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24 Feb 2010 : Column 578W—continued
Unemployment Benefits: Medical Examinations
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints (a) in total and (b) from residents of Scotland regarding fitness to work assessments her Department has received since 27 October 2008. [317754]
Jonathan Shaw: Information on the number of complaints received by the Department specifically about the work capability assessment element of employment and support allowance is not available.
Vocational Training: Disabled
Mr. Harper:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her latest assessment is of the adequacy of skills training on offer to claimants of Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance; and for what reason claimants of Incapacity Benefit and
Employment and Support Allowance are not able to access Train to Gain if they have more than four GCSEs or NVQ Level 2. [315694]
Jonathan Shaw: It is the role of Jobcentre Plus to work with all customers and help them overcome any barrier to getting into work. Where this involves meeting a skills need, a customer, including one in receipt of either incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance, can be referred to a range of training provision provided by either Jobcentre Plus or the Learning and Skills Council.
There is a wide range of training provision on offer throughout the country for all customers, including those in receipt of incapacity benefit and employment and support allowance. Customer training needs are assessed on an individual basis and customers are then referred to provision that not only meets their needs but also the needs of local employers. The adequacy of skills training is therefore not assessed on a national basis but is driven by the local labour market and an assessment of the individual's needs.
The primary national return to work programme for people claiming incapacity benefits or employment and support allowance is Pathways to Work. In Pathways to Work areas, private and voluntary sector providers are contracted to tailor provision to meet the needs of the customer. It is their responsibility to ensure that any training is adequate and appropriate.
Last October we announced a review of Pathways to Work. The White Paper, 'Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment', published in December, set out our underpinning principles for reform and confirms that we will bring forward proposals in the spring.
Train to Gain is not routinely offered to those on benefits. It is a programme aimed specifically at employers, giving them better access to a range of training opportunities for improving the skills of their employees and the productivity of their business.
Over the last few years, to boost demand and respond to the downturn the Government introduced a number of temporary funding flexibilities for qualifications delivered as part of Train to Gain. Until August 2010, this includes providing full funding in respect of full level 2 qualifications (5 A*-C GCSEs or the vocational equivalent) where the employee already holds a qualification at that level.
The National Skills Strategy Skills for Growth (November 2009), set out the Government's intention to focus their substantial investment through Train to Gain on areas of high growth and ensure a greater level of co-funding by employers. The emphasis will therefore be on fully supporting employers to upskill their employees, with employers contributing the costs where their staff need to reskill.
Winter Fuel Payments
Steve Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether her Department has made an estimate of the cost in real terms of extending the winter fuel payment to people (a) receiving the higher rate mobility component of disability living allowance and (b) receiving the higher rate care component of disability living allowance because they are terminally
ill, who otherwise would not be entitled to it, in each of the next six years; and if she will make a statement; [316495]
(2) if she will estimate the cost to the public purse in real terms of paying winter fuel allowance in respect of all children aged under five years old in receipt of the higher care component of disability living allowance in each of the next five years. [316496]
Jonathan Shaw: It is not possible to identify these costs as it is not possible to identify disability living allowance customers who would not be entitled to a winter fuel payment because they are living in households that already receive a winter fuel payment.
Disability living allowance is specifically designed to help meet the extra costs of disability, including heating.
Winter Fuel Payments: Rotherham
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid out in winter fuel payments to eligible households in Rotherham in winter 2009-10. [317109]
Angela Eagle: For winter 2008-09 (the last winter for which information is available) we spent £3.4 million on Winter Fuel Payments in Rotherham.
Notes:
1. Expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million
2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant Office for National Statistics postcode directory.
Winter Fuel Payments: Stroud
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of householders in Stroud constituency who will receive (a) £250 and (b) £400 winter fuel payment in 2009-10. [317086]
Angela Eagle: Information on the number of households in Stroud which received winter fuel payments for winter 2008-09 (the last year for which information is available) is in the House of Commons Library.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Stroud constituency are in receipt of winter fuel allowance; and how much her Department paid to such pensioners in winter fuel allowances in 2009. [317087]
Angela Eagle: In winter 2008-09 (the last winter for which information is available) 25,540 people in Stroud received a winter fuel payment, at a cost of £5.4 million.
Notes:
1. Payment figures are rounded to the nearest ten
2. Expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million
3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant Office for National Statistics postcode directory.
Justice
Drugs: Sussex
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2009, Official Report, column 618W, on drugs: Sussex, how many people were found guilty of offences of drug (a) possession and (b) dealing in (i) Sussex and (ii) Lewes constituency in 2008. [317036]
Claire Ward: The number of persons found guilty at all courts in the Sussex police force area for offences of possession, and supplying or offering to supply, a controlled drug in 2008 (latest available) is shown in the following table.
Data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
Data for 2009 are planned for publication in the autumn, 2010.
Family Conciliation Services
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what recent representations he has received from agencies involved in child contact cases of the effects on children of compulsory mediation in such cases; and if he will make a statement; [318043]
(2) what estimate he has made the total savings to the public purse likely to accrue from the implementation of compulsory mediation as an alternative to court action in child contact cases. [318044]
Bridget Prentice: I have not received any representations regarding the effects on children of compulsory mediation in child contact cases. Family mediation in England and Wales is voluntary and I have not made any estimate of savings from the implementation of compulsory mediation.
On 20 January 2010, the Green Paper, Support For All: The Families and Relationships Green Paper, was published. Family mediation forms part of the consultation process as the Government are seeking views about whether mediation assessment (not mediation in its entirety) should be made compulsory for parents who go to court to seek to resolve residence or contact disputes, where it is safe to do so.
At the same time, the Government announced a comprehensive review of the family justice system, which will report jointly to the Secretaries of State for Justice and Children, Schools and Families and the Welsh Assembly Government. The principle that 'the interests of the child should be paramount' will be at the heart of this review. The review will focus on the management and leadership of the family justice system and what can be done to promote informed settlement and agreement of family law cases outside of the court system. It will seek to learn from the experience of other jurisdictions and from research and will be supported by the appointment of an expert, external advisory group. The review will report in 2011.
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many cases involving a child contact decision a court has granted contact against the wishes of the child subject to that decision in each of the last five years. [318050]
Bridget Prentice: Her Majesty's Courts Service does not record any information centrally on whether a court granted contact against the wishes of the child. Information on the wishes of the child could be obtained by inspection of individual case files only at disproportionate cost.
HMCS does record the total number of contact orders made. Table 1 shows the number of public and private law section 8 contact orders made in all tiers of court between the years of 2004 and 2008. 2008 is the latest full calendar year for which data are published. Statistics on contact orders made are published by the Ministry of Justice in the annual command paper "Judicial and Court Statistics", copies of which are available in the Library of the House and on the Ministry's website at:
| Table 1: Section 8 public and private law contact orders made in all tiers of court between 2004 and 2008 | |||
| Public | Private | Total | |
| Notes: 1. Figures presented are for England and Wales only. 2. Figures relate to the number of children subject to each application. 3. All tiers of court are represented in the answer; specifically the Family Proceedings Court, county court and High Court. 4. There are known data quality problems with the figures for the Family Proceedings Courts. A new data collection method, introduced in April 2007, has made some improvements to the completeness of the data. 5. Section 8 is the part of the Children Act 1989 that refers to contact orders, residence orders, prohibited steps orders and specific issue orders. 6. Public Law refers to Children Act 1989 cases where there are child welfare issues and a local authority, or an authorised person, is stepping in to protect the child and ensure they get the care they need. 7. Private Law refers to Children Act 1989 cases where two or more parties are trying to resolve a private dispute. This is commonly where parents have split up and there is a disagreement about contact with, or residence of, their children. 8. Due to changes in methodology and data collection methods over time, comparisons between years should be avoided. Source: Judicial and Court Statistics | |||
National Offender Management Service: Manpower
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps the human resources department of the National Offender Management Service is taking to redress the imbalance in the terms and conditions of staff in the prison and probation services. [312572]
Maria Eagle: The prison and probation services operate within the framework of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Agency. For historical reasons the two services have different employment structures. Prison service staff are civil servants and are directly employed by the NOMS Agency. Probation service staff are not civil servants and are employed by a probation board or trust. It is recognised that there is a difference in the operational need of both services. This is reflected in their terms and conditions and different operational structures. Terms and conditions are kept under review in developing pay modernisation strategies for both services.
Paedophilia
Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convicted paedophiles there were in bail hostels in each of the last five years; and what his most recent estimate is of the number of convicted paedophiles in bail hostels. [318526]
Maria Eagle: The number of child sex offenders accommodated in approved premises (formerly known as probation and bail hostels) in England and Wales will vary from time to time. Statistical information about the offending history of offenders residing in approved premises at any one time is not collected centrally, although offenders' assessed level of risk of harm at the point of admission is.
Approved premises provide for enhanced and effective supervision of certain offenders. This would be much more difficult to achieve if such offenders were dispersed into less suitable accommodation in the community.
Prison Sentences
Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) UK, (b) Irish and (c) other European economic area nationals are serving a sentence of (i) mandatory life imprisonment, (ii) discretionary life imprisonment and (iii) imprisonment for public protection. [318048]
Maria Eagle: The following table shows the numbers of British, Irish and other EEA nationals serving mandatory life sentences, other life sentences (including discretionary life imprisonment) and indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) in prison establishments in England and Wales as at 30 June 2009. These are the latest available data.
| British nationals | Irish nationals | Other EEA nationals | |
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