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6 Nov 2006 : Column 915W—continued
All of these efforts are contributing to widespread use of ITNs as a vital element of the effort to combat malaria. DFID will continue to play a full part in supporting the wider availability and use of ITNs.
Tuberculosis
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding he has made available to (a) the Global Fund and (b) other medical bodies for research into new vaccines for TB. [98669]
Mr. Thomas: DFID funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria is to support the scale-up of services, rather than research. DFID has doubled its pledge for 2006 and 2007 to £100 million annually, subject to performance. DFID currently supports the research and development of TB drugs and diagnostics through its funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) and the public/private Product Development Partnership, the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development. TDR will receive £4.5 million over three yeas, from 2005 to 2008. The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development will receive £6.5 million from 2005 to 2008 for the development of new TB drugs.
UN Peacebuilding Commission
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has to encourage the UN Peacebuilding Commission to work more closely with civil society when helping countries that are emerging from conflict. [99144]
Mr. Thomas: Since the creation of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) in December last year, the UK has repeatedly argued for meaningful participation of civil society in meetings of the PBC. Given civil society's important role in peacebuilding, we believe that regular links between the PBC, national governments and national civil society will be essential to the PBC's effectiveness.
While national civil society representatives were invited to speak at the first meetings of the PBC on Sierra Leone and Burundi on 12-13 October, the PBC has yet to agree formally on when, where and how they will participate. DFID and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will continue to use every opportunity to influence other PBC members to agree to full civil society participation, both at the PBC meetings in New York and, importantly, in the PBC coordination meetings in Sierra Leone and Burundi. In parallel, we will also continue to lobby national governments in both countries to recognise the valuable contribution national civil society can make to building peace.
Work and Pensions
Benefits
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unemployed able-bodied (a) male and (b) female workers aged (i) 20-29, (ii) 30-39, (iii) 40-49 and (iv) 50-59 years had their benefit
disqualified for (A) two weeks, (B) four weeks, (C) 13 weeks and (D) 26 weeks in the last 12 months; and what the equivalent figures were in 2001-02. [98914]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available.
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the pursuance by the Benefit Fraud Hotline of fraud allegations in cases where the informant does not know the exact postal address of the person against whom the allegation is being made. [98293]
Mr. Plaskitt: National Benefit Fraud Hotline (NBFH) operators are trained to take as much detail as possible from callers to establish the identity of the person against whom an allegation is made.
Operators would not refuse to take details of an allegation if the full address is not known as the caller may have alternative information, such as details of an employer, to enable investigators to trace suspected individuals. If only a partial address is known, NBFH operators can undertake a search to trace a full address.
In all cases, allegations are referred to the Fraud Investigation Service for consideration of investigation.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what action he is taking to improve reporting of (a) reconsideration decisions, (b) revisions, (c) appeals and (d) the recovery of overpayments due to departmental error. [91701]
Mr. Plaskitt: Statistical information on the different aspects of decision making is gathered and collated on a daily basis. The Department is determined to ensure that when reported the information is accurate and credible. When last reported, in the Secretary of State's report on the standards of decision making in the Agencies in 2002 and 2003, the Comptroller and Auditor General raised concerns about the aspects of decision making referred to in the question. These concerns related in the main to the validation of the published figures. The Department is considering how best it can make the necessary improvements.
A new computer system has recently been introduced in the Department's Debt Management organisation to improve the management, recording and accounting of overpayments and their recovery.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received industrial injuries benefits in each of the last five years; how many received (a) industrial injuries disablement benefit, (b) reduced earnings allowance and (c) retirement allowance; how much was paid in industrial injuries benefits in each year in each case; and how much was spent on administration of such benefits in each year in each case, broken down by (i) employee costs, (ii) IS/IT costs and (iii) other costs. [92111]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The available information is in the following tables.
| Recipients of industrial injuries benefits in Great Britain at December each year | |||||||
| Total | IIDB only | REA only | RA only | IIDB and REA | IIDB and RA | Unknown | |
| Notes: 1. IIDB = Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit. 2. REA = Reduced Earnings Allowance. 3. RA = Retirement Allowance. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: Information Directorate, Industrial Injuries Computer System, 100 per cent. data. | |||||||
| Industrial injuries benefits, out-turn expenditure, Great Britain | |||||
| £ million (cash terms) | |||||
| 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are estimated by apportioning the out-turn total spending on all industrial disablement benefits using sample data on the number of assessments paid as IIDB, REA and RA. 2. The figures for total out-turn spending on all industrial disablement benefits are consistent with Table 3 published on the internet at http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/Table3.xls | |||||
The Department accounts for its administrative expenditure by strategic objective as set out in its public service agreements (PSA) and by individual requests for resources (RfRs) as set out in the departmental estimates and accounts, and not by benefit. Information on administrative expenditure by strategic objective is available in the annually published departmental report, copies of which are available in the Library.
Mr. Hoyle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are receiving the (a)
carer’s allowance, (b) higher rate of attendance allowance and (c) pension credit in (i) Chorley and (ii) each constituency in Lancashire. [96881]
Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is in the following table:
| Carer’s allowance, higher-rate attendance allowance, and pension credit: numbers of recipients in each constituency in Lancashire at February 2006 | |||
| Constituency | ( 1) Carer’s allowance | ( 2) Higher rate attendance allowance | ( 1) Pension credit |
| Sources: (1 )DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. (2 )DWP 5 per cent. sample data. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. | |||
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