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17 Nov 2010 : Column 840W—continued
Wolverhampton City Council
Worcestershire County Council
Wycombe District Council
Wyre Council
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the name is of each partner organisation with which each participating local authority has worked to provide placements for young people on the Future Jobs Fund programme in each of the last six months. [22859]
Chris Grayling: The information has been placed in the Library.
Housing Benefit: Greater London
Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of rented accommodation in each London borough which is occupied by recipients of housing benefit. [23642]
Steve Webb: My most recent estimate is that approximately 40% of tenants in the private rented sector receive housing benefit.
This is a national figure; reliable estimates at a local level are not available.
Industrial Health and Safety
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effects on health and safety standards of the implementation of proposals to combine the roles of food safety and health and safety inspectors in local authorities. [22347]
Chris Grayling: Lord Young is working with the Health and Safety Executive, the Food Standards Agency and the Local Government Regulation to take forward his recommendations which were published in his report "Common Sense, Common Safety". Many local authorities already combine food safety and health and safety inspections or have the capability to do this. The intention is to build on existing good practices which are currently used in food premises. Local authorities will continue to respond to health and safety complaints and incidents with a risk based approach. The system will be more standardised, more efficient and more transparent for the consumer.
Mortgage Payments
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of people resident in the South East in receipt of support for mortgage interest who have mortgages with interest rates higher than 3.63 per cent.; and if he will estimate the proportion of such people who have mortgages with interest rates higher than 3.63 per cent owing to (a) low income and (b) poor credit history. [23799]
Steve Webb: This information is not available because the Department does not collect management information on the actual interest rates that apply to support for mortgage interest customers' loans.
Mortgages: Government Assistance
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an estimate of the cost to the public purse of providing housing support to those who will no longer have their eligible mortgage interest outgoings fully met by their benefit awards as a result of lowering the rate of interest used to calculate support for mortgage interest. [22654]
Steve Webb: The standard interest rate used to calculate support for mortgage interest was fixed at 6.08% by the last Administration. That rate was too generous and resulted in the vast majority of people getting more than their eligible mortgage interest liability, which was unfair to taxpayers.
The plans of the previous Government would have meant that the standard interest rate would have reverted to the formula of Bank of England base rate plus 1.58% from January 2011, which at present would produce a rate of 2.08%.
The Chancellor announced in the June 2010 Budget that the standard interest rate would be based on the Bank of England's published monthly average mortgage interest rate. Legislation to introduce this change came into effect from 1 October 2010 and the standard interest rate is currently 3.63%.
The Department conducted thorough analysis on the likely impacts of this change, and we have included as much information as possible in the equality impact assessment published on the Department's website.
Information on the cost to the public purse of providing housing support to those who will no longer have their eligible mortgage interest outgoings fully met by their
benefit awards as a result of lowering the rate of interest used to calculate support for mortgage interest is not available
Support for mortgage interest customers would not usually be eligible for other housing support while remaining as an owner occupier.
The Department does not capture information on reasons for ending a benefit claim, including support for mortgage interest, so does not capture the number of claimants who no longer receive support for mortgage interest payments because they have moved into rented accommodation, or the associated costs to the public purse where these customers become eligible for housing benefit. Furthermore, the relationship between arrears and continued home ownership is a complex one dependant on more than the level of support for mortgage interest payable.
The Department is in the process of developing a model to estimate the impact of changes to support for mortgage interest on the number of repossessions. However any estimates will always be limited since detailed case-by-case information, such as arrears at the start of a claim, is not collected by the department. The Department will consider whether the results can be used publicly once this is work is complete.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has told the Department that it expects lenders to continue to exercise forbearance where it is fair to do so for the borrower, and the borrower has a chance of paying off any arrears in the future. The Council of Mortgage Lenders thinks that where arrears levels increase for some borrowers as a result of the change in the standard interest rate this does not translate into an immediate possession risk.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect on households with disabled residents of changes to the rate of mortgage interest support. [23477]
Steve Webb: The standard interest rate used to calculate support for mortgage interest was fixed at 6.08% by the last administration. That rate was too generous and resulted in the vast majority of people getting more than their eligible mortgage interest liability, which was unfair to taxpayers.
The plans of the previous Government would have meant that the standard interest rate would have reverted to the formula of Bank of England Base rate plus 1.58% from January 2011, which at present would produce a rate of 2.08%.
The Chancellor announced in the June 2010 Budget that the standard interest rate would be based on the Bank of England's published monthly average mortgage interest rate. Legislation to introduce this change came into effect from 1 October 2010 and the standard interest rate is currently 3.63%.
The Department conducted thorough analysis on the likely impacts of this change on different groups, including on disabled people, and we have included as much information on this as possible in the Equality Impact Assessment published on the Department's website.
At the comprehensive spending review 2010, the Chancellor announced a one year extension to the temporary package of Support for Mortgage Interest
changes that had been due to expire in January 2011. This extension maintains the waiting period for new working age claimants at 13 weeks and the limit on eligible mortgage capital at £200,000, and provides additional support to homeowners facing difficulties.
Unemployment: Cumbernauld
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the number of workless households in Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency. [24440]
Mr Hurd: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question for an estimate of the number of workless households in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency. [24440].
The latest available data from the Annual Population Survey (APS) show that in 2009, the number of workless households in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East constituency was estimated to be 5,200. This was out of a total 31,200 households in the constituency.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. This is captured in a confidence interval, defined by lower and upper bounds, such as that the interval formed between the bounds would contain the true value for 95% of all possible samples.
A workless household is defined as a household that contains at least one person aged 16 to 64 and where all individuals aged 16 and over are not in employment.
Work Programme
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to enable small providers to play a role in the Work Programme. [22521]
Chris Grayling: The Work Programme will provide a wide range of opportunities for partnership and collaboration between large and small providers. We anticipate that prime contractors will need to work with appropriate sub-contractors to ensure the individual needs of all customers are met, including those suffering from health conditions or disabilities.
We are encouraging organisations of all sizes from the public, private and voluntary sectors to consider getting involved in the delivery of the Work Programme, and will work with framework providers later this year to help them build links with smaller local providers.
We will also help safeguard sub-contractors by requiring prime contractors to meet the award winning Merlin standard, an independent accreditation of the arrangements between a prime contractor and their sub-contractors/partners.
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanism his Department plans to establish to encourage consultation between successful Work Programme contractors and Jobcentre Plus. [22522]
Chris Grayling: All bidders will have access to detailed information about the areas covered by each Work Programme contract package as part of the Specification of Requirements. This will include all Jobcentre Plus services in the locality.
Bidders will be invited to local events to meet representatives from Jobcentre Plus and other strategic partners. This will enable bidders to obtain detailed information about the labour market and about local priorities including the needs of employers and jobseekers, and to ensure that these are addressed in their tenders.
After contracts have been awarded DWP will again facilitate contacts with successful bidders to ensure that Jobcentre Plus is fully conversant with their delivery models and fully engaged in working with providers in planning the implementation of the new service in each locality.
House of Commons Commission
Parliament's Education Service: Finance
Philip Davies: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was spent on the outreach programme in each financial year since it was established; and how much the House of Commons Commission expects to spend on the programme in 2010-11. [24389]
Sir Stuart Bell: The Parliamentary Outreach service was set up following the Administration Committee's 2007 report Improving Facilities for Educational Visitors to Parliament (HC 434 2006-07), which included a recommendation to develop a parliamentary outreach service including regional outreach officers working throughout the UK. The service is being built up over three years, commencing with a pilot year in 2008-09, when the first of the regional outreach officers were appointed.
Parliamentary Outreach is funded jointly with the House of Lords (70:30 split). Costs to the Commons are as follows:
| £ | |
| (1) Estimated expenditure | |
As part of the House-wide savings programme and subject to approval, it is anticipated that there will a reduction in the budget of the outreach programme in future years.
Cabinet Office
Citizens' Advice Bureaux
Ben Gummer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of the Citizens Advice Bureau to meeting the objectives of his Big Society initiative. [24512]
Mr Davey: I have been asked to reply.
The Government value highly the work of the independent charities which make up the Citizens Advice Service. It has both high public awareness and is a much trusted source of advice for people from all backgrounds. It equally values the feedback received from bureaux via case studies which helps to hold Government and others to account and is vital in helping to inform and shape future policy.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) already supports the Citizens Advice Service through the provision of annual Grant-in-Aid to its umbrella bodies in England and Wales and in Scotland (Citizens Advice and Citizens Advice Scotland) which it does on behalf of all Government Departments and the Welsh and Scottish Governments. That funding enables both to provide business services to their customers-the national network of Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales and Scotland-which enable them to provide front-line services to the public. Without these national business services (IT infrastructure and content, research, training, and standards), the bureaux would not be able to provide their services to the public.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State also announced on 14 October, changes to the future competition and consumer landscape including proposals to transfer the functions of Consumer Focus and the Consumer Direct helpline, operated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the national bodies for the Citizens Advice service in England and Wales and in Scotland and most of the consumer-related research and advocacy functions, currently undertaken by OFT and Consumer Focus, to the Citizens Advice Service.
BIS's proposal, on which it will consult publicly in the new year, would see the Citizens Advice Service, together with Trading Standards as the two groups at the centre of our plans for a better model for the future consumer landscape. This fits with both the Government's localism and Big Society agendas.
Civil Servants: Ethnic Groups and Disability
Mr Umunna: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of Civil Service staff was identified as (a) being from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and (b) disabled in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11 on the latest date for which figures are available. [24029]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning the proportion of Civil Service staff identified as (a) being from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and (b) disabled in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11 on the latest date for which figures are available. (24029)
Civil Service Statistics are published annually by the Office for National Statistics on the National Statistics website.
Statistics for 2010 will be published on 19 November 2010. The requested data for years 2008 and 2009 are attached at Annex A.
Corruption: EU Law
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office by what mechanism companies are sanctioned for those foreign bribery-related offences which are monitored in relation to the enforcement of the European Procurement Directives. [24100]
Mr Hurd: UK Regulation 23 of the Public Contracts Regulation 2006 and regulation 26 of the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006, which implement the respective European Procurement Directives 2004/18/EC and 2004/17/EC, state that a contracting authority having actual knowledge of an economic operator that has been convicted of the offence of bribery should be treated as ineligible and not be selected in the tendering procedure.
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the implementation of the Bribery Act 2010 will require the amendment of regulations implementing the 2004 European Procurement Directives. [24104]
Mr Hurd: The criteria for the selection of economic operators laid down in the Public Contracts Regulations 2006 and the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2006 will need to be updated so as to refer to the new offences that are contained in the Bribery Act 2010.
Employment: Clwyd
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were in employment in Vale of Clwyd constituency in each year since 1997. [24234]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people were employed in Vale of Clwyd constituency in each year since 1997. (24234)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions.
The Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency changed to new boundaries at the 2010 general election. Figures for the current Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency are only available from 2004.
Table 1 shows the number of persons in employment resident in the Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency for the 12 month periods ending in December from 2004 to 2009 from the APS, along with the latest estimate for the period ending March 2010.
As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at
| Table 1: Number of persons( 1) in employment resident in the Vale of Clwyd parliamentary constituency | |
| 12 month period | Thousand |
| (1) Persons aged 16 and over. (2) Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. as described below: Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV-for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. CV = Coefficient of Variation Key: * 0 = CV<5%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 = CV <10%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 = CV <20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ? 20%-Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes Source: Annual Population Survey | |
Jobseeker's Allowance: Tower Hamlets
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency and (b) Tower Hamlets had been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance for more than a year in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. [24182]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency and (b) Tower Hamlets has been in receipt of jobseeker's allowance for more than a year in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. (24182)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles the number of claimants of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
Table 1 shows the number of persons resident in (a) Bethnal Green and Bow constituency and (b) Tower Hamlets who were claiming of JSA for more than a year in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. Data has been provided for September 2008, 2009 and 2010 as the latest data available is for the period September 2010.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
| Table 1: Number of persons claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than one year resident in Bethnal Green and Bow constituency and Tower Hamlets | ||
| As at September: | Bethnal Green and Bow | Tower Hamlets |
| Note: Data rounded to nearest 5. Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative system | ||
Local Government: Procurement
Dr Phillip Lee: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will place in the Library a copy of guidance issued by the Office of Government Commerce to local authorities on tendering and small and medium-sized enterprises; and if he will make a statement. [24466]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office, through the Efficiency and Reform Group (ERG), provides a range of tools to promote best practice in public procurement that can be found on the OGC website:
These tools are intended primarily for central Government Departments, including their agencies and non-departmental public bodies, but organisations in the wider public sector may also use them, and many choose to do so.
The website includes specific materials to help public procurers take account of SMEs in procurement exercises.
Lone Parents: Females
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of lone parents in (a) the North East and (b) England are female. [24476]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your request to ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what percentage of lone parents in (a) the North East and (b) England are female (24476).
The number and type of families in the UK can be estimated using the Annual Population Survey (APS). The latest data available are for 2009. Estimates are provided for lone parent families with at least one dependent child.
In 2009, 92 per cent of lone parents with dependent children were female in both the North East and in England.
Older People
Ms Bagshawe: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the likely (a) number and (b) proportion of those aged over 85 years in each local authority area in 2020. [23946]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck , dated November 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Minister for the Cabinet Office asking what estimate he has made of the likely (a) number and (b) proportion of those aged over 85 years in each local authority area in 2020 (23946)
The most recent subnational population projections for England are based on the mid-year population estimates for 2008. The projected number and percentage of the population aged 86 and above for each local authority in England in 2020 is given in the attached table.
| 2008-Based s ubnational p opulation p rojections | ||
| Table 1: Projected number and percentage of persons aged 86 and over in 2020 | ||
| Area name | Persons aged 86 and over (thousand) | Persons aged 86 and over (percentage) |
| Notes: The subnational population projections are demographic trend based projections that indicate what the population of an area is likely to be if recently observed trends in fertility, mortality and migration were to continue. They take no account of future policies or developments which may affect trends. For details about the methodology used to produce the 2008-based subnational population projections please see the Methodology Guide at the following web page: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_population/snpp-2008/2008_based_SNPP_Methodology_Guide.pdf For further information regarding methodology please email: snpp@ons.gov.uk The data are Crown Copyright. They may be reproduced freely within your organisation, but they must not be used for commercial use. For further information please see Subnational Population Projections Terms and Conditions of Use. Commercial use licences can be obtained from ONS - please email: snpp@ons.gov.uk Source: Population Projections Unit, ONS: Crown Copyright. Office for National Statistics | ||
Older People: Females
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of people over 50 years old resident in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne North constituency, (b) the north-east and (c) England are female. [24472]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what percentage of people over 50 years resident in (a) Newcastle Upon Tyne North Constituency, (b) the north-east and (c) England are female (24472).
The table below shows the number of females aged over 50 years as a percentage of the total population aged over 50 years, for the latest year for which data are available.
| Percentage | ||
| Mid-2007 | Mid-2009 | |
| (1) Data not available. Source: Office for National Statistics. | ||
Public Sector: Procurement
Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he plans to take to encourage public bodies to observe the 2009 guidance of the Office of Government Commerce, Promoting skills through public procurement, as part of their procurement procedures. [24479]
Mr Maude: The primary purpose of Government procurement is to buy goods and services the Government need, at the best combination of quality and whole-life costs to obtain the best value for money.
Departments are free to build skills and apprenticeships requirements into their procurement exercises, where relevant and consistent with Government procurement policy and EU treaty principles of openness, non-discrimination and proportionality. Decisions on the inclusion of such requirements have to be taken on a case-by-case basis, driven by the imperative of optimising value for money.
Unemployment: Wales
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were unemployed in each constituency in Wales in each month since January 2010. [24236]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated November 2010:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people were unemployed in each constituency in Wales in each month since January 2010. (24236)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Unfortunately the sample size does not support analyses of unemployment for the requested geography.
As an alternative, in Table 1, we have provided the number of persons resident in each constituency in Wales claiming Jobseeker's Allowance since January 2010. Data has been provided for January 2010 to the latest period September 2010.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
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