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7 July 2009 : Column 740W—continued
Carer’s Allowance
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of carer's allowance in each local authority area in each of the last five years. [283420]
Jonathan Shaw: The information has been placed in the Library.
Children: Maintenance
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the merits of bringing forward legislation to make unpaid child maintenance arrears a priority charge in respect of compensation paid to the non-resident parent with such arrears; and if she will make a statement. [278256]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 8 June 2009]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is currently considering whether the new powers set out in the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Act 2008 to impose a lump sum deduction orders will enable the commission to intercept amounts accruing or due to the non resident parent.
Departmental Correspondence
Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of letters to her Department from hon. Members' parliamentary offices were answered within 30 days of the date of receipt in each quarter from January 2008 to March 2009. [280463]
Jim Knight: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' correspondence. The report for 2008 was published on 2 April 2009, Official Report, columns 80-86WS.
Departmental Lost Property
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many laptop computers belonging to (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have been lost or stolen in the last five years. [281062]
Jim Knight: The following table shows the numbers of laptop computers which were recorded as lost or stolen in each of the years to 31 December 2008. The Department has introduced a number of security improvements, including a requirement that all laptops are encrypted.
| Number | |
Currently the Department has just over 9,700 laptop computers in use.
Employment Zones Programme
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseekers are taking part in (a) stage one, (b) stage two and (c) stage three of the Employment Zones programme in each of the programme's designated areas. [280629]
Jim Knight: The information is not collated centrally and is available only at a disproportionate cost.
Housing Benefit: Reform
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to paragraph 45 of the Draft Legislative Programme 2009, Cm 7654, on what proposals relating to the reform of housing benefit she intends to consult. [284042]
Helen Goodman: As set out in the 2008 Welfare Reform White Paper, ‘Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future’, we intend to consult on how housing benefit can do more to ease the transition into work, promote value for money and ensure that the system is fair to working families not eligible for benefit.
Jobcentre Plus: Finance
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions she has had on funding for job centres. [272469]
Jim Knight: The Secretary of State and her Ministers have regular discussions on Jobcentre Plus funding with a wide variety of people inside and outside the Department.
Jobcentre Plus: Greater London
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) benefit delivery centres and (b) customer-facing jobcentres were operated by Jobcentre Plus in each London borough in each year since 2002. [277517]
Jim Knight [holding answer 1 June 2009]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many (a) benefit delivery centres and; (b) customer-facing jobcentres were operated by Jobcentre Plus in each London borough in each year since 2002. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to Mel Groves as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. As Mel Groves is currently on annual leave, I am replying in his absence.
I have attached a table (two pages) which shows the number of offices in which benefits were processed and the number of Jobcentres in each London Borough from 2002 to 2009. Benefit Delivery Centres were not fully in place in London until 2007.
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