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10 July 2007 : Column 1394W—continued


In addition to individual performance bonus payments, DWP also paid team bonuses to selected units within the Department. The expenditure incurred is as follows:

Table 2: Amount paid in team bonuses to DWP staff since 2002 and the numbers of staff receiving bonuses
Total paid (£ million) Total number receiving bonus

2004-05

3.3

11,250

2005-06

Not applicable

Not applicable

2006-07

Not applicable

Not applicable

Notes:
1. The information in Table 1 is based on the numbers of staff recorded on the DWP payroll systems as having received a qualifying performance mark. These are a headcount.
2. The performance bonus is paid in the financial year following the performance year of 1 April to 31 March.
3. Some individuals may have received more than one type of bonus payment in any given year, which is why the information has been presented separately, and not as an aggregated total.
4. The numbers of employees receiving a team bonus are approximations. No team bonus schemes have run since 2004-05.
5. The answer to PQ/06/101034 in November 2006 provided details of bonuses paid from 2002-03 to 2006-07. Information on bonuses paid in the 2007-08 financial year is not yet available. DWP are still in pay negotiations with trade unions, and payment of the senior civil service bonus has been postponed until November 2007.

Individuals may also be entitled to special bonus payments. The cost in a typical year for these bonuses is around £3 million with payments made to approximately 17,000 individuals (based on 2005-06 payments).

Departments: Performance Appraisal

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in 2006-07. [146929]

Mrs. McGuire: Departmental performance figures for our employees are currently being collated for the
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2006-07 Performance year. In line with previous years’ publication dates, these are due to be published in September.

Departments: Sick Leave

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff in his Department have taken (a) five or more, (b) four, (c) three and (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in the last 12 months. [147042]

Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is shown in the following table.

DWP employee's sick leave periods of less than five calendar days in the 12 months ended 31 March 2007
Number of periods Number of staff

2

18,866

3

9,554

4

4,430

5 or more

5,045

Total

37,895


Departments: Training

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2007, Official Report, column 1748W, on Smith Institute: finance, what details his Department holds on this training course; what use has been made of this think tank for training departmental staff; and if he will make a statement. [147096]

Mrs. McGuire: The information is not available other than at disproportionate cost.

Departments: Translation Services

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount his Department has spent (a) on translating documents and (b) translating websites into other languages. [148261]

Mrs. McGuire: The Department and its businesses produce translated materials where relevant and according to the needs of each target audience. In 2006-07, the Department centrally spent around £267,500 on translation services related to communications. Details of other translation costs are not held centrally and can be collated only at disproportionate cost.

Low Incomes: Agriculture

Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of farmers in (a) Ribble Valley, (b) the North West and (c) the UK who are living below the poverty line. [147427]

Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 3 July 2007]: The information requested is not available.


10 July 2007 : Column 1396W

New Deal Schemes: Expenditure

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on the New Deal programme in each year since 1998. [147113]

Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given to the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 4 June 2007, Official Report, column 32W.

Pensions: Financial Assistance Scheme

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applicant pension schemes' qualification status for the Financial Assistance Scheme are undecided; and if he will make a statement. [148290]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: As at 29 June 2007 the Financial Assistance Scheme has received formal applications from 894 pension schemes of which 27 remain undecided.

Social Security Benefits: Epilepsy

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people registered for disability benefit on the grounds of having epilepsy in each of the last five years. [148257]

Mrs. McGuire: The available information is in the following table.

Number of disability living allowance (DLA) and attendance allowance (AA) claimants whose main disabling condition is epilepsy (quarter ending)
DLA AA

As at November:

2002

52,620

4,980

2003

54,730

4,880

2004

56,570

4,760

2005

57,770

4,600

2006

60,070

4,490

Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Totals include those with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 4. Where the claimant is eligible for both care and mobility components of DLA, the disabling condition associated with the mobility component is shown here. Where more than one disability is present only the main disabling condition is recorded. Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. WPLS.

Scotland

First Minister

7. Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what arrangements are in place for liaison with the First Minister; and if he will make a statement. [147629]

Des Browne: There is regular contact between UK Ministers and counterparts in the Scottish Executive on a range of policy matters. I met the First Minister
10 July 2007 : Column 1397W
on 30 June and plan to do so again soon. I look forward to working constructively with him on the wide range of matters of importance to Scotland.

Defence Bases

8. Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Ministry of Defence on the future of defence bases in Scotland. [147630]

Des Browne: I have regular discussions with colleagues in the Ministry of Defence on a range of subjects.

Business Environment

9. Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps the Government are taking to ensure a long-term stable environment for Scottish business. [147632]

David Cairns: Through this Government’s economic policies, solid macro-economic foundations have been established ensuring long-term stability for Scotland’s businesses. Stable inflation, low interest rates and contained borrowing have maintained the necessary conditions for the sustained economic growth that the United Kingdom enjoys.

Minimum Wage

10. Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with HM Revenue and Customs on monitoring of the payment of the minimum wage in Scotland. [147633]

David Cairns: There is a service level agreement between HM Revenue and Customs and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Officials meet on a regular basis to review performance.

Medical Research Council

11. Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on funding in Scotland by the Medical Research Council. [147634]

David Cairns: The Medical Research Council (MRC) funds medical research throughout the UK. The MRC spent £44.2 million in Scotland during 2005-06, which amounts to approximately 11 per cent. of its total research spend.

Post Offices

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the future of post offices in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [147622]

David Cairns: The Secretary of State for Scotland and I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friend on a range of issues.


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Northern Ireland

Convictions

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of cases brought for prosecution by the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland resulted in convictions in each of the last three years. [147130]

Paul Goggins: The information requested is shown in the following tables.

Defendants dealt with in the magistrates courts in Northern Ireland: percentage conviction rates 2004-05 to 2006-07 (number and percentage)( 1,2)
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

Convicted (on at least one count)

7,322

10,600

16,482

Acquitted (all counts)

1,194

1,733

2,781

Total

8,516

12,333

19,263

Percentage conviction rate

86.0

85.9

85.6

(1) Figures refer to prosecutions conducted by the Department of the Director of Public Prosecutions/Public Prosecution Service only. The increase in caseload over the period 2004-05 to 2006-07 may be attributed to the implementation of the Public Prosecution Service, commencing with a Pilot Project in South Belfast Police District (from 1 December 2003).
(2) It should be noted that the calculation of the percentage conviction rate has been amended to bring the service into line with the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales. The main change is focused on the category ‘acquitted’ which now includes defendants in respect of whom all charges were withdrawn prior to commencement of trial. The conviction rate figures quoted above therefore differ from those quoted previously in the 2005-06 PPS annual report.

Defendants dealt with in the Crown court in Northern Ireland: percentage conviction rates 2004-05 to 2006-07 (numbe r and percentage)
2004-05 2005-06 2006-07

Convicted (on at least one count)

1,409

1,333

1,434

Acquitted (all counts)(1)

221

207

215

Total

1,630

1,540

1,649

Percentage conviction rate

86.4

86.6

87.0

(1) Includes the following outcome categories: ‘Crown offered no evidence’, ‘Prosecution stayed’ and ‘Not to be proceeded with’.

Departments: Private Finance Initiative

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost is of all private finance initiative projects for which his Department has responsibility completed since 1997; and what the projected cost is of such projects commissioned or under way. [148018]

Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) does not have any Private Finance Initiative projects.

The NIO has an off-balance sheet commitment under Public Private Partnership (PPP) which is the Causeway project. The Causeway project is a partnership between Fujitsu Services and the NIO. The PPP contract was let with Fujitsu in August 2003 to deliver a managed service related to the electronic
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sharing of information across the criminal justice organisations in Northern Ireland over a 10 year period. The total cost of the contract is £27 million.


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