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15 Sep 2008 : Column 2089W—continued
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) Liability Orders and (b) Deductions of Earnings Orders have been issued by the Child Support Agency to non-resident parents in (i) Jarrow constituency, (ii) South Tyneside, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK in each year since 1997. [217169]; and
How many Child Support Agency cases have been passed to the bailiffs in (a) Jarrow constituency (b) South Tyneside (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [217170]
The Agency publishes information on the range of enforcement actions undertaken at national level, including the numbers of Liability Orders granted, new Deductions from Earnings Orders/Requests, and Distress Actions (where a case is passed to the bailiffs) in Table 21 of the Quarterly Summary of Statistics. The Quarterly Summary of Statistics can be found in the House of Commons library or online at the following address:
Information on the number of enforcement actions undertaken prior to April 2004 is not available.
The Agency does not routinely collate enforcement information at constituency, county or regional level. The attached Table 1 provides an estimate of the information you have requested at regional level, however as this information is an estimate only, it is subject to revision. The method of estimating enforcement figures by matching postcodes to areas becomes increasingly less accurate as the geographical areas get smaller, therefore robust information below regional level is not available.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
| Table 1: Estimate of Liability Orders applied for, Deduction from Earnings Orders/Requests issued by the Agency and Bailiff referrals in the North East | |||
| North East | |||
| Liability orders | Bailiffs | Deductions from earnings orders /requests | |
| (1) September 2004-March 2005 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. No robust management information on enforcement measures exists prior to April 2004. 3. Robust management information for Deduction from Earnings Orders/Requests is also not available for December 2004, January 2005 or January 2007. At national level, figures for 2006-07 are underestimated by around 6,000. Figures for the seven months to March 2005 are underestimated by around 12,000. This means that figures for the North East for these periods are also underestimated. 4. The information provided in Table 2 is an estimate only and is therefore subject to revision. 5. The information on Liability Orders in Table 2 is on those applied for by the Agency and not the total granted by the courts. 6. Information concerning the number of Liability Orders applied for, the number of cases referred to debt collection agencies and numbers of new Deduction from Earnings Orders/Requests has been allocated to the relevant geographical area by matching the postcode of the non-resident parent against the Office for National Statistics postcode directory. | |||
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) liability orders and (b) deduction of earnings orders have been issued by the Child Support Agency to non-resident parents in (i) Darlington constituency, (ii) County Durham, (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK since 1997. [219624]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
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, how many (a) Liability Orders and (b) Deduction from Earnings Orders have been issued by the Child Support Agency to non-resident parents in (i) Darlington constituency (ii) County Durham (iii) the North East and (iv) the UK since 1997. [219624]
The Agency publishes information on the range of enforcement actions undertaken at national level, including the numbers of Liability Orders granted and new Deductions from Earnings Orders/Requests, in Table 21 of the Quarterly Summary of Statistics, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons library or online at the following address:
Unfortunately information on the number of Deduction from Earnings Orders and Liability Orders applied for or granted prior to April 2004 is not available.
The Agency does not routinely collate enforcement information at constituency, county or regional level. The attached Table 1 provides an estimate of the information you have requested at regional level, however as this information is an estimate only, it is subject to revision. The method of estimating enforcement figures by matching postcodes to areas becomes increasingly less accurate as the geographical areas get smaller, therefore robust information below regional level is not available.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
| Table 1: Estimate of Liability Orders Applied For and Deduction from Earnings Orders/Requests Issued by the Agency in the North East | ||
| Liability orders | Deductions from earnings orders/requests | |
| (1) September 2004-March 2005 Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. No robust management information on enforcement measures exists prior to April 2004. 3. Robust management information for Deduction from Earnings Orders/Requests is also not available for December 2004, January 2005 or January 2007. At national level, figures for 2006-07 are underestimated by around 6,000. Figures for the seven months to March 2005 are underestimated by around 12,000. This means that figures for the North East for these figures are also underestimated. 4. The information provided is an estimate only and is therefore subject to revision. 5. The information on Liability Orders is on those applied for by the Agency and not the total granted by the courts. 6. Information concerning the number of Liability Orders applied for and numbers of new Deduction from Earnings Orders/Requests has been allocated to the relevant geographical area by matching the postcode of the non-resident parent with the Office for National Statistics postcode directory. | ||
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which organisations have received (a) free and (b) discounted room hire from (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies in each of the last five years; and what the commercial value of the discount was in each case. [221588]
Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental ICT
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the value of his Department's computer systems (a) was at the time of purchase and (b) is now. [214662]
Mrs. McGuire: These are the totals as held on the Department's fixed asset register:
| £ | |
In addition to the assets held by the department IT services are provided by a third party supplier.
Departmental Paper
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of paper used (a) for photocopying and (b) in printed publications by his Department was from recycled sources in each of the last two years. [220735]
Mrs. McGuire: In 2006-07, 97 per cent. by volume (94 per cent. by spend) of the paper used for photocopying by the Department was recycled paper. In 2007-08, the figures were 82 per cent. by volume and 80 per cent. by spend respectively.
Wherever possible the Department seeks to buy recycled paper in line with the mandatory “Buy Sustainable—Quick Wins” minimum environmental product standards as developed by DEFRA. All of the Department’s forms and claim packs are printed on 100 per cent./re-cycled paper. Leaflets, marketing materials and magazines are printed on a variety of paper types, depending on the technical requirements of the individual product. The paper can be either 100 per cent. recycled, part re-cycled part virgin pulp or 100 per cent. virgin pulp. The Department does not hold information on the proportion of each type. Where virgin pulp is used it is purchased from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accredited sustainable sources.
Departmental Written Questions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long on average his Department took to answer (a) ordinary written and (b) named day questions in each of the last three years. [215453]
Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is in the following table:
| Number of questions | Average working days( 1) to reply | |||
| Ordinary | Named day | Ordinary | Named day | |
| (1 )Working days excludes weekends and non-sitting days when PQ replies cannot be tabled. | ||||
Employment and Support Allowance
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of income-based claimants who will be (a) better and (b) worse off following the introduction of Employment and Support Allowance; and if he will make a statement. [218917]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 15 July 2008]: No existing claimant of incapacity benefits will be made worse off in cash terms as a result of introducing the employment and support allowance.
Employment and support allowance will replace incapacity benefits (including income support on grounds of incapacity) for new claimants from October 2008. Existing claimants will remain on incapacity benefits and will be migrated to employment and support allowance over the three years from 2010 to 2013. After migration, those who are entitled to a higher rate under employment and support allowance than their previous rate under incapacity benefits will receive more money. All other claimants will have their cash level of benefit protected.
Employment and support allowance is an entirely new benefit with a new structure and new benefit rates. Under employment and support allowance, people will generally receive more money earlier in a claim. Over the next five years, spending on employment and support allowance is forecast to be £400 million higher than would have been spent on incapacity benefits.
Industrial Health and Safety: EU Action
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what consideration he has given to seeking an exemption for professional paint removers should the European Commission's proposals to prohibit the use of methylene chloride be implemented. [223374]
Mrs. McGuire: The European Commission's proposal, currently under negotiation, for restricting the marketing and use of methylene chloride-based paint strippers, already contains the possibility for individual member states to authorise the continued use of these products by licensed professional users.
Under the proposal, the only requirements for granting licences relate to training in safe use.
Jobcentre Plus: Manpower
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseeker's allowance claimants there were per member of frontline staff in Jobcentre Plus and its predecessor agencies in each of the last 10 years (a) in total and (b) broken down by region; and if he will make a statement. [223435]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 10 September 2008]: 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.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) claimants there were per member of frontline staff in Jobcentre Plus and its
predecessor agencies in each of the last 10 years a) in total and b) broken down by region; and if he will make a statement. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Unfortunately we are unable to provide a functional breakdown of Jobcentre Plus staff prior to March 2004.
The table below shows the number of full-time equivalent staff employed as operational staff in Jobcentres, Jobcentre Plus offices, Social Security offices and Benefit Delivery Centres, Contact Centres and those who provide support for these services, for the period 2004 to 2008. It is not possible to differentiate between those who deal directly with the public and those who perform other supporting functions, and nor are we able to provide this information by region.
| March | JSA claimants | Full-time equivalent staff | JSA claimants per FTE |
| Notes: 1. Headcount figures are quoted in full-time equivalents using the Office for National Statistics criteria for counting headcount and details the position at March in each year. 2. The figures provided are for Great Britain. 3. Claimant information uses the seasonally adjusted figures. The term “frontline staff” is interpreted to mean all operational staff, including those in support roles, as we are unable to accurately identify, on a consistent basis throughout the time period, those who deal directly with the public. Figures exclude those people in National Directorates. | |||
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