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8 Oct 2007 : Column 133W—continued
The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), which is partly funded by DEFRA, is responsible for delivering greater material efficiency, including increasing recycling rates. Its work on packaging waste interlinks with many aspects of recycling, such as working with local authorities to advise on recycling facilities and overcome barriers to recycling. WRAP also has a behavioural change programme which targets consumer recycling and explains why this is important.
WRAP is working with the retail industry to increase the recycling content of packaging and is targeting the supply chain through the voluntary 'Courtauld Commitment' agreement. Through its business growth and manufacturing programmes, WRAP is also working to ensure that the necessary facilities are in place in order to increase the capacity and capability of recycling and to increase the use of recycled materials in manufacturing.
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew: Information Officers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press officers are employed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [154177]
Joan Ruddock:
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew has one press officer and a public relations manager and press assistant who also work with the media. This team of three is managed by a head of corporate communications
with a wider brief. Wakehurst Place, home of the Millennium Seed Bank, has one press and marketing officer.
Vandalism
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the total cost of graffiti to the UK economy in a year. [153958]
Jonathan Shaw: No estimate has been made of the cost to the UK economy of graffiti. Local authorities have powers to remove graffiti and can recover the costs of doing so on surfaces that are in or on the street.
Waste Management
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans his Department has to work with the Department of Communities and Local Government on the implementation of the Waste Strategy for England 2007; and whether he will integrate (a) small, (b) medium and (c) large-scale biological treatment facilities within this implementation. [154153]
Joan Ruddock: My Department has established a Waste Strategy Board to drive forward and monitor delivery of the Waste Strategy for England 2007 across Government. The board includes representatives from the other Government Departments with a key interest in waste, including Communities and Local Government (CLG), and we will be working closely with these Departments in implementing the strategy.
My Department is also working with CLG to take forward specific aspects of the strategy, including planning for waste infrastructure, pollution control, waste aspects of the local government performance framework, and proposals to remove the ban on local authorities using financial incentives to increase recycling by households.
The strategy sets out the measures that the Government have put in place to secure the investment in infrastructure needed to divert waste from landfill. It remains vital that regional spatial strategies and local development documents look forward and make adequate provision for the appropriate types and scales of infrastructure and waste treatment facilities needed, including biological treatment plants. It is also important for specific, suitable sites to be identified in plans.
Water: Emergencies
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) whether he plans to reassess the provision of water supplies in civil emergencies; [154363]
(2) what assessment he has made of Severn Trent’s capacity with regard to (a) water tankers and (b) water bowsers and their replenishment during crises; [154369]
(3) what assessment he has made of the capacity of Severn Trent to cope with the recent flooding in Gloucestershire; [154370]
(4) what requests for assistance his Department received from (a) Severn Trent and (b) other water companies to manage water supplies in the recent floods in Gloucestershire and the surrounding area; [154371]
(5) what discussions he has had with Severn Trent on civil emergencies. [154372]
Mr. Woolas: There are a number of reviews being carried out by different organisations into the flooding that occurred in the summer. One of these is a wide-ranging and thorough review that has been established by the Government to identify any lessons to be learned for the way that we manage and respond to flooding events such as those experienced recently. This review will cover issues such as loss of drinking water supplies. It is being led by an independent chair, Sir Michael Pitt. We are aiming to publish initial findings by the end of the year and subsequently a formal report. A call for evidence is currently lodged on the Cabinet Office and UK Resilience websites. Until these reviews have been completed and the recommendations considered, it would not be right to comment or speculate at this stage on any actions that might need to be taken.
However, I can confirm that during the flooding of Gloucester and the surrounding area, and following a specific request from the Severn Trent Water, my Department was able to facilitate the use of further road tankers from private companies to assist in the filling of the water bowsers.
Water: Shortages
Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which water companies had a hose pipe ban in force on (a) 26 July and (b) 8 October. [154333]
Mr. Woolas: On 26 July 2006, the following water companies had hosepipe bans in force in some or all of their supply areas: Thames Water, Southern Water, Mid Kent Water, South East Water, Three Valleys Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water, Folkestone and Dover Water and Cholderton and District Water.
All of these bans remained in force on 8 October 2006 with the exception of that for Folkestone and Dover Water. No hosepipe bans were in force on 26 July 2007 and there are none in force at present.
Work and Pensions
Carer Benefits
13. Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to improve the level of benefits for carers. [156115]
Mrs. McGuire:
We fully recognise the valuable contribution made by all carers. From this month, we have further raised the carer’s allowance weekly
earnings limit from £87 to £95, allowing carers to earn more before their benefit is affected.
The Government are working with carer’s organisations and others to review our National Carers Strategy. In this review we are examining carer’s benefits in depth. We plan to publish the review’s conclusions in March 2008.
Child Maintenance
14. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time taken to agree an award of child support was over the last 12 months. [156117]
Mr. Plaskitt: The agency is currently clearing 72 per cent. of applications within 12 weeks. This is compared with just 53 per cent in March 2006, before implementation of the operational improvement plan.
I might add that 83 per cent. are cleared within the 26-week target against just 67 per cent. before the operational improvement plan.
For all applications cleared in June 2007, the average length of time taken to agree an award of child support was 91 days from first contact to clearance. It was 143 days before the operational improvement plan.
Worklessness
15. Angela Watkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of trends in the level of worklessness among under 25 year olds since 1997. [156118]
Caroline Flint: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave earlier to the hon. Members for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant) and for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Mr. Crabb).
Social Fund
16. Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the operation of the social fund. [156119]
Mr. Plaskitt: In 2006-07 Jobcentre Plus paid:
more than 270,000 Community Care Grants
nearly 1.3 million Budgeting Loans
over 1 million Crisis Loans
over 40,000 Funeral Payments
over 235,000 Sure Start Maternity Grants
all with a total value of £1 billion.
These payments helped around 2 million people to cope with one off expenses that otherwise they would not have been able to afford.
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will consider the merits of establishing a separate credit bank social fund for low earners; and if he will make a statement. [154092]
Mr. Plaskitt:
As part of its financial inclusion strategy, the Government are committed to increasing the availability of affordable forms of credit for those who find it difficult to access mainstream lenders such
as banks. Potential for reform of the Social Fund will be considered in this context.
The £42 million Growth Fund, which is a key element of our strategy, is doing much to increase the availability of affordable credit, having made in excess of 30,000 loans to financially excluded people in its first few months, with many thousands more excluded people to be helped as expansion of this sustainable service continues. In parallel with this we are working closely with the credit union movement and investing £1 million of the Growth Fund to test ways in which the recently announced Transaction Banking Service can be introduced to enable even greater service through credit unions for those who find it difficult to access mainstream financial services.
Furthermore, as announced in Financial Inclusion: the way forward, the Government has established a working group, involving the banking industry and the Financial Inclusion Taskforce, to consider ways in which the capacity and coverage of third sector lenders can be increased nationwide, through the support of the banking sector and the Government.
Crisis Loans
17. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the adequacy of telephone-based systems for the delivery of crisis loans. [156120]
Mr. Plaskitt: The modernisation of our telephone service has greatly improved access to crisis loans. It has resulted in a more efficient service for our customers, and provided more flexibility to meet call demand.
Council Tax Benefit
18. Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the effects of aligning starting thresholds for council tax benefit with those for income tax. [156121]
Mr. Plaskitt: This was one of the recommendations in the recent report from the Communities and Local Government Select Committee and we will publish our formal response shortly.
Child Poverty
19. Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest assessment is of the trend in levels of child poverty. [156122]
Caroline Flint: There have been a number of significant reforms to our tax and benefit system. From April 2009, in real terms, households with children will be, on average, £1,800 per year better off, while those in the poorest fifth of the population will be, on average £4,000 a year better off than in 1997.
Access to Work Programme
Chris Grayling:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria are used to
measure the effectiveness of the access to work programme. [154672]
Mr. Plaskitt: There are several criteria used to measure the effectiveness of access to work. The level of expenditure and the number of people helped into work by the scheme are the two key criteria.
Child Support Agency: Telephone Services
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what period of time the Child Support Agency Midlands Business Unit retains recordings of telephone calls from members of the public. [154642]
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 Jos Joures, dated 8 October 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. As the Chief Executive is currently on annual leave I am responding, with his authority, on his behalf.
You ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what period of time the Child Support Agency Midlands Business Unit retains recordings of telephone calls from members of the public. [154642]
Prior to 26 March 2007, telephone calls made to the Child Support Agency were recorded and retained for 3 weeks. From that date, voice recording functionality was enhanced to allow telephone calls to be retained for 14 months. This functionality applies to any call made through the Agency’s call routing system. Certain calls, for example where a client calls a caseworker’s number directly, are not recorded.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Children: Maintenance
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will discuss with ministerial colleagues steps to facilitate easier access to Judicial Review for parents owed money via the Child Support Agency. [154042]
Mr. Plaskitt: A Judicial Review claim may be issued in the administrative court by any person with sufficient interest in the matter to which the application for Judicial Review relates.
Matters relating to court proceedings are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice who advise that those applying for a Judicial Review are expected to exhaust whatever alternative remedies are available to them under the particular process they are concerned about.
The Child Support Agency has already, through the Operational Improvement Plan made considerable improvements in client service over the last year with new scheme uncleared applications at their lowest level since January 2004 and 72 per cent. of new cases cleared within 12 weeks. These improved service levels, complemented by a thorough and tested appeals process ensure clients have access to the necessary support and advice in all their dealings with the Agency. It is therefore more appropriate to continue to
improve client service, through the Operational Improvement Plan enabling the Child Support Agency to deliver more money to more children, than to place additional and unnecessary burdens on our courts.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to (a) register private agreements for child maintenance and (b) set standards, monitor and enforce such private registration; and if he will make a statement. [154610]
Caroline Flint: We believe that the Commission should form a view as to whether it should run a register, potentially on a test basis first, to assess take-up, its cost effectiveness and the relative stability of the agreements reached.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the new maintenance assessment under the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is designed to compensate for the costs of raising children; how the formula has been derived; and if he will make a statement. [154620]
Mr. Plaskitt: The principles of the basic maintenance formula under the Commission will be based on the structure of the formula introduced in 2003 with percentage rates based on the non-resident parent’s income and number of qualifying children.
We are satisfied that the percentage rates strike the right balance between the needs of the child and the other expenses that non-resident parents have to meet.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether any of the main objectives of the planned Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission will be to collect the arrears of child maintenance owed to parents with care; and if he will make a statement. [154623]
Caroline Flint: The Commission’s main objective is to maximise the number of effective maintenance arrangements in place.
This main objective is supported by two subsidiary objectives. The first is to encourage and support voluntary maintenance arrangements. The second is to support the making of applications to the statutory maintenance service and to secure compliance with parental obligations under the Child Support Act when this is appropriate.
Securing compliance with parental obligations includes securing payment of any arrears owed under the Child Support Act.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward plans to allow the courts to make child maintenance orders without the agreement of both parents where the courts are dealing with other financial aspects of divorce or separation; and if he will make a statement. [154626]
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