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20 Nov 2008 : Column 729W—continued
Police: Parades
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of policing the (a) Henley Regatta 2008, (b) London Marathon 2008, (c) London Gay and Lesbian Pride March 2008 and (d) Beijing Olympic and Paralympics welcome home parade was. [237334]
Mr. Coaker: The information requested is not held centrally.
These are operational matters for the police authorities and the chief officers concerned, who are responsible for assessing local needs.
Police: Surveillance
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the National Policing Improvement Agency’s report on the lawful and effective use of covert techniques. [236586]
Mr. Coaker: Guidance on the lawful and effective use of covert techniques was published by the National Policing Improvement Agency in March 2008 on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers, Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland, Serious Organised Crime Agency, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and Home Office.
Due to its subject matter, the guidance is marked ‘Restricted’ and as such, copies cannot be placed in the House Library.
Powers of Entry
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when she expects Lord West to complete his review of powers of entry; and what plans she has to publish his report; [236503]
(2) whether the remit of Lord West’s review of powers of entry extends to powers of entry affecting Northern Ireland. [236585]
Mr. Coaker: The Home Office is working with colleagues in other Government Departments to draw up a definitive list of entry powers and who may use them. The review is limited to England and Wales. We plan to consult widely on a potential legislative framework for such powers by spring 2009. Regular updates on progress will be placed on the Powers of Entry Review website at:
Proof of Identity
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what joint ventures have been established by the Identity and Passport Service concerning identity verification. [236322]
Meg Hillier: For a number of years, the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has provided a passport validation service for both private sector and public sector customers.
The passport validation service (PVS) allows financial services firms to check the validity of UK passports presented as evidence of identity by customers directly against Identity and Passport Service records (via a dedicated call centre). By verifying these details against IPS data, the service provides assurance of the validity of the document presented and significantly prevents the use of lost, stolen or counterfeit passports.
Other Government Departments use PVS as an integral part of their identity management processes. For example, the UK Border Agency who use the service (via the Government secure internet) to check the validity of a British passport where there are specific doubts about the integrity of the document on arrival in the UK.
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what use there has been of notices under section 49 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 since 1 October 2007. [236604]
Mr. Coaker: Since October 2007, a total of 26 notices have been issued. 13 individuals have been charged with failing to comply with a section 49 notice and one person has been convicted.
Royal Mail: Standards
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will place in the Library a copy of the most recent inspection report of the Royal Mail Group by the Office of the Surveillance Commissioner. [236619]
Mr. Coaker:
I refer the right hon. Friend to the previous answer given on 29 September 2008, Official Report, column 235W. The Office of Surveillance
Commissioners is independent of Government. The disclosure of its inspection reports, including those relating to local authorities, is a matter for the chief Surveillance Commissioner.
Vetting: Fees and Charges
Mrs. Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what costs will be incurred by (a) employers, (b) employees and (c) volunteers to register with the Independent Safeguarding Authority. [236579]
Meg Hillier [holding answer 17 November 2008]: Individuals in paid employment will pay £64 when applying for registration with the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA). The one-off application fee is composed of two elements—£28 to fund the running of the ISA and £36 to pay for Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) administration and, in most cases, an enhanced disclosure will be included. Those involved only in unpaid voluntary activity will pay no application fee. The responsibility for paying this fee legally falls on employees. It is at the discretion of employers if they choose to pay the fee, and we know from our consultations that many will, either in full or part. It will be the individuals' responsibility to register with the scheme, but as an “employment incentive” employers can offer to pay for the registration cost. Current employees in most of these settings should possess a valid CRB check.
Work and Pensions
Carer’s Allowance: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of carer’s allowance in Tamworth constituency in each year since its inception. [237326]
Jonathan Shaw: Information about carer’s allowance by parliamentary constituency is not available prior to August 2003. The available information is in the table.
| Number receiving carer’s allowance in Tamworth constituency | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance. They exclude those who are entitled but receive another income maintenance benefit at a higher rate instead. Both payment and entitlement can give lower-income carers access to higher rates of income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit. They also exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended. 3. These figures are published on the DWP website at: www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data. | |
Child Benefit
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many EU or EEA nationals are receiving UK child benefit for a child or children living in another EU or EEA member state; and how much was spent on child benefit for such children in the latest period for which information is available. [236861]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
Applicants for Child Benefit are not asked to state their nationality, so the information is not available.
Departmental ICT
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what IT projects (a) his Department and (b) each of its agencies is undertaking; and what the most recent estimate of (i) the cost and (ii) the completion date of each is. [229169]
Jonathan Shaw: Although the Department does not have any discrete IT projects, it has a number of projects and programmes that include changes to IT to a greater or lesser extent. We have included in the following table:
those current projects and programmes undertaken by the Department where the IT element of the project or programme will result in the development and/or implementation of services that underpin the delivery of departmental business; and
those where non-delivery of the IT element would significantly damage the project’s or programme’s ability to deliver its intended results.
The costs shown represent the investment costs of the project/programme. The cost of running the solutions implemented by the projects and programmes are not included as in the great majority of cases they are more than compensated for by the financial benefits they generate.
Initiatives that are associated with ongoing system improvements or enhancements as part of business as usual have not been included. For all programmes or projects, the costs and dates reported relate to the total project or programme and not only the IT element. The table shows information on the programme/project purpose, expected completion date and estimated costs.
It should be noted that the scope of projects can change as they pass through their project lifecycle, and as plans and costs become more robust. At each stage of this process, they are assessed to ensure that they continue to fit with departmental strategy and continue to deliver value for money.
Departmental Mass Media
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which organisations provided media monitoring services to (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies in each of the last three years; and what the cost of each contract was. [230044]
Jonathan Shaw: The information is as follows.
(a) The following organisations have provided media monitoring services to the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies over the past three years:
1. Central Office of Information—Media Monitoring Unit
2. Durrants
3. Press Association—Mediapoint
1. The expenditure on the Media Monitoring Unit was as follows:
| £ | |
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