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13 July 2009 : Column 57W—continued

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many formal complaints were received by the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints were upheld. [281845]

Helen Goodman: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the child maintenance commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Complaints per financial year
Financial year Complaints

2004-05

63,800

2005-06

62,100

2006-07

47,900

2007-08

37,600

2008-09

27,800

Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
2. Figures for 2008-09 include complaints received by the Child Support Agency prior to 1 November 2008, and the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission from the 1 November 2008.
3. These figures are published in the Child Support Agency's Annual Report and Accounts.
4. From April 2007, the Agency introduced a new complaints resolution process, which among others simplified the process from three stages to two stages.

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications in respect of child maintenance the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission and its predecessor has made to the courts in each of the last five years. [281847]

Helen Goodman: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.


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Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

Child Support Agency-Total enforcement applications granted

April 2004- March 2005 April 2005- March 2006 April 2006- March 2007 April 2007- March 2008 February 2007-January 2008 February 2008-January 2009

Total applications granted

11,665

17,640

20,725

24,240

23,960

32,980

Liability orders granted

7,760

11,245

13,510

17,755

17,235

25,090

County Court Judgement orders

1,315

2,330

1,920

1,390

1,620

630

3rd Party Debt orders

1,235

1,710

2,090

1,790

1,855

2,435

Charging orders

845

1,335

1,850

1,735

1,780

2,490

Suspended committal sentences

225

390

420

480

525

510

Committal Sentences

5

15

40

25

35

30

Suspended driving licence disqualification sentences

25

35

30

15

20

30

Driving licence disqualification sentences

5

5

5

5

5

5

Notes:
The information contained in the table relates to applications granted-not applications made. Information on applications made is not available.
2. A liability order is a document obtained from the court showing that they legally recognise that the debt is owing. This is the same in both England and Wales and Scotland. This is required before the Agency can use litigation powers (Diligence in Scotland).
3. County Court Judgement orders apply only to England and Wales. Registers the person with a County Court Judgement Order, which remains on their credit record for six years.
4. Third Party Debt orders in England and Wales instruct a third party to pay any funds owed to, or held on behalf of, the non-resident parent to the Agency instead. In practice this is typically used for banks and building societies.
5. Charging orders in England and Wales are where a County Court Order for the legally recognised debt is attached to the equity in the non-resident parent's property. They are then unable to re-mortgage or sell the property without satisfying the debt. If they satisfy the debt by other means the charge is removed.
6. Note that the figures for the most recent months are provisional, and may be subject to retrospective revisions.
7. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.

Departmental Internet

Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when her Department plans to update its web browsers from Internet Explorer 6. [285023]

Jim Knight: The Department is planning to upgrade its web browser from Internet Explorer 6 to a more recent version by the end of 2009. The final timetable for implementation will be decided once the newer browser has been tested and the Department is satisfied that it will support the Department's core systems.

Domestic Waste: Regulation

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance the Health and Safety Executive has issued to local authorities in relation to the collection of household waste; and whether it has plans to issue (a) revised and (b) further guidance. [284088]

Jonathan Shaw: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) produces the following guidance documents relating to the collection of household waste, including recyclables.

Good practice guidance documents produced jointly by HSE and the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) Forum (except for Waste 15 which was produced solely by HSE):

Research reports made available by the HSE as part of a series of reports of work which has been supported by funds provided by the HSE:


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Health and Safety Laboratory Reports funded by the HSE:

Guidance can also be accessed free of charge from the waste management and recycling pages on the HSE website.

HSE has no immediate plans to revise its existing guidance.

HSE is currently preparing new guidance for local authorities on the management of health and safety in waste collection service contracts and delivery. This will apply irrespective of whether the work is carried out by contractors or a local authority direct labour force. The planned publication date is spring 2010.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how far in advance of expecting to become eligible for employment support allowance an individual may submit an application for it. [283165]

Jim Knight: An advance claim for employment and support allowance can be made if a claimant does not satisfy the conditions of entitlement on the date on which a claim is made but will satisfy them for a future period. The future period must begin on a day which is no more than three months after the date of claim. These provisions do not apply to income related employment and support allowance claimants from abroad (including claimants who are not habitually resident in the UK). If an advance award is made it is subject to the claimant satisfying the conditions for entitlement when the date from which benefit is to be awarded is reached.

Employment Schemes

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many employment subsidy vouchers have been (a) issued and (b) cashed by employers; [283567]

(2) how many employers have (a) cashed an employment subsidy voucher as part of the six month offer to jobseeker's allowance claimants and (b) used the six month offer employment subsidy in bulk as part of their work with Jobcentre Plus in local employment partnerships; [283568]

(3) how many people have taken up (a) the golden hello including (i) the £1,000 recruitment subsidy and
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(ii) £1,500 worth of training, (b) support for self-employment, (c) one of the 40,000 additional volunteering opportunities and (d) one of the 75,000 new training places under the six month offer. [283569]

Jim Knight: The recruitment subsidy and the six month offer were introduced on 6 April 2009. The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that meet high quality standards at the earliest opportunity.


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