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20 Apr 2009 : Column 106W—continued


20 Apr 2009 : Column 107W

Departmental Pay

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of recipients of the Christmas bonus will get the additional £60 between (a) 1 and 15 January, (b) 16 and 31 January, (c) 1 and 15 February, (d) 16 and 28 February, (e) 1 and 15 March and (f) 16 and 31 March 2009; and if he will make a statement. [247209]

Ms Rosie Winterton: The answer is in the following table:

Actual and forecast volumes for additional £60 payment
2009 Volume payments to be made Percentage of forecasted total

1 to 15 January

12,175,120

81.94

16 to 31 January

41,630

00.28

1 to 15 February

49,390

00.33

16 to 28 February

1,302,100

08.76

1 to 15 March

1,289,700

08.69

16 to 31 March

(1)0

0

(1) Exceptionally some payments may be issued clerically after 15 March 2009. Notes: 1. All payment figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. As of 9 February 2009 DWP have issued 12,231,904 payments. 3. The total volume of payments forecast to be made is 14,857,929. Source: Special Payment Programme weekly review document 11 February 2009.

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of recipients of the Christmas bonus received their additional £60 by the end of January; how many of the remaining payments he estimates will have been paid by (a) the end of February and (b) the end of March; and if he will make a statement. [259118]


20 Apr 2009 : Column 108W

Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 26 February 2009]: The answer is in the following table.

Actual and forecast volumes for additional £60 payment

Volume payments to be made Percentage of forecasted total

1 January 2009 to 31 January 2009

12,216,750

79.63

1 February 2009 to 28 February 2009

1,433,420

9.34

1 March 2009 to 31 March 2009

(1)1,692,590

11.03

(1) Some additional payments may be issued clerically during March 2009.
Notes:
1. All payment figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. The total volume of payments to be made is 15,342,751.
Source:
Special Payment Programme Weekly Review document 4 March 2009.

Council Tax Benefits

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the expenditure required from the public purse to alter personal allowances for council tax benefit to provide that households where no individual is eligible to pay income tax receive full council tax benefit (a) regardless of the amount of capital held and (b) while maintaining the current capital limits; and if he will estimate the number of households which would pay a reduced rate of or no council tax as a result of such a change. [268899]

Kitty Ussher: The following table shows estimates of the cost and number of council tax benefit (CTB) beneficiaries of (a) awarding full CTB where no individual is paying income tax, and regardless of any capital held and (b) awarding full CTB where no individual is paying income tax and capital held is within the current capital limits.

Full council tax benefit where no one in the household pays income tax
Full CTB where no one pays income tax, depending on capital Number of beneficiaries Cost in annually managed expenditure (£ million per year)

No capital limit

Working age

450,000

200

Pensioners

510,000

270

Total

950,000

470

Capital under £16,000

Working age

350,000

80

Pensioners

460,000

200

Total

800,000

290

Notes:
1. All figures are for Great Britain.
2. Beneficiaries are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and costs are rounded to the nearest £10 million. These estimates include customers who gain and those who become entitlement to the benefit.
3. Each beneficiary represents a benefit unit, which can be a single claimant or a couple.
4. The impact is estimated using the Department’s Policy Simulation Model for 2008-09, using data from the 2006-07 Family Resources Survey up-rated to 2008-09 prices, benefit rates and earnings levels, and is calibrated to latest published forecasts and policies.
5. Results are subject to sampling and reporting errors and estimation assumptions, and are therefore indicative only. No behavioural changes are assumed.

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the expenditure required from the public purse to (a) raise to £50,000 and (b) abolish the upper capital limit for council tax benefit; and if he will estimate the number of households which would pay a reduced rate of or no council tax as a result of such a change. [268900]

Kitty Ussher: The information is in the following table:


20 Apr 2009 : Column 109W
Increasing and abolishing the upper capital limit in council tax benefit
Increase in upper capital limit Number of beneficiaries Cost in annually managed expenditure (£ million per year)

£50,000

130,000

70

No limit

150,000

80

Notes: 1. All figures are for Great Britain. 2. Beneficiaries are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and costs are rounded to the nearest £10 million. These estimates include customers who gain and those who become entitled to the benefit. 3. Each beneficiary represents a benefit unit, which can be a single claimant or a couple. 4. The impact is estimated using the Department's Policy Simulation Model for 2008-09, using data from the 2006-07 Family Resources Survey up-rated to 2008-09 prices, benefit rates and earnings levels, and is calibrated to latest published forecasts and policies. 5. Results are subject to sampling and reporting errors and estimation assumptions, and are therefore indicative only. No behavioural changes are assumed.

Crisis Loans

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to ensure that crisis loans customers can obtain a face-to-face assessment at their local Jobcentre with crisis loans officers; and if he will make a statement. [267899]

Mr. McNulty [holding answer 31 March 2009]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Mel Groves:

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many crisis loans officers there are operating the telephone helpline service for customers; and if he will make a statement. [267900]

Mr. McNulty [holding answer 31 March 2009]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.


20 Apr 2009 : Column 110W

Letter from Mel Groves:

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) the number of calls made by customers for crisis loans which went through to a recorded message, (b) the average number of calls a customer made before being connected to speak directly to a crisis loans officer and (c) the number of complaints made by crisis loans customers on the inability to be connected to talk to a crisis loans officer via the telephone system in the latest period for which information is available. [267901]

Mr. McNulty [holding answer 31 March 2009]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Mel Groves:

Departmental Buildings

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place in the Library a copy of the (a) display energy certificates and (b) advisory
20 Apr 2009 : Column 111W
reports for public buildings issued in respect of each property occupied by (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies. [256053]

Jonathan Shaw: Department for Work and Pensions Display Energy Certificates are in place in 375 buildings across England and Wales and in 45 buildings across Scotland. As disproportionate costs would be incurred to provide individual copies of the certificate and the accompanying advisory report, my officials are arranging for electronic copies of these documents to be prepared and placed in the Library.

Departmental Data Protection

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) organisational process and (b) staff resources his Department uses to provide assurance on IT system security. [268938]

Jonathan Shaw: The Department's Information Security Committee (a sub-committee of the Department's Executive Team) is responsible for information security issues across the Department. Operational responsibility for security is assigned to respective chief executives and heads of businesses within the Department. Other senior staff in the Department's agencies have specific responsibilities for promoting data and IT system security and report to their respective chief executives.

Following the publication of the Cabinet Office's Review of Data Handling Procedures in Government, specific senior civil servants across the Department
20 Apr 2009 : Column 112W
have been designated as Information Asset Owners who provide assurance to the Department's Senior Information Risk Owner that data assets are properly protected.

The Department also deploys a range of internal and external professional security resources and suppliers to both deliver and assure its IT Infrastructure and systems.

The Department is compliant with the security policies contained in the Government Security Policy Framework including those for information security, assurance and the encryption of data. Its arrangements to ensure compliance with these measures comprise a system of self-assessment, accreditation, assurance reporting, audit and review.

The Department does not publish details of the resources used to provide assurance over IT system security, staff or otherwise, as this could potentially threaten the security of information.

Departmental Internet

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Welwyn, Hatfield of 9 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1636-38W, on the departmental internet, how many hits each of the websites maintained by his Department received in each of the last 12 months. [262779]

Jonathan Shaw: The tables outline the page impressions for each of the websites maintained by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Table A: Websites operated by the Department for Work and Pensions where the Department is responsible for the content

Department for Work and Pensions Jobcentre Plus The Pension Service Child Support Agency

March 2008

4,438,340

250,206,608

2,885,226

653,089

April 2008

4,890,895

279,358,470

n/a

693,879

May 2008

4,632,534

250,206,608

n/a

623,741

June 2008

5,467,135

290,661,873

n/a

710,818

July 2008

5,481,316

302,481,658

2,792,047

703,331

August 2008

4,823,111

271,781,484

2,545,342

669,090

September 2008

5,255,207

308,875,532

2,815,695

753,074

October 2008

5,840,085

302,104,417

2,954,131

770,977

November 2008

5,675,631

266,874,017

3,155,462

721,481

December 2008

4,578,694

179,521,943

2,159,900

550,725

January 2009

7,693,486

350,647,463

3,820,139

901,912

February 2009

6,311,548

298,532,534

3,137,296

741,673


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