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26 July 2007 : Column 1483W—continued

Work and Pensions

Asbestos: Industrial Health and Safety

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in the UK which are not fully compliant with the asbestos regulations. [149890]

Mrs. McGuire: No such estimate has been made.

Inspectors from the Health and Safety Executive, local authorities, Her Majesty’s Custom and Excise and the Office of the Rail Regulator monitor compliance with those asbestos regulations dealing with health and safety matters when visiting premises in Great Britain and will issue notices or undertake prosecutions in accordance with the Health and Safety Commission’s enforcement policy when businesses fail to comply.

HSE also publishes research undertaken on levels of compliance with particular asbestos regulations on its website such as the recently published “Cascading
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messages through others—the effect on awareness of, and compliance with the duty to manage asbestos regulations” (RR559).

Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many prosecutions have been brought in the last five years against businesses failing to comply with asbestos regulations; and how many asbestos-related deaths have occurred during the last five years. [149891]

Mrs. McGuire: In the five-year period 2001-02 to 2005-06 there were 257 offences prosecuted by the HSE’s Field Operations Directorate (FOD) and local authorities under asbestos regulations in Great Britain, of which there were 195 convictions. A yearly breakdown of offences prosecuted is provided in the following table.

Offences prosecuted Convictions Total fines (£) Average fine (£)

2001-02

77

63

120,800

1,917

2002-03

49

35

100,500

2,871

2003-04

57

48

116,100

2,419

2004-05

28

24

145,950

6,081

2005-06

46

25

76,750

3,070


There is no single source of data that gives the total number of asbestos-related deaths. The number of deaths from mesothelioma and asbestosis combined in Great Britain in each of the last five years for which data are available are given in the following table.

Great Britain
Number

2000

1,819

2001

2,095

2002

2,101

2003(1)

2,120

2004(1)

2,235

(1) Provisional
Sources: HSE GB mesothelioma register
HSE GB asbestosis register

The total number of asbestos-related lung cancer deaths cannot be directly enumerated, since asbestos-related lung cancers (other than mesothelioma) are clinically indistinguishable from lung cancers due to other causes. Current evidence suggests that the number of other asbestos-related lung cancer deaths is similar to the number of deaths due to mesothelioma. Therefore, since mesothelioma deaths account for the vast majority in the above tabled, the total number of deaths due to asbestos is likely to be approximately double that given above.

Average Earnings: Elderly

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average income of those aged over 65 years (a) was in 1997 and (b) is now. [152648]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information that is available is shown in the following table.


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Average gross income of pensioner units where the head is aged 65 or over (per week, 2005-06 prices)
£
1997-98 2005-06

Pensioner couples

369

445

Single pensioners

178

233

Notes
1. Gross income is income from all sources received by the pensioner unit including income from social security benefits, earnings from employment, any private pension, and tax credits.
2. Based on survey data and as such subject to a degree of sampling and non sampling error.
3. Figures are for Great Britain.
4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £
5. Pensioner units are either pensioner couples or single pensioners.
6. Pensioner couples are couples where one or more of the adults are state pension age or over.
7. The head of the benefit unit in most cases will be the same as the head of household. Head of household is classified as the highest income householder (person in whose name the property is owned or rented) without regard to gender. For households where the pensioner benefit unit does not include the head of household, the head of benefit unit will be the first person interviewed in the benefit unit.
Source:
Pensioners’ Income Series 2005-06 (Revised)

Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what obligations will be placed on non-resident parents to report changes of (a) employment, (b) income and (c) address under the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission; and if he will make a statement. [146140]

Mr. Plaskitt: There are no plans to require non-resident parents to report such changes in circumstances.

Maintenance will normally be based on income figures provided by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the latest available tax year. But if the non-resident parent's income changes, and their current income is higher or lower than the HMRC figure by 25 per cent. or more, the non-resident parent or parent with care will be able to report this as a change of circumstance. The maintenance calculation would then be reviewed and based on the non-resident parent's current income.

Child Support Agency

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of Child Support Agency liability orders contained inaccuracies in the most recent period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [146143]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 25 June 2007, Official report, column 431W.

Mr. Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the responsibilities are of the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Plaskitt) with regard to the Child Support Agency. [152070]

Mr. Plaskitt: My noble Friend Lord McKenzie of Luton has the policy lead for the Child Support Agency. I have portfolio responsibility for the Child Support Agency in the House of Commons.


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Child Support Agency: Arrears

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Child Support Agency (CSA) has authority to make advance payments of arrears in cases where the arrears are due to error on the part of the CSA; and if he will make a statement. [150572]

Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 18 July 2007]: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 July 2007:

Child Support Agency: Debt Collection

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount of Child Support Agency arrears which is recoverable; how much of that he expects to be recovered by (a) 2008, (b) 2010, (c) 2011, (d) 2012, (e) 2015 and (f) 2020; and if he will make a statement. [146168]

Mr. Plaskitt: The Agency has committed this year, under the Operational Improvement Plan, to collect £970 million in child support maintenance of which at least £120 million is arrears. The Agency has estimated £1.4 billion of existing arrears is collectable.

The Government propose in the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Bill to introduce powers to encourage ongoing compliance by extending the range of enforcement powers that are currently available to the Agency and streamlining the framework in which they are used. The Bill also proposes to introduce powers so that the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission will be able to manage debt more effectively. Subject to parliamentary approval the Commission will be able to:


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Future arrears recovery targets have yet to be agreed.

Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases involved committal proceedings in each of the last five years. [147934]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty dated 26 July 2007:


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Numbers of committals and driving licences disqualifications
April 2002 to March 2003 April 2003 to March 2004 April 2004 to March 2005 April 2005 to March 2006 February 2006 to January 2007

Number of suspended prison sentences passed

36

107

(1)225

(1)390

(1)385

Number of prison service sentences passed

4

9

(1)5

(1)15

(1)40

Number of suspended driving licence disqualification sentences passed

7

9

(1)25

(1)35

(1)30

Number of driving licence disqualification sentences passed

1

1

(1)5

(1)5

(1)5

(1 )Sourced from the Agency’s quarterly summary statistics. Prior to April 2004, the figures given were clerically collated and are actual figures, not subject to rounding. Notes: 1. Figures sourced from the Agency’s quarterly summary statistics are rounded to the nearest five. 2. The figures for 2006-07 are from February 2006 to January 2007 and these are the latest available published figures.

Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) liability orders, (b) county court orders, (c) third party debt orders and (d) property charging orders were secured by the Child Support Agency in each of the last five years. [147935]

Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 26 July 2007:


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