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23 Jun 2008 : Column 7W—continued
| Income support: Estimated number of claimants, flows onto and off benefit | ||||
| Thousand (estimated outturn) | ||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 thousand. Components may not sum due to rounding. 2. Income support on the grounds of incapacity will no longer be payable to new claimants after the introduction of employment and support allowance in October 2008. 3. Figures for ‘Others’ include income support for carers, pregnant women and ex-minimum income guarantee claimants. 4. Figures are consistent with benefit expenditure tables available on the DWP website through the following link: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp | ||||
Vertex Data Science
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what representations he has received on the performance of Vertex Data Science Ltd in providing services at the Child Support Agency centre in Bolton; [212020]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Vertex Data Science Ltd in delivering the objectives of the Child Support Agency; [212022]
(3) what representations he has received on the retention of staff by Vertex Data Science Ltd at the Child Support Agency’s offices in Bolton. [212025]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 23 June 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received on the performance of Vertex Data Science Ltd in providing services at the Child Support Agency centre in Bolton. [212020];
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Vertex Data Science Ltd in delivering the objectives of the Child Support Agency. [212022]; and
What representations he has received on the retention of staff by Vertex Data Science Ltd at the Child Support Agency’s offices in Bolton. [212025]
Vertex Data Science Ltd. manages the CSA Bolton site, a unit the Agency established to deal with cases which for technical reasons can not be processed on the new computer system (CS2) and therefore need to be administered clerically. By moving all the clerical work undertaken by the Agency to this one site from September 2006, the Agency was able to release people to focus on other improvement work outlined in the Operational Improvement Plan, including reducing the number of uncleared applications and strengthening enforcement. This has contributed to the Agency meeting or exceeding all of its 2007/08 Secretary of State targets and collecting over £1 billion in child maintenance for over 750,000 children.
Since September 2006, Vertex has arranged and collected more than £40 million of maintenance payments. While the arrangement has contributed to the Agency’s improvement, there have also been some operational issues which have impacted on client service. The Agency took steps to ensure that our service to clients improved by renegotiating the contract with Vertex to allow them to focus on keeping maintenance flowing to children. The Agency also increased its resource dedicated to progressing clerical cases by retaining responsibility for new clerical cases until first payment stage.
In addition, all complaints with MP or Independent Case Examiner involvement, as well as those cases that require a review are now being dealt with by specialist caseworkers within the Agency. Clerical cases represent less than three per cent of all assessed cases. While the administration of these cases will continue to present a challenge, the Agency is continually working with its contractors to improve the service to these clients.
The Agency is committed to implementing an IT upgrade which will introduce a series of system checkpoints, reducing the number of stuck cases which currently need to be administered clerically.
The retention of employees at CSA Bolton is a matter for Vertex Data Science Ltd as they are responsible for employing the people required to deliver the service, under the contract which currently runs to September 2008.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Scotland
Radioactive Wastes: Waste Management
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had on the siting of nuclear waste disposal facilities in Scotland. [212948]
David Cairns: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussions on the siting of nuclear waste disposal facilities in Scotland, which is a devolved matter there.
Revenue and Customs: Closures
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the proposed closure of HM Revenue and Customs offices in Scotland. [212919]
David Cairns:
None. HMRC is conducting an estates review as the organisation has identified that it can operate more efficiently, estimating that it has around 30 to 40 per cent. excess office space overall. This review follows the creation of the department from the former Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise and aims to make savings totalling £100 million by 2011. In doing so, HMRC is committed to matching its future business strategy with the correct provision of accommodation
and people by consulting with staff, trade unions, MPs, local authorities and other stakeholders. The consultation regarding Scottish proposals ends on 30 July and I urge all stakeholders to participate in the process.
Leader of the House
Departmental Pay
Bob Spink: To ask the Leader of the House what estimate she has made of the average pay per hour worked by (a) permanent and (b) temporary staff in her Office in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by pay band. [212503]
Helen Goodman: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office for these purposes. The pay scales for Cabinet Office staff by pay band will be given in the answer by that Department.
Departmental Trade Unions
Bob Spink: To ask the Leader of the House which trades unions represent members of staff in her Office. [212477]
Helen Goodman: The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), Prospect and the First Division Association (FDA) have a partnership agreement with the Cabinet Office and represent different sections of Cabinet Office staff.
Members: Allowances
Mr. Amess: To ask the Leader of the House what allowance is payable to hon. Members successful in the ballot for private Members’ Bills to assist with drafting costs; when the allowance was last increased; what the value of the allowance is expressed in prices at the date it was last increased; whether she plans to increase it; and if she will make a statement. [212423]
Helen Goodman: Provision was made by resolution of the House of 29 November 1971 for a payment of not more than £200 towards drafting assistance for those Members coming in the first ten places in the ballot for private Members’ Bills. The provision has not been increased since that date and would now be worth a little over £2,000 expressed in current prices.
There have been very few claims against the allowance for many years. Alternative sources of assistance to Members have increased greatly since 1971 and, as the Government’s response to the Procedure Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2002-03 (HC 333) made clear, the Government have undertaken that the resources of Parliamentary Counsel will be applied to Bills which are likely to pass “for the purpose of ensuring that its terms give effect to its supporters’ intentions” (Second Special Report from the Procedure Committee of Session 2003-04 HC 610, para. 20). The Government accordingly have no plans to propose an increase in the sum.
Members: Pay
Mr. Evans: To ask the Leader of the House how much the most recent review of hon. Members' pay and allowances cost. [213340]
Ms Harman: The cost of the review of parliamentary pay and pensions conducted by Sir John Baker was £11,696.40. This figure cost covers Sir John Baker’s 15 days spent on the review since the end of January, reimbursement of his PA’s cost and the publication of the report (Cm 7416) on Tuesday 17 June.
Olympics
Contractors: Transport
3. Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will have discussions with Transport for London on the use of London Underground by contractors working on the Olympic site. [212560]
Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Park will have an estimated 9,000 workers on-site at peak construction time in 2010. In addition, an estimated 12,000 workers will be operational on the Olympic Village and Stratford City Development sites.
Workers will use a range of public transport including LU to travel to and from the Olympic Park site. In liaison with TfL, the ODA has studied the potential impact of this demand on the London Underground network and concluded that the impact is manageable.
Both the ODA and the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) are working with London Underground (LU) and Transport for London (TfL) to ensure that the plans to transport workers to and from the Olympic Park site are efficient and cause minimum disruption.
Labour Statistics
4. Mrs. Humble: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many local residents are employed on the construction of facilities for the London Olympics; and how many of those were unemployed prior to taking up such employment. [212561]
Tessa Jowell: The ODA and partners are working hard to ensure that we take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that the Games provide us to improve employment and skills levels of East Londoners. Currently, 451 local residents from the five Olympic host boroughs are employed on the Olympic site. 21 per cent. of these were previously unemployed.
Costs
6. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what her most recent estimate is of the likely cost of the 2012 London Olympics. [212563]
Tessa Jowell: In March 2007 I announced that the overall public sector Olympics funding package was £9.325 billion and that budget is unchanged. The costs of delivering the venues and infrastructure in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games will not exceed that budget.
LOCOG are responsible for staging the Games, which is being funded by the private sector.
Budget Forecast
7. Mr. Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will make a statement on the most recent budget forecast for the 2012 London Olympics. [212564]
Tessa Jowell: In March 2007, I announced a funding package of £9.325 billion for the Games. This funding package has not changed.
London Aquatic Centre
8. Chris Bryant: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much the London aquatic centre will cost. [212565]
Tessa Jowell: The Aquatics Centre and its integrated bridge will be delivered within the agreed budget of £303 million which was announced in April 2008.
Paralympics
Mr. Harper: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what discussions she has had with the International Paralympics Committee on provision of facilities for athletes with learning disabilities to train for the 2012 London Paralympics. [212562]
Tessa Jowell: I have had no discussions specifically about the training and participation of athletes with an intellectual disability.
As the hon. Member will know, people with intellectual disabilities are currently precluded from competing in the Paralympic games. Although ultimately a matter for the International Paralympic Committee, I know this matter is subject to review.
I am aware of the great enthusiasm of athletes with intellectual disabilities, and the importance they place on having the opportunity to compete in 2012.
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