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6 Feb 2007 : Column 876W—continued
State Second Pension
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people are in receipt of the state second pension, broken down by sex; [112007]
(2) what the average weekly amount paid to those in receipt of the state second pension is per pensioner; [112008]
(3) how many pensioners receive state second pension payments of (a) less than £20, (b) between £20 and £50 and (c) more than £50. [117560]
James Purnell: Just under 20 million people will gain from the state second pension which was introduced in April 2002. Of these around four million carers and people with disabilities are building up entitlement for the first time.
The number of state pension recipients with state second pension by gender and amount in payment as at 31 March 2006 is in the following table:
| All | Less then £20 | |
The numbers of recipients receiving between £20 and £50 and more than £50 are nil or negligible.
The average weekly amount of state second pension paid as at March 2006 is £4.18.
As a result of our proposed reforms around one million more people will build up entitlement to state second pension from 2010, 90 per cent. of whom will be women.
Notes:
1. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2. Figures have been adjusted to be consistent with WPLS data and rounded to the nearest 100.
3. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source: DWP, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample, adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload in Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.
Unemployed Disabled People
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of (a) deaf and (b) blind and partially sighted people who are unemployed; and if he will make a statement. [106326]
Mrs. McGuire: There are estimated to be around 3,000 people who have difficulty hearing and are unemployed. An additional 17,000 people who have difficulty hearing are estimated to be out of work but not actively seeking work. Separate figures for the numbers who are deaf and unemployed are not available.
There are estimated to be around 3,000 people who are blind or visually impaired and unemployed. An additional 42,000 people who are blind or visually impaired are estimated to be out of work but not actively seeking work.
Notes:
1. Estimates are averages across four quarters and rounded to the nearest 1,000.
2. The number of people who are deaf and unemployed is not available because this information is not collected in the Labour Force Survey.
3. The estimates are taken from the Labour Force Survey and are therefore subject to sampling errors. As a result, the above estimates for numbers unemployed may be up to 20 per cent. higher or lower than the true value.
Source:
Labour Force Survey 2005-06.
Duchy of Lancaster
Advertising
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much her Department spent on advertising with The Guardian newspaper, including online, in the last year for which figures are available. [114112]
Hilary Armstrong: My Department uses a range of national and local newspapers for advertising.
Specifically, in 2005-06 my Department spent £73,000 on advertising with The Guardian newspaper.
Cabinet Office
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will break down by main budget heading the budget lines (a) Supporting the Prime Minister, (b) Supporting the Cabinet, (c) Strengthening the Civil Service, (d) the Office of Public Sector Information, (e) ERM project and (f) Independent Offices identified in the Cabinet Office annual report; and what the budget was for each category in 2005-06. [109561]
Hilary Armstrong: Expenditure incurred in 2005-06, broken down by main budget headings and shown by the groupings requested, can be found in the following table:
| £ million | |||
| Pay | Non-pay | Income | |
| (1) Figures differ slightly from the 2005-06 estimated outturn figures shown in the Cabinet Office annual report due to late accounting adjustments. (2) Total expenditure for the ERM project in 2005-06 was less than £0.5 million. | |||
Compensation Payments
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 18 December 2006, Official Report, column 1517W, on compensation payments, what the nature was of the cases involving (a) the accident at work, (b) the purchase of land and (c) cancellation fees/expenses; and whether any of the special payments were caused by IT failure. [118865]
Hilary Armstrong: The nature of the cases mentioned in my reply to the hon. Gentleman’s earlier question is as follows:
(a) an injury to an employee as a result of a fall in one of my Department's offices;
(b) the use of land for security purposes; and
(c) two separate cases when individual employees needed to cancel personal engagements, incurring expenses as a result, due to essential work commitments.
I can confirm that none of the special payments made were caused by IT failure.
Ministers: Code of Practice
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on how many occasions since May 1997 the Accounting Officer in the Cabinet Office has indicated that a course of action being considered would breach the requirements of propriety and regularity set out in section 3.3 of the Ministerial Code. [119324]
Hilary Armstrong: Information relating to internal discussion and advice is not disclosed, as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion and advice.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Heald:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2006, Official Report, column 937W, on parliamentary
questions, on what grounds she has declined the request to place in the Library a copy of the internal guidance used for internal purposes. [112573]
Hilary Armstrong: The internal guidance, which takes account of the requirements of the “Ministerial Code”, the “Civil Service Code” and “Cabinet Office Guidance to Officials on Drafting Answers to Parliamentary Questions” is for internal purposes only.
Constitutional Affairs
Admiralty House
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what payments her Department is making to the Cabinet Office for the use of the official ministerial residence of the Lord Chancellor in Admiralty House. [112584]
Bridget Prentice: The Department for Constitutional Affairs meets the cost of the official residence used by the Lord Chancellor. Detail of costs will not be available until after the end of the financial year.
Departmental Contracts
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which public affairs firms were given contracts by (a) her Department and (b) public bodies sponsored by her Department in each of the last five years; and what the purpose was of each contract. [118474]
Vera Baird: The Commission for Judicial Appointments, which was constitutionally independent of the Department, engaged Luther Pendragon from 2002 to March 2006. The Commissioners wished to promote their views of the merits of the judicial appointment processes independently of the Government.
No other public affairs contracts have been awarded either by my Department or the public bodies it sponsors in the last five years.
Elections: Pilot Schemes
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs which of the local election pilot schemes taking place in 2007 have held a similar pilot scheme in previous elections. [119485]
Bridget Prentice: Of the 13 local authorities that have been approved to undertake pilot schemes at the May 2007 local elections, seven have held a similar pilot in previous elections.
Broxbourne, Gateshead and Sunderland have previously held advance voting pilots. Rushmoor, Sheffield, Shrewsbury and Atcham, and Swindon have previously held electronic voting pilots.
Freedom of Information: Bassetlaw District Council
John Mann: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many appeals have been made to the Information Commissioner against refusals by Bassetlaw district council of freedom of information requests. [118392]
Vera Baird: Since January 2005 the Information Commissioner’s Office has received two complaints under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, section 50 about the refusal of Bassetlaw district council to provide information.
Government Auctions
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs where her Department publishes information about Government auctions which it arranges or to which it contributes in (a) Blackpool, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West; and when the next such auction will take place in each area. [117431]
Bridget Prentice: My Department does not arrange or contribute to auctions in the areas referred to in the question.
Legal Aid
Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many legal aid practices specialising in (a) housing, (b) family law, (c) debt, (d) benefits, (e) criminal law, (f) personal injury law and (g) asylum and immigration law there were in each year since 1997. [118574]
Vera Baird: Figures are not available for 1997 to 2000. From 2000, the Legal Services Commission (LSC) introduced contracting with quality-assured solicitors and not-for-profit organisations to provide advice and assistance to clients in certain categories of civil law. The number of specialist contracts held by legal aid practices in each civil category at 31 March each year is as follows:
| Family | Housing | Welfare benefits | Debt | Immigration( 1) | Personal injury | |
| (1) Asylum is a sub-category of immigration. | ||||||
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