adapts to their disability or their condition improves or worsens over a period of time. The customer would be invited to make a renewal claim at the appropriate time.
As part of the Government’s plans to modernise the Welfare State we introduced the “periodic inquiry” procedures to ensure that our customers are receiving the correct level of benefit. These involve the random selection of cases where checks are made upon a customer’s continuing entitlement to benefit. Accurate, up to date information about a customer’s needs is collected to make sure that the benefit entitlement is correct. It is applied fairly giving people the opportunity to have their award increased as well as decreased in line with entitlement.
I hope this is helpful.
Incapacity Benefit
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of incapacity benefit claims in West Lancashire which have been turned down on the basis of insufficient national insurance contributions (NIC) as a result of the time taken in updating NIC records. [83543]
Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Hereford (Mr. Keetch) on 28 February 2006, Official Report, column 688W.
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