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19 Oct 2009 : Column 1252W—continued
Youth Unemployment
23. Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government are taking to reduce youth unemployment. [293519]
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government are taking to reduce youth unemployment. [293499]
Mr. Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she is taking to reduce unemployment among young people; and if she will make a statement. [293505]
Jim Knight: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave today to the hon. Member for Macclesfield (Sir Nicholas Winterton).
Jobcentres
24. Mr. Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations her Department has received on standards of customer service at Jobcentres. [293520]
Jim Knight: Jobcentre Plus receives many representations from various organisations and customers on its standards of service, many of which are positive. Jobcentre Plus continually works with these groups to improve the service it delivers to customers and key partners.
Employment Schemes: Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 September 2009, Official Report, column 2137W, on employment schemes: disabled, under what circumstances disabled people not in work and not in receipt of jobseeker's allowance or employment and support allowance receive assistance from employment programmes; what her most recent estimate is of the number of disabled people who meet such criteria; and if she will make a statement. [292913]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 14 October 2009]: The Department for Work and Pensions has not made such an estimate.
Employment: Sight Impaired
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment her Department has made of the effects of Braille literacy on the employment prospects of people who are visually impaired; and if she will make a statement. [293054]
Jonathan Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions has not undertaken such an assessment.
Research Report
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals in each birth cohort, are modelled as having a payback of (a) less than 0.5, (b) between 0.5 and 1, (c) between 1 and 1.5, (d) between 1.5 and 2, (e) between 2 and 2.5, (f) between 2.5 and 3 and (g) above 3 as shown in Figure 4.3 on page 55 of DWP Research Report number 558. [287115]
Angela Eagle: The information is as follows:
| Table 1: Number of those saving into a defined contribution pension at any point after 2012, with an employer contribution, in each payback group, by birth cohort | |||||||
| Payback (£) | |||||||
| <1 | 1-1.5 | 1.5-2 | 2-2.5 | 2.5-3 | >3 | Total (million) | |
| Note: Population estimates are based on the modelled population and may be subject to sampling error. All numbers are rounded to the nearest 50,000. Source: Pensim2. | |||||||
This table covers all individuals in these cohorts who save in any defined contribution pension with an employer contribution at any point after 2012. It is consistent with the payback figures presented in the report, "Saving for retirement: Implications of pensions reforms on financial incentives to save for retirement", published in February this year. Overall, less than 5 per cent. are modelled as expecting a payback of less than 1.
This table covers all cohorts who are expected to live out their lives before 2100, including many who will not enter the workforce and/or start saving until many years after 2012, and others who are already saving. As such, the figures should not be compared directly with new savers or those eligible for automatic enrolment in 2012.
Those with payback of less than 0.5 have not been shown separately due to the small sample size of this group in the model; they make up approximately a quarter of the group with payback of less than 1.
Please note that opt-out rates in the model are assigned randomly to employees, and do not take account of characteristics of individuals or how they might behave. The numbers in the lower payback groups may be over-estimated if those who go on to see high levels of benefit interactions are more likely to opt out. The figures are based on reasonable assumptions about the future as set out in "Saving for retirement: Implications of pensions reforms on financial incentives to save".
Work Capability Assessments
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place to ensure consistency in work capability assessments. [293041]
Jonathan Shaw: All medical reports completed by Atos Healthcare, healthcare professionals who have successfully completed their training period are subject to 100 per cent. quality assessment before they are recommended for approval by the DWP Chief Medical Officer.
In addition, medical reports completed by healthcare professionals undertaking disability benefit medial examinations on behalf of the DWP and other Government Departments are subject to a rigorous and comprehensive audit system. The Integrated Quality Audit Systems (IQAS) which constitutes randomly selected audits is based on a statistically valid and robust audit process which is undertaken on every Atos Healthcare, healthcare professional on a monthly basis. Any reports found to be deficient in the audit are corrected prior to them being returned to the Departments' decision makers.
A healthcare professional's work can also be subjected to audit if it is found that any work is reported to be deficient on an opportunistic basis, for instance if the healthcare professional is subject to significant levels of
customer complaints or the Department's Business Unit returns medical reports which are considered deficient by the decision maker.
Full-time Atos Healthcare Medical Services healthcare professionals who have undertaken specific training in audit work carry out the audit. Where there is any cause for concern, proactive management intervention ensures that remedial action is taken promptly as appropriate.
Culture, Media and Sport
Cultural Heritage
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent estimate he has made of the annual financial contribution of the heritage sector to the economy. [292303]
Margaret Hodge: Heritage provides a vital contribution to the national economy and contributes to the success of a range of industries including tourism, retail, entertainment and construction. Although no aggregate figure is available, several studies of which English Heritage is aware have sought to identify the contribution within a particular context. In the north-west alone it is estimated that Heritage and its ancillaries contribute £1.6 billion in gross value added (GVA) to the economy.
A Heritage Lottery Fund study of major projects they completed in 2007 estimates them to have created £33 million in local GVA and to support the equivalent of 1,277 full-time equivalent jobs. Tourism, one of the largest industries in the UK, was estimated to be worth approximately £86 billion in 2007. Evidence from VisitBritain shows England's historic buildings are key motivators for those considering a visit to the country and they also top the table of activities undertaken by those who actually do visit.
Privately owned historic houses generate an economic contribution of over £1.6 billion; while England's cathedrals generate around £150 million per annum of benefits for the local and national economies.
Digital Broadcasting: Wales
Mr. Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what estimate he has made of the time necessary to restore ITV channels to those homes no longer able to receive them as a result of the digital switchover in Wales; [294312]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to restore ITV channels to homes which lost them as a result of the digital switchover in Wales; [294313]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of homes that no longer receive ITV channels as a result of the digital switchover in Wales. [294314]
Mr. Simon: We believe that up to 1 million households could have been affected by the loss of ITV3 and ITV4 after the digital television retune. In some cases the services will be restored at digital switchover.
There is a licence requirement that the three Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) digital multiplexes, which carry the public service broadcasting channels, should reach 98.5 per cent. of UK households after Digital Switchover. Since the national re-tune, ITV3 and ITV4, which are not PSB channels, have been carried on commercial multiplexes where the licence post-Switchover
requirement is that 90 per cent. of household coverage is achieved. Any decision to build out beyond 90 per cent. coverage would be a commercial decision for the multiplex operators.
E-Legal Deposits
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of e-legal deposits which would have been made to date had the e-legal deposit regulations come into force in accordance with the original timetable; and when he expects the regulations to enter into force. [293894]
Margaret Hodge: The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 commenced on 1 February 2004. It was always the intention that the Act would be implemented progressively, as it is enabling legislation in a complex and challenging area. The Act made provision for the establishment of an advisory panel which was created in 2005. The panel produced its first set of recommendations in Autumn 2008, and a further set in spring 2009. Draft regulations which may result from those recommendations would be subject to full public consultation and to affirmative resolution in both Houses. I am working to ensure these matters are now expedited so that e-legal deposits are facilitated.
Historic Buildings: Conservation
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many buildings were (a) added to and (b) removed from the Buildings At Risk Register in each year since 2000. [292302]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 12 October 2009]: English Heritage has advised that the number of buildings added to and removed from the national Buildings At Risk Register in each year since 2000 are as follows:
| Number of buildings removed from Buildings at Risk Register | Number of buildings added to Buildings at Risk Register | |
The national Buildings At Risk Register includes Grade I and II* listed buildings and structural scheduled monuments (structures rather than earthworks) at risk.
Holiday Accommodation: Taxation
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he has had with Treasury colleagues on the effect of the abolition of furnished holiday lettings tax relief on the tourism industry. [293431]
Margaret Hodge: My predecessor, the hon. Member for Stevenage (Barbara Follett), raised this issue with Treasury colleagues and wrote to them setting out in detail the industry's concerns about these changes.
The Department remains in discussion with Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about the impact of these rule changes on the tourism industry. HMRC will be publishing their assessment of this, together with draft legislation, at the same time that the pre-Budget report is issued.
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