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14 July 2009 : Column 280W—continued
Work and Pensions
Atos
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of medical assessments carried out by Atos Health on behalf of her Department from 1 March 2008 to 28 February 2009. [284572]
Jonathan Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions re-awarded Atos Origin IT Services Ltd., trading as Atos Healthcare, a new contract to perform medical services on behalf of the Department from 1 September 2005.
The total cost of these services from 1 March 2008 to February 2009 was £80,589,204. This figure not only covers the total number of examinations undertaken across all benefits, but also costs relating to written and verbal medical advice, fixed overheads, administrative costs, investment in new technology and other service improvements.
The individual cost of medical assessments carried out by Atos Healthcare is commercially sensitive information. To disclose this information would prejudice the interest of Atos Healthcare and the Department's future dealings with Atos Healthcare or other service providers.
Carer's Allowance: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were receiving carer's allowance in (a) Essex and (b) Castle Point on the latest date for which figures are available. [282063]
Jonathan Shaw: The available information is in the following table:
| Carer ' s allowance: Cases in payment in Essex local authority area and Castle Point parliamentary constituency, November 2008 | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended. Source: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Children: Maintenance
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) on how many and what proportion of applications for maintenance the Child Support Agency and its successor made decisions on the award of maintenance within three months of receipt in each year since 1993; [278258]
(2) how many applications for child support made to the Child Support Agency resulted in no maintenance calculation being made because one of the parents could not be identified in each year since 1993. [278458]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 8 June 2009]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many and what proportion of applications for maintenance the Child Support Agency and its successor made decisions on the award of maintenance within three months of receipt in each year since 1993. [278258]; and
You also asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for child support made to the Child Support Agency resulted in no maintenance calculation being made because one of the parents could not be identified in each year since 1993. [278458]
The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission regularly publish information on the time taken to clear maintenance applications in Table 3 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The latest copy of which is available in the House of Commons library online and at:
The latest figures show that 82% of applications received in December 2008 were cleared within 12 weeks, compared to just 30% cleared in 12 weeks by March 2005, the year before the Operational Improvement Plan was introduced.
However the additional information that you have requested is not regularly published and is therefore provided in the attached table. This shows the number and proportion of current scheme applications that were cleared in each financial year within 12 weeks
of receipt. This information is only available for current scheme cases and so can not be reported prior to 2003, when the current scheme was introduced.
It should be noted that since the beginning of the Operational Improvement Plan in 2006, the volume of uncleared new scheme applications has reduced from 220,600 to 49,200, a fall of 78%.
The information you also requested on the number of applications made to the Child Support Agency that resulted in no maintenance calculation being made because one of the parents could not be identified, is not available as this information is not recorded for management information purposes.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
| Number of applications cleared each year within 12 weeks and as a percentage of claims received | ||
| Number cleared within 12 weeks | Number cleared as a percentage of cases received in year | |
| Notes: 1. Only includes current scheme cases. Data not available prior to March 2003. 2. Cleared applications are those that have had a maintenance calculation carried out and a payment arrangement between the parent with care and non-resident parent put in place; a maintenance calculation carried out and nil liability established; a parent with care has been identified as claiming Good Cause or is subject to a Reduced Benefit Decision; the application is identified as being a change of circumstance on an existing case; or the application has been closed. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. 4. Includes clerical cases. 5. Number of cases cleared within 12 weeks expressed as a percentage of applications received. | ||
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children are receiving maintenance payments calculated by the Child Support Agency; and in how many such cases the non-resident parent is in arrears. [280026]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 15 June 2009]: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to my right hon. Friend with the information requested.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many children are receiving maintenance payments calculated by the Child Support Agency; and in how many such cases the non-resident parent is in arrears. [280026]
It should be noted that the majority of child maintenance cases will have some arrears. In particular all new cases will accrue arrears unless the non-resident parent provides support while the liability is being assessed. The Agency estimates that around a quarter of all cases with arrears owe less than £170 which is less than two monthly maintenance payments.
As at March 2009, 593,100 cases were receiving maintenance, from which 779,800 children benefited. Of these 593,100 cases, there are approximately 436,600 cases where the non-resident parent has arrears outstanding.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of shared custody arrangements in determining levels of child maintenance. [281842]
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 :
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner. The Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission takes of shared custody arrangements in determining levels of child maintenance. [281842]
Where an application for child maintenance is made, and care of the child or children subject to that application is shared between the parent with care and non-resident parent, the Child Support Agency may in some cases reduce the amount of child maintenance payable as a result.
Different rules apply to the calculation of child maintenance liabilities, dependent on whether the application for maintenance was effective before the 3rd of March 2003 (such cases are referred to as the "old scheme") or received on or after this date (and referred to as the "current scheme").
In the old scheme, the amount of maintenance that a non-resident parent should pay will be reduced if the child or children spends 104 nights or more (on average, throughout the year) in their care. In the current scheme, a non-resident parent's maintenance liability is reduced if the child or children spends an average of 52 nights or more in their care during the year.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Child Support Agency is taking to recalculate child maintenance liabilities for non resident parents whose income is reduced through loss of overtime, short time working or working without pay; how quickly such recalculations are performed on average; and if she will make a statement. [284231]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 3 July 2009]: 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.
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Child Support Agency is taking to recalculate child maintenance liabilities for non resident parents whose income is reduced through loss of overtime short time working or working without pay; how quickly such recalculations are performed; and if she will make a statement. [284231]
The Child Support Agency will reassess the maintenance liability from the point at which either parent informs the Agency that the non-resident parent's income has changed. Although the Agency
may require further information such as wage slips to complete the reassessment, the date from which the reassessment takes effect will remain the date that the Agency was notified of the change. Information on the time taken to reassess individual cases from the date of notification including gathering the required evidence is not available.
It should be noted that not all changes in income will result in a reassessment of the child maintenance due. In cases assessed under the current scheme the Agency may not change the amount of child maintenance if the non-resident parent's regular net weekly income changes by less than 5%. For cases assessed under the old scheme, the Agency may not make a change of less than £10 a week, or in cases where there is 'protected income' only where amount the non-resident parent would have to pay would increase by £5 a week or more, or reduce by £1 a week or more.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Council Tax Benefits
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate of council tax benefit was in each local authority in the latest period for which figures are available. [284096]
Helen Goodman: Estimates of eligibility for council tax benefit are not available below the level of Great Britain.
The latest estimates of the take-up rates and the number of those entitled to but not receiving council tax benefit are published in the report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2007-08", copies of which are available in the Library.
Departmental Contracts
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 June 2009, Official Report, column 355W, on department pay, to which employers her Department's contracts have been (a) let and (b) sub-let where the location of employment is not exclusive to London in the last five years; what the nature of the work undertaken on each such contract is; what information her Department holds on the grade and location of employment of those working on such contracts; what the duration of each such contract is; and what agreements on union recognition have been reached in relation to each such contract. [285492]
Jim Knight: The DWP currently has over 1,000 contracts with external suppliers for a wide range of goods and internal and external services. The Department does not hold this information centrally and it could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) electricity and (b) gas was used (i) on her Department's estate and (ii) by her Department's agencies in each year from 2004-05 to 2008-09. [280523]
Helen Goodman: The following table shows energy consumption information for DWP and its agencies:
| Electricity (kWh) | Gas (kWh) | |
Final information for 2008-09 is not yet available.
Departmental Procurement
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what changes have been made to her Department's (a) office equipment and (b) stationery purchasing policy in the last six months. [285318]
Jim Knight: There have been no changes in DWP office equipment or stationery purchasing policy in the last six months.
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