18 May 2011 : Column 193W

Written Answers to Questions

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Wales

Departmental Billing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how many invoices her Department received in respect of goods or services supplied by tier 1 suppliers between 1 May 2010 and 1 April 2011; and how many of those invoices were not paid within the period of time specified in the Government's Fair Payment guidance; [55857]

(2) what mechanism her Department has established to ensure its payments are passed through the supply chain to each tier in accordance with the last date for payment defined in the Government's Fair Payment guidance. [55880]

Mr David Jones: Being a small Department, the Wales Office does not procure contractors directly and therefore received no invoices between 1 May 2010 and 1 April 2011. The Wales Office uses contracts granted by the Ministry of Justice and larger Government Departments.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much her Department spent on special advisers' travel by (a) Government car, (b) private hire car, (c) train, (d) bus, (e) commercial aircraft and (f) private aircraft since May 2010. [56091]

Mr David Jones: In line with the Secretary of State's decision in May 2010 all Wales Office Ministers, Officials and Special Advisers travel standard class rather than first class by rail.

The Wales Office has spent £3,284.70 on train travel for our special adviser since May 2010, which is a significant saving on the previous year when the Department had two special advisers.

We have made no expenditure on Government car, private hire car, bus or any air travel for the special adviser.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the name is of each contractor or supplier of (a) mobile telephone and (b) mobile data services to her Department. [56052]

Mr David Jones: Such devices are obtained by my Department through the central procurement arrangements provided by the Ministry of Justice. Under this arrangement, the suppliers are Vodafone and Orange.

18 May 2011 : Column 194W

Devolution

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) whether her Department will lead on the proposal for a process for Wales similar to the Calman Commission on devolution funding; [56146]

(2) what recent discussions she had had on the proposal for a process for Wales similar to the Calman Commission on devolution funding. [56147]

Mrs Gillan: I am considering with Cabinet colleagues how best to take forward the Government's commitment to establish a process for Wales similar to the Calman Commission. I look forward to discussing the issue with the First Minister following his recent reappointment.

Greater Manchester

Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether her Department has made any payment to (a) the Manchester college, (b) Manchester college for arts and technology and (c) City college, Manchester since 1997. [55750]

Mr David Jones: No.

Work and Pensions

Departmental Accountancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of his Department since his appointment. [52018]

Chris Grayling: No ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer at the Department for Work and Pensions since my appointment.

Departmental Billing

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many invoices his Department received in respect of goods or services supplied by tier 1 suppliers between 1 May 2010 and 1 April 2011; and how many of those invoices were not paid within the period of time specified in the Government's Fair Payment guidance. [55856]

Chris Grayling: The following information details the volumes of payments to suppliers made to the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) suppliers between 1 May 2010 and 1 April 2011 by the Department:

To note, DWP payment terms are calculated from the receipt of a valid invoice rather than the date of invoice.

Total number of invoices received was 772,209, of which 13,964 payments were made outside the 30 day payment target; 17,906 were made outside the 10 day payment target; and 104,572 were made outside the five day payment target. The Government's Fair Payment guidance relates to the construction sector. The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) estate is managed under contract by Telereal Trillium so the Department has no direct construction requirements.

18 May 2011 : Column 195W

The “Prompt Payment Code”, published by the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) gives a code of practice for prompt payment. DWP has been a signatory of the code since June 2009 and adheres to this through the Prompt Payment Targets.

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanism his Department has established to ensure its payments are passed through the supply chain to each tier in accordance with the last date for payment defined in the Government's Fair Payment guidance. [55879]

Chris Grayling: The Government's Fair Payment guidance relates to the Construction sector. The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) estate is managed under contract by Telereal Trillium so the Department has no direct construction requirements.

Where DWP suppliers use sub-contractors to deliver a contract, our terms and conditions insist that a provision is included in the sub-contract requiring payment to be made of all sums due by the contractor to the sub-contractor within a specified period not exceeding 30 days from receipt of a valid invoice.

The DWP website confirms that where suppliers use sub-contractors, invoices should be paid within 30 days and sub-contractors are able to report non compliance and a suitable e-mail contact address is provided to enable them to do so.

The “Prompt Payment Code”, published by the Institute of Credit Management (ICM) on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) gives a code of practice for prompt payment. DWP has been a signatory of the code since June 2009 and adheres to this through the Prompt Payment Targets.

Departmental Legal Costs

Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department paid in (a) damages, (b) claimant costs and (c) defendant costs in respect of all civil claims brought against his Department in which the claimant was successful or the Department settled in each of the last three years. [54636]

Chris Grayling: The amount of damages paid by the Department for Work and Pensions is not held centrally and this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The Department uses both its own litigation department and external suppliers of legal services in the conduct of its litigation and the costs of these services in relation to civil claims in which the claimant was successful or the Department settled are also not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The amount of claimant costs paid in respect of each of the last three years is as follows:

Financial year Claimant costs (£)

2010-11

1,038,396.87

2009-10

818,704.46

2008-09

629,665.31

18 May 2011 : Column 196W

These figures include some costs that were payable on behalf of the child maintenance and Enforcement Commission which is a non-departmental public body for which the Department provides some litigation services.

These figures do not include some costs in relation to motor accident claims in 2008-09 which were handled under outsourced arrangements.

In answering this question, the Department has assumed that the term “civil claims” refers to claims issued in England and Wales, in the courts of civil jurisdiction. The figures provided do not therefore include employment-related claims pursued through the Employment Tribunals.

The increase in spend in 2010-11 can be attributed to the final resolution of costs payable in a case that had been heard in the Court of Appeal in 2008.

Departmental Mobile Phones

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the name is of each contractor or supplier of (a) mobile telephone and (b) mobile data services to his Department. [56053]

Chris Grayling: The department sources its mobile telephone and mobile data services through a contract with BT plc. BT in turn subcontract these services to Vodafone plc.

Employment Schemes: Barking and Dagenham

Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many voluntary organisations will be involved in the delivery of the Work programme in Barking and Dagenham; and what proportion of the supply chain this figure represents. [55277]

Chris Grayling: Nationally there are over 300 first tier third sector organisations. In addition, there are a significant number of organisations providing ad-hoc support as customer requirements dictate.

The competition is still underway at the moment. When contracts have been signed, further details of the contracts will appear on Government websites (Contract Finder) as part of the ongoing commitment to the Transparency agenda.

Incapacity Benefit: Glasgow

Mr Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of incapacity benefit in Glasgow South West constituency are receiving incapacity benefit because of (a) alcohol dependency, (b) drug dependency and (c) obesity-related illnesses; and if he will make a statement. [53919]

Chris Grayling: The information requested is given as follows.

Condition in Glasgow South West parliamentary constituency—August 2010

IB/SDA ESA

Alcoholism

240

70

Drug Abuse

160

40

Obesity

10

18 May 2011 : Column 197W

“—” denotes nil or negligible. Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. To qualify for incapacity benefit (IB), claimants have to undertake a medical assessment of incapacity for work called a personal capability assessment. Under the employment support allowance (ESA) regime, new claimants have to undergo the work capability assessment. From April 2011 incapacity benefit recipients have begun to also undertake this assessment. The medical condition recorded on the claim form does not itself confer entitlement to incapacity benefit or employment and support allowance. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming IB or ESA on the basis of mental and behavioural disorders would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the personal/work capability assessment. 3. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment and support allowance from October 2008. 4. Data include people in receipt of benefit and also those who fail the contributions conditions but receive a national insurance credit, ie ‘credits only cases’. Source: DWP Information Directorate 100% WPLS.

Justice

Aiding and Abetting

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 11 May 2011, Official Report, columns 1259-60W, on joint enterprise, what steps he is taking to ensure the prosecution of all those in a gang or group involved in the commission of

18 May 2011 : Column 198W

offences; and if he will conduct a review of the common law practice of joint enterprise. [56014]

Mr Blunt: The law on joint enterprise already provides that members of a group who embark on an agreed plan to commit an offence may all be found guilty. The question of whether to prosecute an individual gang member involved in the commission of an offence is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service taking account of all the evidence available. We are not planning a review at this stage.

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many fixed penalty notices for disorder were issued for (a) shop theft and (b) criminal damage in each police force area in each year since their introduction; and how many such notices remain unpaid. [55929]

Mr Blunt: The number of penalty notices for disorder issued and the payment rate for the offences of retail theft and criminal damage by police force area, in England and Wales, from 2004 to 2009 can be viewed in tables 1 and 2.

It is not possible to make an accurate assessment of how many penalty notices remain unpaid as once fines are issued in default of payment, they are indistinguishable from other fines. The overall payment rate for all fines in the financial year to March 2011 was 93%.

Table 1: Number of penalty notices for disorder issued, paid and percentage paid for persons aged 16 and over, for criminal damage by police force area, England and Wales 2005-09 (1)
  2004 2005 2006
Police force area PNDs issued Paid Percentage PNDs issued Paid Percentage PNDs issued Paid Percentage

Avon and Somerset

25

16

64

404

287

71

478

309

65

Bedfordshire

11

6

55

143

88

62

214

129

60

British Transport police

0

0

0

0

0

0

108

70

65

Cambridgeshire

9

7

78

107

72

67

171

108

63

Cheshire

37

13

35

317

175

55

300

161

54

Cleveland

13

9

69

280

141

50

461

192

42

Cumbria

14

11

79

66

47

71

226

152

67

Derbyshire

21

17

81

283

195

69

512

339

66

Devon and Cornwall

74

47

64

659

440

67

932

612

66

Dorset

19

16

84

217

151

70

244

162

66

Durham

1

0

0

32

22

69

111

53

48

Essex

43

26

60

405

265

65

358

223

62

Gloucestershire

2

2

100

205

114

56

476

276

58

Greater Manchester

70

39

56

482

255

53

982

520

53

Hampshire

36

23

64

211

138

65

354

238

67

Hertfordshire

12

9

75

148

104

70

751

427

57

Humberside

16

9

56

182

102

56

719

338

47

Kent

35

22

63

782

471

60

1,196

650

54

Lancashire

91

44

48

822

394

48

1,394

648

46

Leicestershire

19

14

74

180

112

62

240

133

55

Lincolnshire

36

24

67

250

159

64

236

147

62

London, City of

0

0

0

2

2

100

6

5

83

Merseyside

52

23

44

961

416

43

1,187

516

43

Metropolitan

154

82

53

932

465

50

1,217

572

47

Norfolk

0

0

0

0

0

0

93

60

65

North Yorkshire

0

0

0

11

9

82

306

198

65

Northamptonshire

23

0

0

84

44

52

313

159

51

Northumbria

1

13

57

132

86

65

467

318

68

Nottinghamshire

28

21

75

121

80

66

139

81

58

18 May 2011 : Column 199W

18 May 2011 : Column 200W

South Yorkshire

0

0

0

6

2

33

344

156

45

Staffordshire

11

9

82

193

120

62

326

182

56

Suffolk

14

10

71

91

64

70

140

88

63

Surrey

0

0

0

11

8

73

284

190

67

Sussex

0

0

0

289

176

61

521

308

59

Thames Valley

36

22

61

310

203

65

458

276

60

Warwickshire

19

16

84

158

102

65

172

119

69

West Mercia

12

9

75

236

150

64

509

311

61

West Midlands

32

15

47

541

271

50

620

282

45

West Yorkshire

146

62

42

1,138

598

53

1,169

622

53

Wiltshire

15

8

53

41

33

80

35

15

43

                   

England

1,127

644

57

11,432

6,561

57

18,769

10,345

55

                   

Dyfed Powys

25

12

48

147

97

66

229

155

68

Gwent

14

8

57

153

89

58

303

155

51

North Wales

21

15

71

320

183

57

560

289

52

South Wales

3

2

67

116

66

57

759

407

54

                   

Wales

63

37

59

736

435

59

1,851

1,006

54

                   

England and Wales

1,190

681

57

12,168

6,996

57

20,620

11,351

55

  2007 2008 2009
Police force area PNDs issued Paid Percentage PNDs issued Paid Percentage PNDs issued Paid Percentage

Avon and Somerset

346

232

67

312

207

66

245

166

68

Bedfordshire

142

83

58

84

40

48

53

32

60

British Transport police

152

105

69

124

76

61

105

70

67

Cambridgeshire

277

170

61

195

126

65

111

72

65

Cheshire

171

102

60

132

75

57

115

66

57

Cleveland

374

168

45

231

101

44

183

79

43

Cumbria

189

123

65

63

44

70

52

31

60

Derbyshire

417

245

59

262

158

60

102

57

56

Devon and Cornwall

621

422

68

262

199

76

208

153

74

Dorset

147

100

68

97

68

70

75

56

75

Durham

137

69

50

108

57

53

285

139

49

Essex

323

199

62

205

129

63

103

56

54

Gloucestershire

261

141

54

102

70

69

53

37

70

Greater Manchester

1,116

650

58

913

528

58

675

384

57

Hampshire

528

328

62

289

188

65

317

215

68

Hertfordshire

560

319

57

325

221

68

319

209

66

Humberside

982

422

43

500

235

47

351

173

49

Kent

1,230

675

55

1,069

567

53

861

476

55

Lancashire

1,340

546

41

978

441

45

762

364

48

Leicestershire

257

148

58

165

93

56

68

37

54

Lincolnshire

157

98

62

94

69

73

61

48

79

London, City of

15

13

87

2

2

100

2

1

50

Merseyside

616

254

41

402

182

45

304

138

45

Metropolitan

1,293

631

49

996

501

50

728

385

53

Norfolk

127

79

62

171

114

67

94

60

64

North Yorkshire

457

306

67

254

172

68

109

79

72

Northamptonshire

307

158

51

188

95

51

126

76

60

Northumbria

543

372

69

525

337

64

431

245

57

Nottinghamshire

195

124

64

141

92

65

123

84

68

South Yorkshire

736

345

47

611

277

45

419

224

53

Staffordshire

286

160

56

184

105

57

124

74

60

Suffolk

175

117

67

169

110

65

99

71

72

18 May 2011 : Column 201W

18 May 2011 : Column 202W

Surrey

341

251

74

139

97

70

118

77

65

Sussex

524

331

63

271

169

62

184

125

68

Thames Valley

645

385

60

488

314

64

346

228

66

Warwickshire

128

83

65

96

65

68

101

65

64

West Mercia

371

245

66

244

139

57

154

94

61

West Midlands

582

315

54

320

168

53

237

120

51

West Yorkshire

862

492

57

389

228

59

299

178

60

Wiltshire

43

23

53

113

66

58

75

45

60

                   

England

17,973

10,029

56

12,213

6,925

57

9,177

5,289

58

                   

Dyfed Powys

187

134

72

150

111

74

148

106

72

Gwent

258

123

48

332

155

47

233

119

51

North Wales

733

405

55

448

251

56

332

199

60

South Wales

795

381

48

284

182

64

255

153

60

                   

Wales

1,973

1,043

53

1,214

699

58

968

577

60

                   

England and Wales

19,946

11,072

56

13,427

7,624

57

10,145

5,866

58

(1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
Table 2: Number of penalty notices for disorder issued, paid and percentage paid for persons aged 16 and over, for retail theft by police force area, England and Wales 2005-09 (1)
  2004 2005 2006
Police force area PNDs i ssued Paid Percentage PNDs i ssued Paid Percentage PNDs i ssued Paid Percentage

Avon and Somerset

43

14

33

836

342

41

1,335

617

46

Bedfordshire

2

1

50

247

90

36

449

159

35

British Transport police

0

0

0

0

0

0

221

66

30

Cambridgeshire

6

5

83

148

85

57

411

205

50

Cheshire

58

22

38

523

158

30

532

209

39

Cleveland

24

6

25

479

178

37

689

201

29

Cumbria

29

18

62

123

72

59

244

127

52

Derbyshire

17

9

53

175

98

56

545

274

50

Devon and Cornwall

137

57

42

1,361

591

43

1,768

744

42

Dorset

18

11

61

238

157

66

448

240

54

Durham

1

1

100

33

17

52

67

29

43

Essex

106

62

58

700

375

54

896

461

51

Gloucestershire

0

0

0

255

79

31

770

285

37

Greater Manchester

72

43

60

811

445

55

1,785

935

52

Hampshire

58

29

50

429

225

52

656

300

46

Hertfordshire

14

12

86

357

221

62

1,491

696

47

Humberside

14

6

43

329

120

36

1,221

360

29

Kent

46

22

48

1,630

681

42

2,520

993

39

Lancashire

188

42

22

1,546

487

32

2,259

667

30

Leicestershire

37

23

62

357

177

50

491

201

41

Lincolnshire

44

17

39

310

136

44

283

124

44

London, City of

0

0

0

6

2

33

21

9

43

Merseyside

163

61

37

2,241

655

29

2,920

778

27

Metropolitan

373

138

37

2,914

1,100

38

4,227

1,773

42

Norfolk

0

0

0

0

0

0

286

139

49

North Yorkshire

2

0

0

26

13

50

369

179

49

Northamptonshire

35

2

100

101

32

32

705

283

40

Northumbria

0

15

43

155

93

60

518

330

64

Nottinghamshire

41

19

46

170

94

55

189

102

54

South Yorkshire

2

2

100

0

0

0

553

295

53

Staffordshire

14

11

79

165

74

45

371

169

46

18 May 2011 : Column 203W

18 May 2011 : Column 204W

Suffolk

11

5

45

87

46

53

232

139

60

Surrey

0

0

0

19

9

47

472

251

53

Sussex

4

2

50

566

267

47

1,057

524

50

Thames Valley

34

19

56

342

173

51

913

482

53

Warwickshire

33

15

45

151

64

42

223

126

57

West Mercia

25

17

68

413

243

59

950

512

54

West Midlands

66

25

38

1,082

417

39

1,281

511

40

West Yorkshire

200

78

39

963

445

46

884

459

52

Wiltshire

12

6

50

25

14

56

21

9

43

                   

England

1,929

815

42

20,313

8,475

42

35,273

14,963

42

                   

Dyfed Powys

30

10

33

132

43

33

129

70

54

Gwent

48

16

33

631

181

29

639

199

31

North Wales

62

27

44

659

246

37

1,130

386

34

South Wales

3

2

67

262

112

43

1,601

551

34

                   

Wales

143

55

38

1,684

582

35

3,499

1,206

34

                   

England and Wales

2,072

870

42

21,997

9,057

41

38,772

16,169

42

  2007 2008 2009
Police force area PNDs i ssued Paid Percentage PNDs i ssued Paid Percentage PNDs i ssued Paid Percentage

Avon and Somerset

1,089

532

49

1,315

652

50

1,260

689

55

Bedfordshire

389

135

35

505

178

35

624

254

41

British Transport police

227

87

38

225

83

37

187

68

36

Cambridgeshire

813

311

38

759

368

48

855

431

50

Cheshire

598

291

49

620

331

53

732

391

53

Cleveland

767

195

25

675

188

28

724

251

35

Cumbria

308

130

42

227

140

62

271

177

65

Derbyshire

632

291

46

672

311

46

684

346

51

Devon and Cornwall

1,402

634

45

939

553

59

860

533

62

Dorset

503

262

52

434

204

47

472

235

50

Durham

149

65

44

224

81

36

621

217

35

Essex

1,040

517

50

1,453

758

52

1,285

718

56

Gloucestershire

576

183

32

256

110

43

241

123

51

Greater Manchester

2,759

1,515

55

2,961

1,681

57

3,308

1,970

60

Hampshire

1,447

729

50

1,331

735

55

1,621

962

59

Hertfordshire

1,464

730

50

1,423

919

65

1,974

1,176

60

Humberside

1,827

457

25

1,608

431

27

1,333

461

35

Kent

2,857

1,027

36

3,129

1,047

33

2,934

1,207

41

Lancashire

2,642

882

33

2,325

809

35

2,078

928

45

Leicestershire

587

238

41

564

272

48

519

263

51

Lincolnshire

217

104

48

169

83

49

280

166

59

London, City of

18

7

39

14

5

36

11

5

45

Merseyside

2,422

773

32

2,457

852

35

2,371

927

39

Metropolitan

5,040

1,870

37

6,260

2,669

43

6,903

3,398

49

Norfolk

495

258

52

724

367

51

727

433

60

North Yorkshire

589

274

47

461

226

49

376

230

61

Northamptonshire

749

290

39

667

261

39

630

312

50

Northumbria

812

497

61

959

504

53

1,074

475

44

Nottinghamshire

400

211

53

498

265

53

514

318

62

South Yorkshire

1,318

650

49

1,449

715

49

1,924

1,029

53

Staffordshire

446

198

44

455

206

45

618

339

55

Suffolk

402

233

58

470

265

56

565

320

57

Surrey

669

352

53

599

327

55

629

372

59

Sussex

1,000

500

50

915

489

53

1,071

650

61

18 May 2011 : Column 205W

18 May 2011 : Column 206W

Thames Valley

1,459

779

53

1,861

1,027

55

1,951

1,176

60

Warwickshire

221

133

60

280

151

54

277

155

56

West Mercia

855

486

57

919

502

55

886

479

54

West Midlands

1,150

484

42

918

417

45

564

269

48

West Yorkshire

611

320

52

431

240

56

542

332

61

Wiltshire

71

36

51

600

272

45

504

266

53

                   

England

41,020

17,666

43

42,751

19,694

46

45,000

23,051

51

                   

Dyfed Powys

124

60

48

143

68

48

169

110

65

Gwent

717

269

38

737

278

38

783

287

37

North Wales

1,193

420

35

899

343

38

901

384

43

South Wales

2,092

696

33

1,086

520

48

1,308

697

53

                   

Wales

4,126

1,445

35

2,865

1,209

42

3,161

1,478

47

                   

England and Wales

45,146

19,111

42

45,616

20,903

46

48,161

24,529

51

(1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.