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27 Feb 2008 : Column 1585W—continued
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what audits his Department and its agencies carried out in relation to personal data and IT equipment in each of the last 10 years. [176485]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department, as a major data custodian, takes the security of personal data extremely seriously. The Departmental Audit Committee—which is chaired by an independent non-executive director—supervises an annual programme of reviews by the Department's Internal Audit function. The precise scope of each review is set out in specific and detailed terms of reference.
The Department has conducted a very large number of such audit reviews over the past 10 years. Many of these audits have examined system performance in relation to the management and processing of information, including personal and other data. Details of each such review could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what investigation he undertook into the reasons that documents containing personal information relating to benefit claimants were left by the roadside near Exeter Airport on 17 January 2008; and if he will make a statement. [184631]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 7 February 2008]: As soon as the incident was discovered, the Department’s permanent secretary launched an immediate investigation. All the documents involved have now been recovered and accounted for. The contracted courier company have undertaken an inquiry, and have assured the Department that they are further tightening their procedures as a result of this incident.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) press and (b) communications officers his Department employed in each of the last 10 years. [182503]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed on 8 June 2001 from parts of the former Department of Social Security, the former Department for Education and Employment and the Employment Service. Information on costs prior to 2001 is not held centrally and could be obtained at disproportionate cost only.
The Department for Work and Pensions does not have a “communication officer” grade. The “White Book” of contacts in Government Departments and agencies contains listings for the Department and this book is updated twice yearly.
The numbers of Press Officers for full financial years (1 April to 31 March) is in the following table:
| National press officers | Regional press officers | |
| (1) Two part-time | ||
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department paid in bonuses to press and communication officers in each of the last 10 years; and what the (a) highest and (b) lowest such bonus was in each of those years. [182709]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions does not have a “communication officer” grade. The “White Book” of contacts in Government Departments and agencies contains listings for the Department and this book is updated twice yearly. The following table relates to press officers only.
DWP employees in pay bands below the senior civil service are eligible for an annual individual performance bonus if they attain a ‘Top’, ‘Higher’ or ‘Majority’ rating under the annual performance and development system (PDS). The amount of bonus awarded is differentiated on the basis of the employee’s pay band and the performance level achieved. However information relating to totals and individual awards could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
In addition all DWP employees are eligible to be nominated for a special bonus. The scheme enables managers to incentivise and reward valuable or exceptional contributions to business performance made by employees or teams. Amounts are not comparable from year to year or related to the number of staff involved. The following table contains information relating to press officer grades. Information on costs prior to 2004-05 is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
| Special bonuses paid to press officers | |||
| 1 April -31 March | Total (£) | Highest | Lowest |
Departmental Official Engagements
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many engagements he and his predecessor have undertaken since 28 July 2007. [185657]
James Purnell: My predecessor and I carried out the full range of our ministerial responsibilities since 28 July 2007.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for which regulators and inspectorates his Department has had responsibility in each year since 1997; what the budget was of each such body in each year; and what the cost to the public purse was of any restructuring of each such body in each year. [175312]
Mrs. McGuire: The annual budget information in respect of regulators and inspectorates for which DWP has responsibility is shown in the following table.
| £ million | |||||
| Financial year ending | The Pensions Regulator | Health and Safety Executive | Benefit Fraud Inspectorate | Independent Case Examiner | Independent Review Service for the Social Fund |
| (1) The Independent Case Examiner's office was operational from 7 April 1997. (2) Include accommodation costs—budgeted centrally under PRIME from 1999. (3) Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority prior to 2006. (4) The 2005/06 outturn has been restated (for comparison purposes) to reflect the transfer of responsibility for rail regulation from HSE to the Office of Rail Regulation on 1 April 2006. The total amount before the transfer was £244.3 million. | |||||
The information on restructuring costs is not available/held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Security
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the (a) special advisers and (b) ministerial appointees in possession of a security pass enabling access to his Department's main building in the month prior to the prorogation of Parliament for the 2005 general election. [182256]
Mrs. McGuire: It is established practice not to provide details on pass access to government buildings for security reasons
Departmental Telephone Services
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-geographic telephone numbers are in use by his Department and its agencies; and what revenue was generated from them in each year for which figures are available. [180896]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 7 February 2008]: 11,764 non-geographic telephone numbers are in use by my Department and its agencies.
The Department received a rebate of £1,463,738.45 for the period covering 1 October 2005 to 30 November 2007 and this was used to pay for other telecommunication services. No information is available for any earlier period and no breakdown of this figure is available. The Department ceased this arrangement on 14 December 2007 and no longer receives any rebate. This change in arrangement does not affect the charge a customer pays for contacting the Department.
Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many 0845 or similar cost telephone numbers are used by (a) his Department and (b) related departmental bodies for public access to services. [181602]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 28 January 2008]: The information requested is as follows:
(a) 11,749
(b) 94.
Dismissal
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his Department's staff in (a) total, (b) England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales, (e) Northern Ireland and (f) each region of England were dismissed because of (i) their attendance record and (ii) their attendance record on grounds of sickness in each year since 2005. [179309]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 16 January 2008]: The Department introduced a new personnel computer system incrementally from November 2006, being fully implemented by April 2007. The following information reflects data recorded on that system for the number of staff dismissed because of their attendance record on grounds of sickness. Information is not available from this system prior to April 2007.
| April 2007 to November 2007 | |
| Government Office region | Number |
Information about the number of staff dismissed because of their attendance record on grounds other than sickness is not available. This is because dismissals resulting from disciplinary action is not sub-divided.
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