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24 July 2006 : Column 900W—continued
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of (a) adults and (b) children were living in poverty in (i) England, (ii) Peterborough constituency and (iii) the Peterborough city council in each year since 1997. [85971]
Mr. Jim Murphy: Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is detailed in "Households Below Average Income (HBAI) 1994-95 to 2004-05", which is available in the Library. The main source for HBAI is the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
The standard measurement of low income is a household with income below 60 per cent. of the GB median.
The data source does not allow us to provide robust estimates below a regional level. Therefore estimates for numbers of adults or children living in low income in the Peterborough constituency or the Peterborough city council area in each year since 1997 are not available.
| Percentage of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income, years 1995-96 to 2004-05; England | ||
| Before housing costs | After housing costs | |
| Note: Figures are provided using a three-year moving averages, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year on year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. Source: FRS | ||
Safety at Work
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of workers who suffered from occupational exposure to (a) methyl bromide and (b) sulphuric acid in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [85606]
Mrs. McGuire: Available information via reports to HSE under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) in 2004-05 revealed 19 injuries to workers where reports mentioned the term “sulphuric acid” but no injuries mentioning “methyl bromide”. Of these injuries, 13 were recorded as burns and four as asphyxiations or poisonings. This information from RIDDOR is limited by significant under-reporting of relevant cases to HSE and local authorities.
Since 2000, there have been a small number of reports of cases of ill health resulting from occupational exposure to sulphuric acid or methyl bromide by consultant occupational and NHS physicians reporting to The Health and Occupation Reporting (THOR) network, a voluntary reporting scheme for work-related illness sponsored by the Health and Safety Executive. These are described in the following table. THOR will record only those cases where the individual has access to an occupational physician or which are serious enough to be referred for hospital assessment. Many clinicians reporting to the network do so only one month in twelve, meaning that only a proportion of all cases will be recorded.
| THOR 2000 onwards: cases of injury and illness attributed to sulphuric acid and methyl bromide | ||
| Agent | Illness or injury | Number of reported cases |
Seasonal Unemployment
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures his Department has taken to tackle short-term seasonal unemployment in rural areas; and if he will make a statement. [85922]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 10 July 2006, Official Report, column 1609W.
Stakeholder Pensions
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Government plan to spend on promoting stakeholder pensions in the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [86259]
James Purnell: We will continue to provide public information in order to help individuals make informed choices about saving for a pension, including information about stakeholder pensions.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by his Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005. [85191]
Mrs. McGuire: On three occasions in the Committee's fourth, twenty-second and twenty-fifth reports.
Sure Start Maternity Grant
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women in (a) England, (b) the Tees Valley and (c) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland have received the Sure Start maternity grant since 2001. [87971]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
| Sure Start maternity grants for England | |
| Number of awards | |
| Sure Start maternity grants for Tees Social Fund District | |
| Number of awards | |
| Sure Start maternity grants for area covered by Tees Valley Jobcentre Plus District | |
| Number of awards | |
| Notes: 1. Data is not available by parliamentary constituency but only by Jobcentre Plus District, and, before Jobcentre Plus Districts were used for the administration of the social fund, by social fund district. 2. Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland parliamentary constituency used to be part of Tees social fund district and is now part of Tees Valley Jobcentre Plus District. The latter was formed in November 2002 by merging part of Durham social fund district with Tees social fund district. Thus data in the third table is not comparable with that in the second table. 3. Figures are for all awards, irrespective of whether the award was made to the mother or her partner. 4. Some women will have received more than one sure start maternity grant since 2001-02. 5. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System | |
Unclaimed Benefits
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates are not claiming benefits to which they are entitled, broken down by (a) age, (b) sex and (c) region; what his estimate is of the total sum involved; and what steps he is taking to reduce that number. [87318]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information is not available broken down below national level. For the available information I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my right hon. Friend the Member for North Tyneside (Mr. Byers) on 3 March 2006, Official Report, column 1034W.
We are keen that everybody claims the benefits to which they are entitled. The Department for Work and Pensions works closely with local authorities and other organisations to ensure that people understand their entitlement and claim the appropriate benefits.
Deputy Prime Minister
Background Reading
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what publications have been provided by civil servants as background reading for his ministerial duties since taking office; and if he will make a statement. [87590]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I am provided with the publications necessary to enable me to fulfil my ministerial duties.
Casinos
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the Anschutz Entertainment Group is a casino developer. [86964]
The Deputy Prime Minister: On the company’s website, AEG are described as “sports and entertainment presenters.”
Gambling (Government Policy)
Anne Main: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role he has in relation to Government policy on (a) gambling and (b) planning. [84719]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) on 19 July 2006, Official Report, column 302.
Ministerial Meetings
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings he has had in the last five years with (a) Margaret Hotchkiss, (b) John Allison, (c) Tobin Prior and (d) Howard Kerzner. [85548]
The Deputy Prime Minister: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was created in June 2002. Information prior to this time is not available. Since that time, I have not had any meetings with the persons named.
Ministerial Office and Staff
Mr. Atkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006, Official Report, columns 788-89W, on his ministerial office and staff, how many members of staff have (a) resigned, (b) been made redundant and (c) been dismissed from his private office since May. [85058]
The Deputy Prime Minister [holding answer 13 July 2006]: None.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many times his ministerial office has been decorated in each of the last five years. [87651]
The Deputy Prime Minister: My office in 26 Whitehall has not been decorated since I moved into it in September 2002.
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