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10 Nov 2009 : Column 293W—continued
Information is not available for Ministers prior to 2007-08.
Expenditure relating to the use of the Government Car Service is not included in the figures quoted above. Information about the cost of ministerial cars is published each year in a written ministerial statement. The relevant information can be found at the following links:
The figures provided should be read in the context of a Department of over 100,000 staff operating from over 1,000 locations across Great Britain.
It is also worth noting that the increase in car hire expenditure has been more than offset by a reduction in 'grey fleet' mileage and expenditure. The reduction in such mileage from 2007-08 to 2008-09 was 8.8 million miles, representing a £3.6 million reduction in expenditure.
Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code".
Departmental Sick Leave
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sick days have been taken by staff of her Department in each of the last five years; and what the cost of such absences was in each such year. [290411]
Jim Knight: The available information is in the following table. The figures reflect data currently recorded on the Department's personnel computer system.
The Department has reduced the number of days sick leave taken by its staff to 8.5 days per staff year, resulting in a cut of sick pay as a proportion of total salary from 3 per cent. to 2 per cent. in three years.
Further reducing sickness absence and its associated cost is a top priority for the Department.
| Sick days taken by staff | Sick days as a percentage of working days available | Cost of absences (£ million) | |
| Notes: 1. The cost of absences shown is the total amount of salary paid during periods of sick leave. 2. Cost data for 2004-05 and 2005-06 were not available centrally and could be calculated only at disproportionate costs. | |||
Departmental Visits Abroad
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department spent on overnight accommodation for (a) Ministers and (b) officials while overseas in each of the last three years. [294682]
Jim Knight: The Department for Work and Pensions spent the following amounts on overnight accommodation for staff while overseas in each of the last three years:
| Hotel (£) | |
The information for Ministers is not available in the format requested.
Travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code respectively and the Cabinet Office provides the annual list of overseas travel over £500 undertaken by Ministers. The 2008-09 list was published on 16 July and can be viewed at:
Disadvantaged: Merkinch
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Highland ward of Merkinch received from the deprived areas funding 2008-09; and how much it is expected to receive in 2009-10. [297820]
Jim Knight: For the period 2008-09, the Highland ward of Merkinch received £24,000 of deprived areas funding. For the period 2009-10, negotiations are ongoing with a provider and as yet no money has been allocated.
Fuel Poverty
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of households have been living in fuel poverty in (a) Yorkshire and the Humber and (b) England in each year since 1997. [297570]
Mr. Kidney: I have been asked to reply.
The most recently available fuel poverty statistics relate to 2007.
Regional data are available from 2003 only. The following table shows the figures for Yorkshire and the Humber region:
| Yorkshire and the Humber | ||
| Number of fuel poor households (Thousand) | Percentage of all households | |
The following table shows fuel poverty estimates for England from 1996 to 2007. Fuel poverty figures are not available for 1997, 1999 and 2000.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps her Department is taking to ensure that local housing allowance claimants pass their local housing allowance on to their landlords; and if she will make a statement. [299092]
Helen Goodman: Safeguards are in place that enable local authorities to make payments of the local housing allowance to landlords in circumstances where tenants are likely to have difficulty in managing their rent payments. In addition, payment is made direct to the landlord where the tenant is in arrears of eight weeks or more.
We are satisfied that these safeguards will ensure that customers do not fall into unmanageable difficulties and that their rental payments will be met. The Department is closely monitoring how the local housing allowance is working in practice and is undertaking a wide ranging review of the scheme over its first two years.
Housing Benefit: Council Tax Benefit
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single parent households were in receipt of (a) housing and (b) council tax benefit in each year since 1997. [297281]
Helen Goodman: The available information is shown in the following table.
| Number of single parent households receiving housing benefit/council tax benefit: Great Britain, May 1997 to May 2003 | ||
| Number of single parent households receiving housing benefit | Number of single parent households receiving council tax benefit | |
| Notes: 1. The figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 4. Council tax benefit figures exclude second adult rebates. 5. These figures are published on the Department's website at http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/hbctb_arc.asp 6. Figures for May 2004 are unavailable as they are currently being revised. 7. From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed HB/CTB data electronically from local authorities, and a range of tables has been published as national statistics since August 2009. However, until more of the new data have been fully quality assured to national statistics standards, some detail is only available from the 1 per cent. sample data. Source: Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system, annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1997-2003. | ||
Incapacity Benefit
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in (a) England, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley and (d) Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland constituency have received incapacity benefit in each year since 1997. [297198]
Jonathan Shaw: The information requested is in the table.
| Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants at February in each year since 1997 | ||||
| As at February | England | North East | Tees Valley Jobcentre Plus District | Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency |
| Notes: 1. Tees Valley Jobcentre Plus district comprises the following local authorities: Darlington; Hartlepool; Middlesbrough; Redcar and Cleveland; Stockton. 2. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. 3. These data do not include claimants of employment and support allowance. Source: Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 5 per cent. and 100 per cent. data. | ||||
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