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21 May 2009 : Column 1526W—continued
Social Security Benefits: Prisoners
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether procedures are in place to review the entitlement to welfare benefits of prisoners sentenced to custody. [275490]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 14 May 2009]: Prisoners convicted of a criminal offence and given a term of imprisonment do not get benefits. An exception is made in certain cases of housing benefit and council tax benefit where the overall absence will not exceed 13 weeks, on the grounds that loss of the home or falling into arrears of council tax in these circumstances would be an indirect and unjustified consequence of the punishment. Additionally payment of certain War Pensions and Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits is suspended for up to a year and paid on release, the reason being that these particular benefits are paid by way of compensation rather than to meet specific or general needs or to provide a measure of income-maintenance.
Details of all newly convicted prisoners in England, Scotland and Wales are sent weekly to the Department for Work and Pensions to check if any are receiving benefits or national insurance credits and for the appropriate action to be taken.
State Retirement Pensions
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners received state pension (a) overpayments and (b) underpayments in each of the last five years. [272473]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Information about the number of pensioners who are overpaid or underpaid state pension is not held.
Communities and Local Government
Departmental Procurement
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst of 24 March 2009, Official Report, column 214W, on departmental procurement, which items were purchased for the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office; and if she will place a copy of each invoice in the Library. [272242]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) by my hon. Friend the Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) on 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 970W.
All expenditure in the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office was conducted in accordance with the principles of “Government Accounting” and the Treasury handbook on “Regularity and Propriety”.
Derelict Land: Property Development
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes for (a) social rent and (b) intermediate affordable housing were built on surplus public sector land in each of the last five years. [274831]
Mr. Iain Wright: This Department does not hold this information centrally. However, we are working with the Homes and Communities Agency and Government Departments to develop a robust system of data collection so that we can identify and record what housing development is taking place on public sector sites. The Homes and Communities Agency is also seeking the help of local authorities in establishing this database.
Employment Tribunals Service
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many actions under employment law were brought against the Department in each of the last three years, broken down by category of action; and how many were contested by the Department at an employment tribunal. [275626]
John Healey [holding answer 14 May 2009]: In each of the last three years the Department for Communities and Local Government have received less than five actions under employment law. As a consequence, this information is not disclosed on grounds of confidentiality.
Empty Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) how many vacant social sector dwellings there were in each region in each of the last three years; [273763]
(2) how many dwellings owned by (a) local authorities and (b) registered social landlords in each region were vacant in each of the last five years; and what percentage of the total number of unoccupied dwellings in each region that figure represents in each year. [273896]
Mr. Iain Wright: The term social sector dwellings has been interpreted to mean “social rented” dwellings.
A table showing estimates of the number of social sector domestic empty dwellings in the last three years, and estimates for each of the last five years of the numbers of dwellings owned by local authorities and registered social landlords in each region which are vacant, and the percentage of all vacant dwellings that these represent, is provided in the following table.
Total vacant dwellings reported by local authorities through council taxbase returns include long term and short term empty dwellings.
Figures for registered social landlords are for self-contained general needs units only.
| Estimates of the numbers of dwellings owned by local authorities and registered social landlords in each region which a re vacant, and the percentage of all vacant dwellings that these represent | |||||
| 2004 | |||||
| North East | North West | Yorkshire and the Humber | East Midlands | West Midlands | |
| East | London | South East | South West | England | |
| 2005 | |||||
| North East | North West | Yorkshire and the Humber | East Midlands | West Midlands | |
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