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26 Apr 2007 : Column 1208W—continued
| (b) Number of children (millions) living in households below 20 per cent. of income distribution: by working/non-working households: before housing costs | ||
| Working households | Non-working households | |
| (c) Number of children (millions) living in households below 30 per cent. of income distribution: by working/non-working households: before housing costs | ||
| Working households | Non-working households | |
| Notes: 1. The information is for Great Britain up to 2001/02 and for the United Kingdom from 2002-03 onwards. 2. It is based on OECD equivalisation factors and therefore will not be the same as any figures previously published that were based on McClements equivalisation. factors. Source: Family Resources Survey | ||
Children: Maintenance
Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Child Support Agency uses local authority certificated bailiffs for the collection of arrears of child support payments. [130862]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Gentleman with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 April 2007:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Child Support Agency uses local authority certificated bailiffs for the collection of arrears of child support payments. [130862]
The Agency’s bailiffs are appointed by the county court, not the local authority. As such, the bailiffs used by the Agency are county court certificated, rather than local authority certificated.
Certificated bailiffs are granted a certificate by a County Court judge which allows them to levy distress for rent. To obtain a certificate, the applicant must satisfy the judge that he is a fit and proper person to hold a certificate, that he has sufficient knowledge of the law of distress, and that he is not in the business of buying debts.
Further information concerning the certification of bailiffs can be found on the Department for Constitutional Affairs website at the following address:
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Dr. Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what action he is taking to speed up execution of arrest warrants in cases of persistent failure to pay child support; [123984]
(2) what the target time is for the period between the issuance and execution of arrest warrants in cases of persistent failure to pay child support; and what the average time was in the last period for which figures are available. [124015]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 April 2006:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary for Work and Pensions, what action he is taking to speed up execution of arrest warrants in cases of persistent failure to pay child support. [123984]
and;
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the target time is for the period between the issuance and execution of arrest warrants in cases of persistent failure to pay child support; and what the average time was in the last period for which figures are available. [124015]
The priority for execution of child support warrants is set by each Magistrates’ court who will arrange for the execution of warrants through either their own civilian enforcement officers or the Police. The Agency cannot set a target for the executions of warrants.
The Agency is working with the Office for Criminal Reform and the Department of Constitutional Affairs on an ongoing basis to improve the current time taken to execute arrest warrants.
The current management information system cannot provide the average period between the issuance and execution of warrants. As at the end of January 2007 the Agency had 278 outstanding warrants in England and Wales. The average period for which these have been outstanding is approximately 50 weeks.
I hope you find this response helpful.
Community Care Grant
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received a community care grant in each of the last three years; and how many (a) were disabled and (b) were receiving disability living allowance. [116523]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 18 January 2007]: The available information is in the following table.
| Number of people who received community care grant awards in Great Britain | ||
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
| Notes: 1. A community care grant award is recorded as being made in a given year if the final decision on the application (including any review(s)) was made in that year. 2. Some people in each category received more than one community care grant award in a year. 3. The disabled category does not include pensioners who are disabled or unemployed people who are disabled. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 1,000. 5. Figures are based on an analysis of all community care grant decisions held on the social fund computer system at the end of September following each year. | ||
Departments: Eastbourne
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his Department’s staff are located in Eastbourne. [130930]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions currently employs 99 staff (equating to 84.9 full-time equivalent posts) in Eastbourne.
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department. [132189]
Mrs. McGuire: Any expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
Accordingly alcohol is provided only as an exception and only with the specific written authority of a small number of designated senior civil servants.
Deprived Areas Fund
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what deprived areas fund allocations his Department (a) made in 2006-07 and (b) plans to make in 2007-08, broken down by district; and if he will make a statement; [129634]
(2) how much of the deprived areas funds allocated by his Department in 2006-07 have been spent, broken down by district; and if he will make a statement. [129635]
Mr. Jim Murphy [holding answer 23 March 2007]: Information on the Deprived Areas Fund allocation by district for 2006/07 and 2007/08 is in the table.
Information on spend from the fund is only available for one district; Forth Valley, Fife and Tayside. It has recorded a spend of £17,640 to the end of February. Information on spend by other districts will be available later in the year as part of their regular reporting process.
Any unspent allocation for 2006-07 will be carried over to 2007-08.
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