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14 July 2008 : Column 136W—continued
Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Forest of Dean of 23 June 2008, Official Report, columns 7-8W, on social security benefits, what assumptions about (a) employment levels and (b) levels of jobseeker’s allowance claims underpinned the estimates for 2009-10 of on-flows on to (i) incapacity benefit, (ii) employment support allowance and (iii) income support on grounds of incapacity. [216628]
Mr. Plaskitt: Forecasts of on-flows to incapacity benefit, employment support allowance and income support on the grounds of incapacity incorporate, at the time of production, the latest available evidence on past trends, announced future policies and operational changes. There is no explicit link made to assumptions about the employment level and the level of jobseeker’s allowance claims although the level of inflows (on to incapacity benefit, employment support allowance and income support on grounds of incapacity) are broadly consistent with Treasury planning assumptions about the level of jobseeker’s allowance claims.
Social Security Benefits: Polygamy
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the annual cost of allowing benefit payments to polygamous families for each additional wife in line with current guidelines on income support. [218687]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available from which to make such an estimate.
Social Security Benefits: Telephone Services
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls were made to benefit delivery centres in each year since their inception, broken down by category of call; and if he will make a statement. [216965]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 14 July 2008:
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to respond to your question on how many calls were made to benefit delivery centres in each year since their inception, broken down by category of call; and if he will make a statement. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
The roll out of Benefit Delivery Centres was completed in March 2008 and comparable information is only available from November 2007. The following table provides the requested information broken down by type of benefit.
| Calls to Jobcentre Plus Benefit Delivery Centres broken down by benefit | ||
| Benefit | November 2007 to March 2008 | April 2008 to June 2008 |
| Source: Jobcentre Plus Operational Management Information System (OPMIS) | ||
Treasury
Cambridge Online Learning: KMI Offshore Trust
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will direct HM Revenue and Customs to investigate the (a) VAT treatment and (b) taxation treatment of the acquisition of the assets of Cambridge Online Learning Ltd by KMI Offshore Trust. [218272]
Jane Kennedy: The Government are committed to supporting those who seek to comply with their obligations and to deterring and challenging those who do not.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has responsibility for selecting individual cases for compliance check and it would not be appropriate for it to comment on specific cases.
Child Benefit: Personal Records
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent progress has been made in the search for the discs containing data lost by HM Revenue and Customs last year; what the cost to his Department of its investigation has been to date; and if he will make a statement. [205232]
Jane Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to Kieran Poynter's final report, published on 25 June, which can be accessed online at:
The cost of the investigation was £473,544.
Consumer Goods: Prices
Mr. Philip Hammond:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library copies of
forecasts prepared by his Department for the prices of basic household goods for the next 12 months. [215381]
Angela Eagle: The Government publish forecasts for overall consumer prices index (CPI) inflation in the Budget and pre-Budget report. The latest projection was published in Financial Statement and Budget Report 2008 (HC388) on 12 March 2008, and updated forecasts will be published in the pre-Budget report, based on all relevant factors, as normal.
Cost of Living
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps he has taken to assist vulnerable adults with rising household bills; [215683]
(2) what recent steps he has taken to assist low income families with financial burdens. [215684]
Angela Eagle: Since 1997 the Government have introduced a series of reforms to make work pay and to guarantee minimum weekly incomes for families with and without children. By October 2008, in real terms, families with children in the poorest fifth of the population will be, on average, £4,100 a year better off.
The working tax credit and the national minimum wage work together to provide a guaranteed income in work. The minimum income guarantee for single people aged 25 or over, and in full-time work, has increased by 30 per cent. in real terms since 1999.
Tax credits also play a key role in reducing poverty, and have helped to lift 600,000 children out of relative poverty since 1998-99.
On 13 May 2008, the Chancellor announced further support for low and middle-income families for 2008-09. For the current tax year, income tax personal allowances will be increased by £600 for all tax payers under 65. Around 22 million basic-rate taxpayers will benefit from this change. This not only helps those that lost out from the tax changes, but also middle income families at a time of rising food and oil prices throughout the world.
This year, adults aged 60 and over will benefit from an additional payment of £50, and those aged over 80 from an additional payment of £100 to be paid alongside the winter fuel payment.
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 6 May 2008, Official Report, column 818W, on council tax: valuation, what the official name is of the mapping software provided by TENET. [218310]
Jane Kennedy: The names given to the software provided to the Valuation Office Agency by TENET are “Digital Mapping” and the “Locality Delineation Tool”.
Credit Unions: Post Offices
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to examine the feasibility of offering the public access to credit union services through post offices. [217166]
Kitty Ussher: This is a commercial and operational matter for Post Office Ltd. (POL), the Association of British Credit Unions (ABCUL), and individual credit unions. I understand that the Post Office and ABCUL maintain a regular dialogue to explore the opportunities for working together. I also understand that customers of credit union current accounts, which are offered through a commercial arrangement with the Cooperative bank, can already pay in or withdraw cash and make balance inquiries at post offices.
Departmental Computers
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of (a) the number of computer devices left on overnight in his Department when not in use and (b) the cost per year of leaving computer devices on overnight when not in use in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [217862]
Angela Eagle: The Department does not have information available, but all staff are asked to switch off computer devices and monitors when they leave each day, and there is a screensaver to remind them to do this. While no precise measures are available, this is likely to have contributed to the year on year falls in electricity consumption which have been recorded at 1 Horse Guards road, the main Treasury building, every year for the last five years.
Departmental Early Retirement
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in (a) his Department and (b) his Department’s agencies have taken early retirement in the last two years. [217383]
Angela Eagle: The information is as follows:
| Number of early retirements in the last two years | |
Departmental ICT
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what objectives his Department's Property Benchmarking Service IT project was designed to meet. [218248]
Angela Eagle: The Property Benchmarking Service measures the performance of all Government buildings over 500 square metres against efficiency and effectiveness key performance indicators, and benchmarks these against equivalent buildings in both the public and private sectors. The objective is to identify buildings that are not performing well against the benchmark so decisions can be taken about their improvement or disposal.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many special advisers have been employed in his Department in each month since January 2007. [215380]
Angela Eagle: Four special advisers were employed in the Treasury between January 2007 and June 2007. From July 2007 to August 2007, two special advisers were employed, at which point an additional special adviser was appointed. The number has since remained at three.
As the Chancellor also appoints members of the Council of Economic Advisers, I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer of 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 1118W, to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban), and to the Treasury's press notice of 2 April 2008.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of staff in his Department and its agencies did not receive the maximum bonus possible under a bonus scheme applying to them in the last two years. [217058]
Angela Eagle: The information requested is as follows:
| HM Treasury | OGCBS | OGC | DMO | |
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many reviews of regulation his Department and its agencies have conducted or commenced since July 2007; and in which areas. [210844]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury’s Better Regulation Simplification Plan was published in December 2007. It followed recommendations from the 2005 report “Less is More” to develop a rolling programme of simplification to identify regulations that can be simplified, repealed, reformed and/or consolidated. The 2007 Simplification Plan followed a detailed review of the administrative burdens imposed by all the regulations for which HM Treasury and its agencies are responsible and outlines the progress made so far against the administrative burdens target:
HM Treasury’s approach is to review regulation in line with the March 2008 White Paper “Post-legislative scrutiny: the Government’s Approach” by the Office of the Leader of the House.
In addition, the revised impact assessment process has increased the focus on post implementation reviews.
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