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1 Apr 2008 : Column 778W—continued
Industrial Health and Safety: Directors
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what format the evaluation of the voluntary health and safety guidance addressed to directors of corporate bodies and their equivalents in the public and third sectors will take; and when he expects to publish his findings. [196952]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 27 March 2008]: The HSE will commission an evaluation from independent researchers in two phases:
(i) a survey focussing on the distribution, penetration and reception of the guidance within the target audience of directors of corporate bodies and their equivalents in the public and third sectors. This will be undertaken six months after launch, in May 2008.
(ii) a survey designed to assess the extent and nature of change in behaviour of directors of corporate bodies and their equivalents in the public and third sectors. It is planned that this work should be undertaken within 18 months to two years of the launch of the guidance, with a final report published early in 2010.
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of all organisations have agreed, in accordance with guidance issued by the Health and Safety Executive, to appoint voluntarily a director to take responsibility for safety and health duties in the (a) private, (b) public and (c) third sectors. [196953]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 27 March 2008]: There is no evidence yet available on the impact of the guidance on director leadership issued jointly by the HSC and the Institute of Directors, published in November 2007.
However, a programme of research was undertaken over four years following the issue in 2001 by the HSC of guidance on directors' responsibilities. This research involved a telephone survey examining the health and safety responsibilities of company directors and management board members in large organisations, and found:
| Percentage where a board director has responsibility for health and safety | |||
| Percentage of type | |||
| 2001 | 2003 | 2005 | |
| (1) Voluntary organisations were not surveyed in 2005 as the previous surveys found that the number of large voluntary organisations was relatively small and hence it was difficult to secure a response. | |||
There is separate evidence available from a postal survey carried out as part of an evaluation of HSE's enforcement policy statement in 2004. This covered firms of all sizes (including sole traders, micro and small firms) and found that 44 per cent. of all organisations questioned, reported having a 'Health and Safety Board Director'. This included 33 per cent. of the charities questioned; 86 per cent. of central Government organisations; 67 per cent. of local government organisations; and 50 per cent. of social services.
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he is considering the introduction of statutory health and safety duties for company directors; and if he will make a statement. [196955]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 27 March 2008]: Government are committed to promoting greater director leadership, and supports Health and Safety Commission efforts to achieve high standards of board level leadership through advice, guidance and enforcement.
Government are keeping the question of new legal duties for directors on health and safety under review.
Industrial Health and Safety: Prosecutions
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many successful prosecutions of company directors there were for breaching section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 in each of the last six years for which figures are available, broken down by industrial sector. [196954]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answer 27 March 2008]: For the period 1994 to 2004, section 37 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 was used to bring proceedings against a total of 111 company directors in relation to various health and safety management matters. Of these, 86 were convicted and 11 jailed.
The more detailed breakdown of the figures requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Security Benefits
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of claimants of (a) jobseekers allowance, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) income support who were living abroad in each of the last 10 years. [185963]
Mr. Plaskitt: Neither jobseeker’s allowance, nor income support are payable to people who live outside Great Britain. Further, 0.45 per cent. only of incapacity benefits claimants live abroad.
An EC regulation co-ordinates member states’ social security schemes for workers who move between member states. The EC regulation provides that generally, sickness and invalidity benefits must be exported if a beneficiary moves to another member state, although there are some restrictions on the export of sickness benefit. In effect, people in Great Britain who qualify for contributory incapacity benefit (IB) because they have made sufficient national insurance contributions, can continue to receive their benefit if they take up permanent residence in one of the other EU member states. The agreement also extends to the states of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. The UK also has reciprocal arrangements with a number of non-European countries (e.g. USA, Jamaica) some of which include similar arrangements for people from Great Britain to continue to receive contributory benefit when they move there and vice-versa.
Of those receiving IB abroad most live in the Republic of Ireland and Spain and smaller numbers across a wide range of other European countries. Very few live outside Europe. They include both British expatriates and nationals of other countries who have worked and paid contributions
in Great Britain and have then returned to their own country. They also include "pro rata" cases where the benefit is paid partly by the UK and partly by a foreign authority as customers have contributed to insurance schemes in both Great Britain and an EEA state.
The available information for incapacity benefits is in the table.
| Incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in Great Britain and abroad; as at May each year | ||
| Quarter ending | GB | Claimants living abroad |
| Notes: 1. Caseload figures prior to May 2000 are rounded to the nearest 100, and to the nearest 10 thereafter. 2. Incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) claimant figures include IB credits only cases. 3. Caseload figures prior to May 2000 have been produced using 5 per cent. data and rated up proportionally using 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 4. Great Britain totals may include a small number of claimants living abroad. 5. It is possible to receive IB/SDA in another country in the European Economic Area (EEA) or a country which has a social security agreement with the United Kingdom, or short-term IB for up to 26 weeks under certain conditions. Source: IAD Information Centre 5 per cent. samples—May 1998 to May 1999 and DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent. data—May 2000 onwards. | ||
Social Security Benefits: Prisoners
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid to prisoners in each type of benefit in each of the last five years. [196653]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available.
Winter Fuel Payments
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the winter fuel allowance was worth, expressed as a percentage of (a) average fuel bills and (b) average pensioner fuel bills in each of the last 10 years for which information is available, broken down by region. [185891]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The winter fuel payment is intended to provide a contribution towards winter heating bills which account for around 60 per cent. of the total annual fuel bill. The payment provides a significant contribution to these higher winter costs. Winter fuel payments have increased from £20 in 1997-98 to the current value of £200 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 years of age, and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over.
Next winter, 2008-09, a one-off additional payment will be made. Households with someone aged 60 to 79 will receive an extra £50 giving them £250 and households with someone aged 80 or over will receive an extra £100 giving them £400.
The following table shows the winter fuel payment as a percentage of average winter fuel bills for all households, by region. Information relating to pensioner household expenditure on fuel broken down by region is not available. Obviously these figures will be significantly affected by the Budget announcement.
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