| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
25 Jan 2010 : Column 581W—continued
| Total number of employment and support allowance scrutiny and completed examinations | ||
| September 2008 to August 2009 | September 2009 to December 2009 | |
| Notes: 1. Management information held by the Department does not separately identify PCA assessments in respect of initial claims to benefit, as all referrals were in respect of customers in receipt of incapacity benefit. 2. Excludes work focused health related assessments. 3. Data relate to the number of completed medical examinations and paper scrutiny clearances completed by Atos Healthcare. Source: DWP medical services contract management information | ||
Information on the number of initial awards following these referrals is not available.
Data on appeals relating to IB claims are not held centrally. Detailed information relating to the work capability assessment for employment support allowance claims in Great Britain was published in October 2009 and is available at:
A copy of the publication is available in the Library and details the number of initial assessments carried out since the introduction of employment and support allowance, a breakdown of the result of the assessment, including the fit for work decision and separate information relating to work capability assessment appeals.
Data relating specifically to work capability assessment appeals are reproduced in the table:
| Work capability assessment appeals heard on 'fit for work' decisions-data to end of August 2009 | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Includes clerical assessments, we can infer that an appeal that links to a clerical assessment was very likely to be against a 'fit for work' decision. 2. Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to Tribunal Service and heard, a limited volume of appeals heard data are held currently. Volumes will increase in the coming months as more appeals are processed giving a more robust picture of appeal volumes and outcomes. It will then be possible to link this information to the WCA data and provide information on proportions appealing. 3. Figures rounded to the nearest 100. | |
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many medical assessments were carried out for (a) incapacity benefit and (b) employment and support allowance in (i) the UK, (ii) England, (iii) the West Midlands and (iv) Birmingham in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those assessed were deemed eligible for those benefits on (A) initial assessment and (B) appeal. [309965]
Jonathan Shaw: Information on the number of medical assessments completed is not available for Birmingham. Additionally, the DWP is not responsible for the administration of incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance in Northern Ireland. Information is available for Great Britain, England and the west midlands. This is provided in the following tables:
| Incapacity benefit scrutiny and completed examinations | |||||
| Number | |||||
| September 2005 to August 2006 | September 2006 to August 2007 | September 2007 to August 2008 | September 2008 to August 2009 | September 2009 to December 2009 | |
| Source: DWP medical services contract management information. | |||||
| Employment and support allowance scrutiny and examinations | ||
| Number | ||
| September 2008 to August 2009 | September 2009 to December 2009 | |
| Notes: 1. Management Information held by the Department does not separately identify PCA assessments in respect of initial claims to benefit, as all referrals were in respect of customers in receipt of incapacity benefit. 2. Excludes work focused health related assessments. 3. Data relate to the number of completed medical examinations and paper scrutiny clearances completed by Atos Healthcare. Source: DWP medical services contract management information. | ||
Information on the number of initial awards following these referrals is not available.
Data on appeals relating to IB claims are not held centrally. Detailed information relating to the work
capability assessment for employment support allowance claims in Great Britain was published in October 2009 and is available at:
A copy of the publication is available in the Library and details the number of initial assessments carried out since the introduction of employment and support allowance, a breakdown of the result of the assessment, including the fit for work decision and separate information relating to work capability assessment appeals.
Data relating specifically to work capability assessment appeals are reproduced in the following table:
| Work capability assessment appeals heard on 'Fit for Work' decisions, data to end of August 2009 | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Includes clerical assessments, we can infer that an appeal that links to a clerical assessment was very likely to be against a 'fit for work' decision. 2. Due to the time it takes for appeals to be submitted to Tribunal Service and heard, a limited volume of appeals heard data are held currently. Volumes will increase in the coming months as more appeals are processed giving a more robust picture of appeal volumes and outcomes. It will then be possible to link this information to the work capability assessment data and provide information on proportions appealing. 3. Figures rounded to the nearest hundred. | |
Working Tax Credit: Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to her Department's White Paper on Building Britain's Recovery, how many people are in receipt of the disabled worker element of working tax credit; and when she expects to publish the results of her Department's review of the transfer of those in receipt of employment and support allowance to the disabled worker element of working tax credit upon moving into employment. [312065]
Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.
Snapshot estimates of the number of households benefiting from the disabled worker element of working tax credits (WTC), as at December 2009, are available in table 5.1 of the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) publication "Child and Working Tax Credit Statistics, December 2009", available at:
The Department for Work and Pensions' White Paper "Building Britain's Recovery. Achieving Full Employment" announced that the Government will consider the scope to passport people moving from employment and support allowance into work on to the disabled worker element and 16-hours rule in WTC. HMRC is exploring this proposal through consultation with the Department's Disability Working Group, which includes representatives of people with disabilities. This work will report to HMRC's Benefits and Credits Consultation Group; minutes of the Consultation Group are published at:
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Corruption
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2009, Official Report, column 300W, on Afghanistan: corruption, how many officials from his Department are seconded to the multi-agency task force to support the implementation of an anti-corruption strategy in Afghanistan; [311584]
(2) from which Government Departments other than his Department staff have been seconded to the multi-agency task-force. [311667]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: I have been asked to reply.
The multi-agency task force draws on 12 members of the British embassy in Kabul: three members from the Department for International Development, two from the Serious Organised Crimes Agency and seven members assigned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that post sent to UK aid workers and others working in Afghanistan is processed as quickly as possible through Pakistan. [309735]
Mr. Ivan Lewis [holding answer 11 January 2010]: As stated in our Travel Advice, conditions in Afghanistan mean we are only able to provide a very limited Consular service. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not offer a Poste Restante service. It is the responsibility of the individual or their employer to ensure that sufficient arrangements are in place for their mail and other support services in Afghanistan.
Bi-Communal Civil Society Links
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of progress in the development of bi-communal civil society links in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [312737]
Chris Bryant: The Government have not made such an assessment. However, we continue to support events, activities and groups aimed at bringing Greek and Turkish Cypriots together and building inter-communal trust.
Cyprus: Politics and Government
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the prospects for success of the intensified round of settlement talks in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [312739]
Chris Bryant:
The Government welcome the intensification of negotiations in search of an agreed settlement for the benefit of all Cypriots. Discussions so far have taken place in a positive and constructive atmosphere, with the aim of seeking greater convergence in the governance and power sharing chapter. We urge
all parties to approach the negotiations in a spirit of compromise. The leaders have the support of the international community; we hope they will capitalise on this unique opportunity to find a solution.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcomes were of (a) his discussions with his Turkish counterpart on 12 January 2010 and (b) the Minister of Europe's recent visit to Turkey in relation to (i) Cyprus and (ii) Turkey's EU accession process; and if he will make a statement. [312839]
Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Turkish Foreign Minister welcomed the intensified settlement talks in Cyprus. The Secretary of State also reiterated the UK's support for Turkey's EU membership and encouraged Turkey to continue making the necessary reforms.
I discussed both issues in my meeting with the Turkish EU Chief Negotiator, and noted that a settlement in Cyprus was a key objective for Turkey. I made clear the UK's support for Turkey's EU membership and announced jointly with the EU Chief Negotiator the establishment of a UK-Turkey joint Environmental Task Force to help Turkey meet European standards in environmental issues and climate change. I underlined the importance of Turkey's compliance with the Ankara Protocol.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with the distribution of the 259 million euros allocated by the EU to northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [312840]
Chris Bryant: Over 99 per cent. of the EU aid package was allocated to individual projects by the European Commission before the deadline of 18 December 2009. A total of 880 contracts, most of them grants, have been signed.
Cyprus: Property
Mr. Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will revise his Department's guidance in relation to property development in the north of Cyprus in light of the Court of Appeal judgment of 19 January 2010 in the case of Apostolides v. Orams. [313057]
Departmental Billing
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in December 2009. [311257]
Chris Bryant: In December 2009 the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) paid 97.5 per cent. of supplier invoices within 10 days of receipt.
The FCO is aware of the importance of paying suppliers promptly, and makes every effort to pay invoices as quickly as possible.
Departmental Food
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the quantity of food waste generated by his Department in each year for which figures are available. [310804]
Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office operates in hundreds of locations around the world, many of which have their own local opportunities, facilities and regulations regarding recycling and waste disposal. The information requested is therefore not held centrally and cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost. However, we encourage the sustainable use, re-use and recycling of products.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |