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9 Sep 2009 : Column 2042W—continued
Swimming
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public swimming pools in England (a) closed and (b) opened in 2008. [288257]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 20 July 2009]: In 2008, 79 swimming pools were opened and 67 closed:
| Ownership | Local authority | Education | Commercial | Others | Total |
We are encouraging local authorities to plan strategically for the provision of facilities so they meet modern standards and expectations. This will include rationalising existing stock where necessary.
There has been significant public investment in sports facilities in recent years which will lead to new local authority pools opening. Government and lottery money contributed to four new 50 meter pools in Sunderland, Portsmouth, Leeds and Liverpool, which means there is now at least one 50 meter pool in every region of the country.
Corby's new East Midlands International 50 meter pool opened on 24 July, and next year will see two more 50 meter pools opening in Hillingdon and Basildon.
In addition, there will be investment in 60 projects as part of the Government's Free Swimming scheme. £23 million has already been committed to this in 2009-10. This investment includes upgrades of existing facilities and new builds.
UK Film Council: Finance
Mr. Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the budget of the UK Film Council for 2008-09 was; and what it (a) is in 2009-10 and (b) will be in 2010-11. [290850]
Mr. Simon: In 2008-09 the total expenditure for the UK Film Council, combining both lottery and grant in aid was £71.3 million.
In 2009-10 budgeted spend for all activities is £71.7 million (excluding the transfer of £5.9 million to the Olympic lottery distributor). These figures align with the current UK Film Council business plan "Film in the Digital Age" which covers the period until March 2010.
The budgets for 2010-11 will not be fully established and approved until the next spending round (2010 to 2013) has been formulated.
Sources:
2008-09 data from 2008-09 Annual Report and Financial Statements.
2009-10 data from budget approved by UKFC board in March 2009.
2010-11 data from DCMS allocation letter re GIA and DCMS lottery projection issued in January 2009, confirmed as current in June.
Work and Pensions
Pension Protection Fund
Miss Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people who retired before April 2005 are members of schemes under the Pension Protection Fund; how many such people have had their pensions capped; what estimate she has made of the annual cost of restoring the full pensions of (a) those people who have had their pensions capped and (b) all of those who retired before April 2005 who are members of such schemes; and what estimate she has made of the effect of such expenditure on the level of the annual levy for eligible schemes. [281716]
Angela Eagle: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Such information as is available was provided to the hon. Member on 4 June 2009, Official Report, column 622W.
Business Link
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the courses offered by Business Link as part of the six month offer are available to people who have not been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance for more than six months. [290729]
Jim Knight: Business Link's business advice and support is available to anyone who is interested in starting a business. However, in recognition of the problems that longer-term jobseeker's allowance customers may have, under the six month offer we are funding additional intensive support for those who have been unemployed for six months or more and who are interested in taking up self-employment or starting a business.
In addition, on claiming jobseeker's allowance, some groups of customers who face particular disadvantage in the labour market are fast-tracked immediately to the six-month stage of the jobseeker's regime, and can take advantage of the six month offer. Fast-tracked customers are those who have had specific periods of time spent on benefit or who have been otherwise inactive immediately prior to claiming jobseeker's allowance. Other disadvantaged groups can choose to fast-track to the six month stage, subject to capacity and their personal adviser's discretion and will have access to the six month offer. These groups include, for example, people who have completed a custodial sentence, are homeless, are affected by drug addiction, have been in residential care or have language, literacy or numeracy problems.
Children: Maintenance
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission plans to publish (a) the 2007-08 Client Funds Account together with the Comptroller and Auditor General's report thereon and (b) the report from Pricewaterhouse Coopers on child maintenance debt balances. [290625]
Helen Goodman: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
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.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission plans to publish (a) the 2007-08 Client Funds Account together with the Comptroller and Auditor General's report thereon and (b) the report from PricewaterhouseCoopers on child maintenance debt balances. [290625]
In order to interpret the question correctly, clarification was sought from your office. They confirmed that you wanted to know when the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission plans to publish (a) the 2008-09 Client Funds Account together with the Comptroller and Auditor General's report thereon.
The Commission plans to lay the 2008/09 Client Funds Account soon after the House returns from summer recess. Contained within the Client Fund Account is a summary of the findings of the work undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers in respect of child maintenance arrears balances. This will include how these findings have been incorporated into our assessment of collectability; additionally this forms the basis of National Audit's work in auditing the arrears balances included in the Client Fund Account.
I hope that you find this answer helpful.
Departmental Billing
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of invoices from suppliers her Department paid within 10-days of receipt in June 2009. [288938]
Helen Goodman: 96.02 per cent.
Departmental Work Experience
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) paid and (b) unpaid graduate internships her Department has awarded in each of the last six months. [281509]
Jim Knight: The DWP supports a small number of paid and unpaid internship/work experience schemes but these are all aimed at undergraduate or sixth form students. Therefore the number of such placements offered to those who have already graduated over the past six months is nil.
We have already indicated our commitment to the new Graduate Talent Pool initiative so will be offering places under this scheme from September.
Employment Schemes
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 April 2009, Official Report, column 767W, on employment schemes, when the requested information on payments will be made available. [278476]
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. We intend to publish Official Statistics from autumn 2009.
Ethnic Minority and Employment Task Force
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job application forms were sent to businesses by the Ethnic Minority and Employment Task Force as part of its research into barriers to employment; by what criteria the businesses were selected; and what advance consultation there was with employers prior to the issue of the job application forms. [286751]
Jim Knight:
The National Centre for Social Research was commissioned to do this research and sent 2,961 job applications to employers in response to advertised vacancies. Commissioning took place after the employer-led Business Commission on Race Equality, chaired by
Gordon Pell, Chief Executive, Retail Markets, Royal Bank of Scotland, recommended 'matched CV' testing to measure progress towards eliminating the ethnic minority employment gap. The Chancellor of the Exchequer accepted this recommendation and asked the Ethnic Minority Employment Task Force (EMETF) to oversee delivery and report back to him in writing by December 2009. A Confederation of British Industry (CBI) member sits on the EMETF. The CBI is also on the steering group for the research project. No specific employers or sectors of industry were targeted.
Future Jobs Fund
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent consideration she has given to extending the exception to the long-term unemployment condition for Future Job Fund eligibility, to include those not in education, employment or training, to blind and partially sighted individuals claiming job seeker's allowance. [290944]
Helen Goodman: The jobs created using the Future Jobs Fund will be targeted at young people approaching ten months on jobseeker's allowance and other long-term benefit claimants living in areas of high unemployment. Some jobseeker's allowance customers, including those with a disability, can volunteer for more intensive support from Jobcentre Plus earlier in their claim at the discretion of their personal adviser. Customers who are fast-tracked to this more intensive support will be able to access Future Jobs Fund jobs from four months.
Future Jobs Fund
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will place in the Library copies of the bid assessment documents for each of the 117 successful Future Jobs Fund Bids announced on 29 July 2009. [290730]
Helen Goodman: The individual bid assessment documents cannot be placed in the Library because the information is commercially sensitive.
Housing Benefit
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to monitor the effects of the arrangements by which housing benefit is paid to tenants rather than landlords; and if she will make a statement. [290818]
Helen Goodman: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill), on 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 1286W.
Industrial Diseases: Social Security Benefits
Julie Morgan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid to people with (a) hand arm vibration syndrome, (b) noise-induced hearing loss and (c) other work-related diseases through (i) industrial injuries disablement benefit for disease and deafness and (ii) other disability benefits in each of the last three years; and how much of that
money has been recovered by the Government in accordance with the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997. [287749]
Jonathan Shaw: The available information on the monies paid through industrial injuries disablement benefit is in the table.
| Payments through industrial injuries disablement benefit in 2006-07 | |
| Injury | Amount paid (£ million) |
| Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest million. 2. Industrial injuries disablement benefit expenditure on particular diseases is estimated using annual statistical data. Latest finalised annual statistical data are for 2006-07. Figures for the next two years are not yet available. Source: DWP statistical and accounting data. | |
Information on payments of other disability benefits is not available broken down by the disease categories requested.
The amounts recovered in each of the last three years by the Government in accordance with the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 covering industrial injuries disablement benefit and other disability benefits are detailed as follows:
| Recoveries of monies paid through industrial injuries disablement benefit | |||
| £000 | |||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Recoveries of monies paid through other disability benefits | |||
| £000 | |||
| Disease | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
| Note: Information is rounded to the nearest thousand pounds. Source: DWP accounting data. | |||
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