Active Operations Management
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions his Department has had with the Cabinet Office about promoting Active Operations Management in other Government Departments. [96318]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions has contacted other Government Departments, sharing details of the Active Operations Management methodology and offering to provide opportunities to see it in operation.
Details are also posted on the Register of Reusable Assets.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to utilise the Active Operations Management methodology within (a) his Department and (b) its agencies. [96320]
Chris Grayling: Active Operations Management methodology has been adopted by the benefit delivery arm of the Department for Work and Pensions and is being considered by other areas.
Atos Healthcare
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2012, Official Report, column 346W, if he will publish the specific clauses in the Medical Services Agreement with Atos Healthcare. [96526]
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Chris Grayling: The clauses are published and a copy of the agreement with Atos Healthcare is held in the House of Lords' Library.
Specific clauses in relation to confidentiality rules are within clause 12.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2012, Official Report, column 346W, whether Atos Healthcare, or a director of Atos Healthcare, received a performance-related bonus payment as part of the contract with his Department in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011. [96527]
Chris Grayling: There is nothing in the contract with Atos Healthcare to pay any of its directors or any of its employees, performance related bonus payments.
No bonus payments are made as part of the contract.
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Pensions: Auto-enrolment
Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to publish details of changes to the auto-enrolment staging dates for employers with between 50 and 3,000 employees. [93332]
Steve Webb: On 25 January 2012 I issued a statement ‘Changes to the automatic enrolment timetable’, which set out our proposed approach to the implementation of automatic enrolment.
The following table sets out high level proposals. There will be no change to the existing staging profile for employers with 250 or more persons in their PAYE scheme. They will be staged in between 1 October 2012 and 1 February 2014 and retain their existing staging date. Employers with between 50 and 249 persons in their PAYE scheme will be staged in between 1 April 2014 and 1 April 2015. I will publish draft regulations with the final detail of our proposals for consultation shortly.
| Employer size (by PAYE scheme size) or other description | Automatic enrolment duty date | |
| From (inc.) | To (inc.) | |
Carers: Employment
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to encourage businesses to employ people who were previously unpaid carers. [96816]
Chris Grayling: DWP works with over 300,000 businesses every year to support their recruitment and skills plans and to maximise opportunities for unemployed people. Building on those relationships helps promote Get Britain Working measures, including apprenticeships and work trials.
Our staff work with local and national employers to get the most out of opportunities available for unemployed people and jobseekers, ensuring they are as well prepared as can be to compete for jobs in the labour market.
DWP actively encourages businesses of all sizes and in all sectors to offer vacancies and opportunities to support its work with unemployed people. In particular this means encouraging employers to recruit people who are less likely to find a job themselves.
When employers place jobs with DWP, our personal advisers use every opportunity to support job seekers in their application, process. They can help with all aspects of job search activity, including, CV preparation and skills analysis. And, we work in partnership with many employers to promote the skills and aspirations that jobseekers have.
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to assist carers to return to paid work. [96817]
Chris Grayling: Carers can receive assistance to return to work through Jobcentre Plus. This can include help preparing for work, help to find suitable training and support in looking for and applying for a job.
Carers can have access to a menu of flexible support, including work preparation support, work focussed interviews, adviser support, access to the Flexible Support Fund and the Support Contract.
Through the Flexible Support Fund, a ring-fenced fund which is managed at district level in Jobcentre Plus, carers can get help with the costs of travel, child care, replacement care and course costs when they are taking part in training or interview agreed by Jobcentre Plus.
Carers are also eligible for The Work Programme, which is for those people who are at risk of long-term unemployment. Work Programme providers have the
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freedom to provide the help that they consider necessary to support claimants into a job and address long term challenges.
Depending on which benefit they receive carers may be eligible to volunteer to join the Work Programme or access this provision earlier than other claimants.
The Government would like to put in place labour market structures that help all current and potential workers to find and retain work. Flexible Working is an important part of achieving this. The Government have announced their intention to extend the right to request flexible working to all employees, which will be beneficial to carers in work and those seeking employment. The Government consultation on this closed on 8 August 2011. The Department intends to publish the response to the consultation in early 2012.
Children: Day Care
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parent and partner claimants working fewer than 16 hours per week were in receipt of in-work child care payments prior to the establishment of the Flexible Support Fund; and if he will make a statement. [97762]
Chris Grayling: Information is not available on how many lone parent and partner claimants working less than 16 hours per week were in receipt of in-work child care payments (known as the Child Care Subsidy) prior to the establishment of the Flexible Support Fund.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual budget was for in-work child care subsidy prior to September 2011. [97771]
Maria Miller: Since April 2011, the in-work child care subsidy has formed part of the Flexible Support Fund as one of the measures to help to remove barriers to work. Due to the flexible nature of this fund, no specific budget is allocated for child care subsidy. Prior to April 2011, child care subsidy payments were made as part of the new deal for lone parents programme. It is not possible to separately identify the amount spent specifically on child care subsidy from other child care-related payments.
Council Tax
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total income will be of an owner-occupying couple in a household with no adult working and two children under seven receiving school meals costing £2 per day each and paying council tax of £1,000 per year from April 2012. [97761]
Chris Grayling: After April 2012, the total income of this household would be around £291 per week. This includes around £19 a week in council tax benefit and £20 a week which is allocated for school meals for both children.
Notes:
1. As this couple is out of work, they are entitled to receive free school meals for their children.
2. The answer is based on the tax/benefit system in 2012-13.
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3. Income is defined as net earnings in addition to any benefits or tax credits and includes an amount for school meals.
4. Council tax of £1,000 a year has been equated to approximately £19 a week.
5. All numbers have been provided in 2011-12 prices, and where necessary, deflated by the GDP deflator.
6. All numbers have been rounded to the nearest £1.
Online Services
Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what public services his Department delivers online only. [96901]
Chris Grayling: There are no services the Department delivers online only.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he last met representatives of the (a) CBI, (b) Institute of Directors, (c) British Chambers of Commerce and (d) TUC to discuss the labour market and unemployment. [96093]
Chris Grayling: This Department has published on a quarterly basis since October 2009, details of all ministerial meetings with external organisations. The information you have requested can be found via the following link to the Department's website:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/corporate-publications/ministers-meetings-overseas.shtml
Information for the period 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2011 has yet to be published.
Disability Living Allowance
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency who claim disability living allowance will lose their entitlement altogether as a result of the move to personal independence payments; [97892]
(2) how many people in each (a) local authority area and (b) parliamentary constituency he estimates will have their income reduced as a result of the move from disability living allowance to personal independence payments. [97896]
Maria Miller: Reassessment activity for existing disability living allowance recipients will start in October 2013 and we intend that everyone will have been contacted by March 2016. Disability living allowance recipients will be asked if they want to claim personal independence payment and will be assessed for that new benefit where they do. By the time reassessment activity has finished we expect the working age caseload (16 to 64) for personal independence payment to be 500,000 lower than it would have been had we not carried out these reforms. The estimated reduction in caseload cannot be broken down into smaller geographic areas. We provided estimated impacts on numbers in our consultation document, “Personal Independence Payment: assessment thresholds and consultation”, published on 16 January 2012 available on the DWP website:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2012/pip.shtml
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We have not yet set the rates at which PIP will be paid, so it is not yet possible to estimate how much people may lose or gain as a result of the introduction of personal independence payment.
Disability Living Allowance: Scotland
Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of renewal claims for the (a) care and (b) mobility component of disability living allowance were (i) granted, (ii) granted at a lower rate and (iii) refused in Scotland in (A) 2010 and (B) 2011; and in how many and what proportion of cases where the claim was (1) granted at a lower rate and (2) refused the claimant lodged an appeal. [97752]
Maria Miller: We are unable to answer the question as posed. This is because our Management Information Statistics do not go down to the level of detail that would enable us to break down renewal claims into the care and mobility components or identify customers living in Scotland.
Employers’ Liability
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to publish the outcomes of the consultation on Accessing Compensation—Supporting People who need to trace Employers' Liability Insurance; and if he will make a statement. [97513]
Chris Grayling: I appreciate that the Government's response to the consultation is taking longer to publish than many had hoped. However the issues raised are complex and we remain in discussions with all stakeholders to make sure we get this right. We are still carefully considering all the issues and will bring forward our proposals in due course.
Employment Schemes
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information he has on differences in performance of different Work programme providers. [96091]
Chris Grayling: The Department is working to guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure we are able to publish statistics that are accurate and meet the required high quality standards.
The Work programme is a two-year programme that started in June 2011, it is therefore too early to make any comparisons in performance at this stage. DWP has however published the first official statistics on Work programme referrals and attachments and these are available via this link:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?paqe=wp
We intend to publish official statistics on job outcomes, our key measure of success, from autumn 2012. This will enable a comparison of performance between providers.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on contractor overheads and anticipated return on investment through Work programme outcomes. [96092]
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Chris Grayling: Ministers and officials have frequent discussions with Work programme contractors. Any discussions touching on commercial matters are confidential.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish data on participants in the work experience and mandatory work activity schemes who stop receiving benefits in the weeks following commencement on the scheme. [97915]
Chris Grayling: Statistics on work experience participant outcomes were published on 9 November 2011. These showed that 51% of the first 1,300 people who started on the programme in January-March 2011 were not in receipt of benefit 13 weeks later.
I have asked statisticians in the Department to look at publishing further data for the work experience scheme, and also for the mandatory work activity scheme, on those who leave benefits.
Employment Schemes: Newcastle Upon Tyne
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the outcomes are for the Work programme in Newcastle upon Tyne East constituency for the latest period for which figures are available. [96791]
Chris Grayling: The Department intends to start publishing official statistics on Work programme job outcomes from autumn 2012. This is in line with guidelines set by the UK Statistics Authority to ensure published statistics meet the required high quality standards.
Flexible Support Fund
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information his Department holds on applicants for support from the Flexible Support Fund; and whether this information includes (a) the total number of applicants and (b) other benefits claimed by applicants. [98063]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions holds the following information on awards made from the Flexible Support Fund: customer’s name and national insurance number; group, district and individual jobcentre where the payment is authorised; client group (such as those in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance, income support or employment and support allowance).
Information on the total number of applicants is not available. Data is available on the number of awards made but this does not include applications refused and can include multiple awards to the same individual.
Housing Benefit
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of (a) the number of persons affected by the change in the under-occupancy rule for eligibility for local housing allowance, (b) the average effect on weekly income, (c) the number of claimants of local housing allowance and (d) the number of properties available for rent within the new eligibility criteria in each (i) local authority area in Scotland and (ii) parliamentary constituency in Scotland. [95772]
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Steve Webb: The Welfare Reform Bill contains a provision that would reduce housing benefit for working age claimants in the social rented sector where they are deemed to under-occupy their homes. The provision incorporates the size criteria currently used in the assessment of housing benefit for private sector tenants under the local housing allowance rules to ensure a consistent approach. No change is being made to the size criteria used for the local housing allowance.
The impact assessment for the social sector change can be found on the DWP website:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare-reform/legislation-and-key-documents/welfare-reform-bill-2011/impact-assessments-and-equality/
Work Capability Assessment
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to respond to the recommendations of the (a) Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment: Year Two and (b) Working Group on Fluctuating Conditions. [98062]
Chris Grayling: The information is as follows:
(a) Professor Harrington published his Second Independent Review of the Work Capability Assessment on 24 November 2011. The Government responded to this on the day that it was published, and a copy of the response is available in the House Library and at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wca-review-2011-response.pdf
(b) The Department is carefully considering the working group on the fluctuating conditions descriptor’s report and will respond fully in due course.
Jobcentre Plus: Vacancies
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) full-time and (b) part-time employment vacancies were advertised in Jobcentre Plus offices in each (i) local authority area in Scotland and (ii) Parliamentary constituency in Scotland in each of the last 12 months. [95774]
Chris Grayling: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he plans to exercise the powers conferred on him by the Welfare Reform Act 2009 (Commencement No. 7) Order 2012 to make regulations under paragraph 8B of Schedule 1 to the Jobseekers Act 1995; and if he will make a statement. [93084]
Chris Grayling: The powers in paragraph 8B of schedule 1 to the Jobseekers Act 1995 are being exercised.
Section 29 of the Welfare Reform Act 2009, which conferred the powers in paragraph 8B, was brought in to force on 19 January 2012 by the Commencement Order No 7.
Commencement No. 7, subject to parliamentary approval, will provide that a person who has been a victim of domestic violence can be treated as available for employment and actively seeking work for a period of 13 weeks in a 12-month period.
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This means that anyone who has been a victim of domestic violence will be able to receive jobseeker's allowance (JSA) for the specified number of weeks without them being available for employment or actively seeking employment providing that they satisfy the other conditions of entitlement.
Before the regulations can become law both Houses of Parliament will have the opportunity to consider, debate and vote on the draft regulations. Dates for debates have not yet been announced, but we anticipate that these will take place in the House of Commons and House of Lords around the middle of March although this will, to some extent, depend on other parliamentary business.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion claimants of jobseeker’s allowance have been subject to benefit sanctions in each quarter since 2008. [98178]
Chris Grayling: Information on referrals for a sanction and adverse decisions made for jobseeker’s allowance claimants in each quarter since 2008 is available at:
http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/stats_summary/stats_summary_feb12.pdf
Jobseeker’s Allowance: Domestic Violence
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has had discussions with any external organisations on the appropriate definition of domestic violence for the purposes of making regulations under paragraph 8B of schedule 1 to the Jobseekers Act 1995; and whether he plans to consult any external organisations on what such an appropriate definition of domestic violence is. [93085]
Chris Grayling: In September 2010, my Department held a small consultation workshop with nine external organisations. During August 2011, officials carried out an informal consultation with over 30 external organisations, including Respect, Women’s Aid, Gingerbread and Child Poverty Action Group on the proposed changes to the regulations, as well the definition of domestic violence that we intend to use. We are also about to start an informal consultation on the proposed changes and the definition of domestic violence with a handful of specialist disability organisations. In addition, we will be cross-referencing our definition with the outcome of the ongoing Home Office consultation “Cross-Government Definition of Domestic Violence” which ends 30 March 2012.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to make regulations for the purposes of providing an exemption from jobseeking conditions for victims of domestic violence; and what discussions he has had with (a) ministerial colleagues and (b) others to ensure that Parliament has sufficient time to approve such regulations. [93086]
Chris Grayling:
Draft regulations were laid on 19 January to enable JSA claimants who have been victims of domestic violence in the circumstances set out in the regulations, and who meet the requirements in the regulations, to be treated as meeting the jobseeking conditions for an initial period of four weeks which can
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be extended to 13 weeks on the production of specified kinds of evidence. Subject to the parliamentary calendar and amount of parliamentary business, they are due to be debated in both Houses around the middle of March. The regulations will only be made once they have been considered and approved by both Houses of Parliament. This will allow sufficient time for discussions to be held with
(a)
ministerial colleagues and
(b)
others. Once the regulations have been made, they will come into force at the time specified in the draft regulations, which we anticipate will be 23 April 2012.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made to the likely number of individuals who would be affected by regulations providing an exemption from jobseeking conditions for victims of domestic violence in (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014. [93087]
Chris Grayling: The expected volume of people affected by these regulations in future years will depend on the number of JSA claimants at each point in time and the Department does not predict unemployment figures.
We know from the British crime survey that 6%-10% of all women and 4% of men are victims of domestic abuse each year. We also know that very few of these victims disclose their abuse to a Government agency.
Based on current flows on to jobseeker’s allowance, the number of people who may make use of the provisions afforded by these regulations is around 3,000.
Jobseeker’s Allowance: Work Experience
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of jobseeker's allowance have been sanctioned for failing to attend a work experience placement in the most recent period for which figures are available. [98179]
Chris Grayling: For the period January 2011 to end October 2011 (the latest period for which data are available), 70 sanctions were applied for failing to attend work experience placements.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseekers who have been placed in a company for work experience have left after the first week but before the end of the placement in the most recent period for which figures are available. [98180]
Chris Grayling: The Department does not hold robust information on the number of jobseekers who have been placed in a company for work experience and then left after the first week.
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he intends to answer the letter sent to him by the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton on 11 January 2012 with regard to Ms J Batsleer. [97101]
Chris Grayling:
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), wrote to the
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right hon. Member on 6 February 2012 with an interim response; followed by a full reply on 23 February 2012.
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will arrange personally to see and reply to the letter of 27 February 2012 from the hon. Member for Walsall North concerning the death of a constituent and the complaint made by the constituent’s sister on the handling of the case by his Department. [97746]
Chris Grayling: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), will write to hon. Member as soon as the internal inquiry has been completed.
New Enterprise Allowance
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the eligibility criteria for the new enterprise allowance. [97828]
Chris Grayling: There are no current plans to change the eligibility criteria for the new enterprise allowance, and therefore no discussions with ministerial colleagues have taken place.
Personal Injury: Compensation
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) motor personal injury cases and (b) motor personal injury settlements were registered with his Department's Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) in each of the last 20 years; and how much was recovered from victims of motor personal injury cases by the CRU in that period. [96087]
Chris Grayling: Due to system archiving the information available is limited to five years and is available in the table.
| Motor personal injury cases | |||
| Cases registered | Settlements recorded | Recoveries (£) | |
| Source: Figures produced by the Compensation Recovery Unit. | |||
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential change in recoveries by his Department's Compensation Recovery Unit as a result of implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's proposed civil cost reforms. [96088]
Chris Grayling: In line with the Compensation Recovery Scheme legislation, recoveries from the compensator to the DWP Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) are dependent on the level of recoverable benefits that are received by the injured person who claims compensation.
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Recoveries are paid to the CRU by the compensator, when the compensator settles the compensation claim with the injured person.
The current average settlement period is 13 months. Estimates on the future level of recoveries in relation to any impact from Lord Justice Jackson's proposed civil cost reforms have not been made at this stage.
Social Security Benefits
Mike Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the cost of paying (a) employment and support allowance, (b) disability living allowance, (c) the state pension and (d) jobseeker's allowance in Scotland in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [95873]
Chris Grayling: The cost of front-line administrative staff, working in Scotland, on the following benefits is as follows:
| £ million | ||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
We are unable to identify the cost of delivering these benefits to claimants residing in Scotland.
Benefit expenditure for people resident in Scotland is shown in the following table:
| £ million | ||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
| Note: Figures rounded to nearest million. Source: DWP Statistical and Accounting Data. | ||
The information is published at the following address:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/la_expenditure.xls
Social Security Benefits: Northern Ireland
Dr McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of claimants in Northern Ireland who will be affected by his benefit reform. [93552]
Chris Grayling: Northern Ireland issues of social security are devolved and the responsibility of the Northern Ireland executive.
Tell Us Once Scheme
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has assessed the potential effects of expansion of the Tell Us Once scheme on private sector companies operating in the area. [95861]
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Chris Grayling: The Tell Us Once service—a successful and powerful demonstration of how organisations can put the needs of customers at the heart of their business design and work in partnership to achieve both a step change in the level of services provided and significant efficiencies has been universally welcomed by citizens.
Indeed it is from the experiences within local and central Government and the feedback from citizens who value the service so highly that they wish to see it extended further—we have now been encouraged to look into opportunities to widen the service. Working on behalf of the citizen, we have been examining a number of opportunities to engage across the public, private and voluntary sectors to test whether the positive benefits of the Tell Us Once experience could be replicated and the appetite for effective partnership approaches with service providers who share a common customer.
In efforts to more fully understand the potential effects of such an approach, officials, working in consultation with representative sub-sectors of industry, are sharing these experiences and testing appetites for further possible expansion.
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what data protection measures his Department plans to put in place to safeguard information gathered following the expansion of the Tell Us Once scheme. [95862]
Chris Grayling: The Tell Us Once programme has undertaken a full privacy impact assessment, which has been used as an exemplar by the Information Commissioner's Office.
Robust registration and enrolment policies are in place to make sure that only those who are authorised to do so can use the Tell Us Once IT system, also known as the Change Reporting System (CRS). Only central and local Government employees who have undergone the required enrolment will have access to receive information through CRS. They will only receive the information which is relevant to their business and this will be sent to them via secure government systems and networks.
Information is not held ad infinitum. Records will be deleted as soon as it is reasonably practicable according to best practice. Following submission, data will be retained in CRS for a maximum of 35 days. A 'stub' of data will be retained for 428 days (approximately 14 months) from the date of submission before it is deleted. This will contain minimal personal details and a record of which organisations were contacted and picked up the Tell Us Once notification. Data held are subject to the Data Protection Act.
The CRS itself has been accredited by a Pan Government Accreditor. They are satisfied that there are safeguards in place to protect the system from potential threats such as hacking.
UK Debt Management Office
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has any plans to close his Department's Debt Management Office in Glasgow. [95766]
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Chris Grayling: The Department's Debt Management Office in Glasgow will close by the end of March 2013. This follows a redesign of the Department's debt management operations which will enhance the service to our customers by reducing the number of handoffs between different parts of the Department.
This will mean that rather than receiving several letters from different parts of the Department, our customers will, in the majority of cases, receive one letter telling them of any changes to their benefit, along with details of overpayments that have arisen as a result of the change. They will also be told in that letter what they have to do about the overpayment, and who to contact for advice.
This enhanced process will mean that the current organisational structure will no longer be viable. The affected staff have been advised of the decision and that they will be redeployed. Our aim is always to avoid compulsory redundancies and I am confident that staff can be redeployed before the end of March 2013.
Welfare State: Northern Ireland
Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 9 February 2012, Official Report, column 344W, on housing benefit: Northern Ireland, how many meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with (i) Ministers and (ii) officials in the Northern Ireland Executive on welfare reform and universal credit in the last year; and when such meetings took place. [96104]
Chris Grayling: Within the Department for Work and Pensions, Lord Freud is the Minister with lead responsibility for Welfare Reform. He is also the Minister with lead responsibility for liaison with Ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive.
Northern Ireland is responsible for its own social security system. However, there is an expectation that the NI and GB systems will operate in parallel under what is termed the parity principle. Under this arrangement the same benefits are paid at the same rates subject to the same conditions and rules.
To achieve this aim discussions take place regularly with the Northern Ireland Executive on all new legislation at both a ministerial and official level.
Ministers of the Department of Work and Pensions have met Ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive as follows:
Minister for Social Development: 4 March 2011
Minister for Employment and Learning: 4 March 2011
Minister for Social Development: 31 August and 1 September 2011
Minister for Employment and Learning: 31 August and 1 September 2011
Minister for Social Development: 16 November 2011.
At official level we are engaged in a permanent dialogue. Additionally, officials from the Northern Ireland Executive are members of all the relevant Department for Work and Pensions programme and project boards.
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Work Capability Assessment
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Atos Healthcare is subject to performance incentives in relation to the work capability assessment; and if so whether the criteria for such incentives were met in (a) 2010 and (b) 2011. [96528]
Chris Grayling: Atos Healthcare is not subject to performance incentives in relation to the work capability assessments (WCA). During (a) 2010 and (b) 2011 there were no performance incentives paid in relation to the WCA.
Alun Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of work capability assessments on the way in which disability living allowance decisions are made. [97697]
Maria Miller: As disability living allowance entitlement is not related to capability for work there has been no such assessment. The introduction of the work capability assessment has seen no changes in the way disability living allowance entitlement is decided.
Work Experience: Unemployed People
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the most recent outcomes are of his Department's work experience scheme for the unemployed in (a) Kettering constituency, (b) Northamptonshire and (c) England. [97805]
Chris Grayling: The most recent statistics on work experience participant outcomes were published on 9 November 2011. These showed that 51% of the first 1,300 people who started on the programme in Great Britain in January-March 2011 were not in receipt of benefit 13 weeks later.
Note:
The cohort of 1,300 starts is too small to show benefit outcomes by smaller geographical areas.
Work Experience: Young People
Mr Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent progress he has made in promoting work experience for young people. [97803]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions works with employers to provide young people with placements in a wide range of sectors. For example, the Department's National Employer Service Team recently reviewed its portfolio with a view to securing new accounts to provide a more comprehensive cross-sector mix of placements. This work is kept under review to ensure that the Department is able to offer young people a broad range of placements. The National Employer Service Team currently work across 22 sectors. They also engage directly with 20 trade body associations which span key growth sectors and represent both national and small employers.
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From January 2011 until the end of November 2011, 34,200 young people participated in work experience. The number of starts more than doubled (an increase of around 107%) over the latest quarter, rising from 16,500 starts (to the end of August 2011).
Work Programme
Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the experiences of charities as sub-contractors in the Work programme. [93051]
Chris Grayling: The Department has commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies to undertake an independent evaluation of the Work programme. This will include an evaluation of Work programme supply chains, exploring the impacts of the Department's commissioning approach on all delivery organisations, including those from the third sector. Interim findings will be available mid 2013 with a final report published in 2014-15.
The Department's most recent stocktake of providers involved in the Work programme took place on 12 August 2011.
The stocktake identified that the number of voluntary and community based organisations involved in delivering the Work programme was (a) two prime providers, (b) 108 tier 1 providers and (c) 315 tier 2 providers.
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he is taking to ensure sub-contractors in the Work programme are paid promptly for work done on behalf of main contractors. [97893]
Chris Grayling: The terms and conditions of Work programme contracts require Prime providers who sub-contract, to comply at all times with the Merlin Standard. This requires that funding arrangements are fair, proportionate and do not cause undue financial risk for supply chain partners.
Prime providers must obtain Merlin accreditation within one year of commencing delivery of a DWP Welfare to Work contract and an independent organisation has been appointed to undertake these assessments. Further information is available on the Merlin web portal:
http://www.merlinstandard.co.uk
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what monitoring of Work programme contractors his Department undertakes to ensure commitments made in applications are fulfilled. [97901]
Chris Grayling: The Department has commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies to undertake an independent evaluation of the Work programme. This will include an evaluation of Work programme supply chains, exploring the impacts of the Department's commissioning approach on all delivery organisations, including those from the third sector. Interim findings will be available mid 2013 with a final report published in 2014-15.
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DWP has a range of mechanisms to monitor the Work programme including contract performance reviews, compliance and assurance monitoring to minimise fraud and error, payment validation systems, analysis of management information and participant feedback.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many voluntary sector organisations were identified as participating in the Work programme supply chain in the stocktake undertaken in January 2012; and if he will make a statement. [98066]
Chris Grayling: The latest figures have now been published and are available via the following link:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/wp-supply-chains.xls
Defence
Armed Forces Covenant
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the findings of the interim report on the armed forces covenant. [97741]
Mr Robathan: As I said in the foreword to the interim report on the armed forces covenant, there has been much progress, although there is still much to do. Some of that work falls to Government, but many of the Covenant workstrands are dependent on the support and active involvement of our strategic partner charities and Families Federations. The Government and the Nation are indebted to them for their continuing support and drive.
Armed Forces: Education
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what estimate he has made of the number of service leavers eligible for the publicly funded further and higher education scheme in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2013-14 and (c) 2014-15; [97499]
(2) how many service leavers were eligible for the publicly funded further and higher education scheme in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11. [97500]
Mr Robathan: All service leavers are potentially eligible for the publicly funded Further and Higher Education (FE/HE) support scheme, subject to them meeting the published criteria, chief among which is being registered for the Enhanced Learning Credit (ELC) scheme.
There are currently some 125,000 service personnel registered for Enhanced Learning Credits, some of whom will leave the armed forces between now and 1 April 2015. In addition, there are in the region of 100,000 former service personnel who have registered for the ELC scheme and remain entitled to access the scheme.
Providing that service and former service personnel do not already hold a qualification at level three or above, as listed in the National Qualification Framework, and are in their last two years of service or left service after 17 July 2008, it is likely they will be eligible to access the FE/HE funding scheme. However, as there is no mandatory requirement to record the educational
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qualifications of service personnel on their service record, or for ex-service personnel to notify the Ministry of Defence of changes to their educational qualifications after having left, it is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of eligibility for the FE/HE scheme.
Defence Equipment: Scotland
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) aircraft, (b) helicopters, (c) armoured vehicles, (d) main battle tanks, (e) armoured reconnaissance vehicles, (f) transport aircraft, (g) conventional naval vessels, (h) submarines and (i) field artillery are permanently based in Scotland in respect of each (i) equipment type and (ii) location. [93918]
Nick Harvey: Following the strategic defence and security review and consequent decisions, the defence footprint in Scotland is planned to increase.
Equipment currently based in Scotland is shown in the following table:
| Equipment type | Location | Number |
Apprentices
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many apprentices were employed by each public body for which his Department is responsible between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships he expects each public body to sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April 2012 and March 2013. [88739]
Mr Robathan:
The public bodies for which the Secretary of State for Defence is currently responsible which
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recruit apprenticeships are: Defence Support Group (DSG) and the Royal Air Force Museum. The number of apprentices recruited is detailed in the following table:
| Apprenticeships by means of: | April 2010 to March 2011 | April 2011 to December 2011 | January 2012 to March 2012 | April 2012 to March 2013 |
Mr Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many apprentices were employed by his Department between (a) April 2010 and March 2011 and (b) April and December 2011; and how many apprenticeships he plans that his Department will sponsor between (i) January and March 2012 and (ii) April and March 2013. [89218]
Mr Robathan: The number of apprentices employed in the Ministry of Defence between the above mentioned time periods are detailed in the following table:
| Apprenticeships by means of: | April 2010 to March 2011 | April 2011 to December 2011 | January 2012 to March 2012 | April 2012 to March 2013 |
Departmental Procurement
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any products purchased by his Department in the last year did not meet the expected technical specifications; and what the names were of any such products. [96513]
Peter Luff: The information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Regulation
Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress his Department has made on the Red Tape Challenge; and which regulations have been (a) abolished and (b) revised as part of the Challenge. [96999]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence is not a lead Department for any of the themes so far identified in the Red Tape Challenge.
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Diamond Jubilee 2012: Medals
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the eligibility criteria are for the Queen's diamond jubilee medal. [97894]
Mr Robathan: The Department for Culture Media and Sport announced on 28 June 2011 the Government's intention to award and distribute a diamond jubilee medal. Medals are traditionally awarded for royal jubilees to recognise and reward the service and dedication of key front line services and, in particular, to those who are exposed regularly to difficult, often emergency situations and who potentially risk their lives.
The announcement made by the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), stated that members of the armed forces (regular and reserves) who have completed five full calendar years of service, and are serving on 6 February 2012, will be presented with a medal to mark Her Majesty the Queen's diamond jubilee. These criteria are consistent with the approach adopted for earlier Jubilee medals, such as the golden jubilee in 2002.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure eligibility for the Queen's diamond jubilee medal includes service personnel who (a) are currently on active service but who may not have completed five years of qualifying service and (b) have been injured on active service but who may not have completed five years of qualifying service. [97895]
Mr Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Colchester (Sir Bob Russell) on 21 February 2012, Official Report, column 773W.
International Development
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reduction in carbon dioxide emissions his Department has made under the 10:10 initiative. [97930]
Mr O'Brien: Under the 10:10 initiative, the Department for International Development (DFID) exceeded the 10% UK target to reduce carbon emissions from energy achieving 15.4%; we also exceeded the pan-Government average of 13.8%.
DFID achieved the reduction in carbon emissions due to a range of measures including reductions in plant operation times, IT server virtualisation programme, printer rationalisation programme and a green roof at our site in East Kilbride. We remain strongly committed to reducing carbon emissions and are well on track to achieve the 25% reduction by March 2015. We will achieve further reductions through measures such as the installation of a biomass boiler, estate rationalisation and a programme of upgrading our existing lighting systems.
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Developing Countries: Tax Avoidance
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent representations he has received from (a) foreign Governments and (b) aid agencies on UK-owned companies (i) avoiding and (ii) evading paying taxes in developing countries which are in receipt of aid from the Government. [97995]
Mr O'Brien: Ministers of the Department for International Development have received no representations from foreign Governments or aid agencies on these subjects.
EU Aid
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of EU development assistance; and if he will make a statement. [97637]
Mr O'Brien: The Department for International Development’s (DFID) Multilateral Aid Review, published in 2011, examined the effectiveness of EU development assistance and identified clear strengths in the EU’s approach, rating the European development fund, which covers African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, as a top performer and the European Commission’s budget instruments, which cover non-ACP countries, as adequate. The EU’s humanitarian agency, ECHO, also performed strongly in our assessment.
We continue to push for EU aid to be more transparent, flexible and results-focused so that we ensure maximum value for money for both UK taxpayers and the poor people in developing countries who benefit from these programmes.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his objectives are for forthcoming negotiations on the EU development budget; and if he will make a statement. [97638]
Mr O'Brien: Our overriding priority in the negotiations on the next EU multi-annual financial framework, 2014-20, (MFF) is that the level of the EU budget must be carefully contained. We oppose increases beyond real growth in any budget heading. However, maintaining or increasing the proportion of official development assistance within a smaller overall budget is a UK priority for the MFF.
In the negotiations on the EU development programme, we are pressing for a greater focus on poorest countries, with poverty reduction as its central objective. It must be results-focused, and the Commission must demonstrate clearly how results will be monitored and managed and how value for money will be achieved. The EU should concentrate its efforts on a limited number of sectors to ensure effectiveness, based on support focused closely on countries’ own priorities.
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and if he will make a statement. [97639]
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Mr O'Brien: The multilateral aid review assessed the Global Fund as providing very good value for money, but also concluded that the fund could do more to maximise its potential and impact in developing countries.
This conclusion was confirmed by the findings of a high level panel set up to look at the fund's processes and systems and reiterated by the Board of the fund in November. A Consolidated Transformation Plan to improve risk management and strengthen controls, as well as reform the fund's overall management and business model, has been approved in response. Taken together these reforms are intended to ensure that the fund improves its performance and better meets the needs of poor people affected by the three diseases. We are monitoring its implementation closely.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department spend at least 75% of their working time (a) administering his Department’s investments in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and (b) overseeing the performance of that organisation; and if he will make a statement. [97640]
Mr O'Brien: Three full-time equivalent staff spend at least 75% of their working time administering investments in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and overseeing performance. This includes a senior official based in Geneva. The core team is supported by a wider team from the international finance division, policy division and Department for International Development country offices. The Global Funds team also work closely with the UK/Australia constituency colleagues on policy and reform issues.
Kenya
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of expenditure on the British Army Training Unit Kenya on (i) engineering, (ii) medical and (iii) other work is classified as overseas development aid. [97645]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: None of the British Army's work in Kenya is classified as overseas development aid, although some aspects of their training (e.g. medical exercises and engineering work) brings significant benefits to the Kenyan population.
North Korea
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether he plans to respond to the recommendation of the UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator that the international community should provide more financial support and creative solutions to overcome food shortages in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. [98091]
Mr Duncan: We believe that the Department for International Development's (DFID) investment in the various humanitarian multilateral organisations working in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) represents the best way for the UK to assist the people of the DPRK. We are in close contact with these humanitarian agencies and continue to monitor the situation.
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UN Central Emergency Response Fund
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether a UK Minister attended the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund replenishment conference in December 2011; and if he will make a statement. [97636]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development’s Director General, Policy and Global Programmes, represented the UK at the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) replenishment conference on 16 December 2011 and made a statement outlining our ongoing support.
The UK is content that the CERF delivers good value for money and plays a critical and unique role in responding to emergencies. This has been recognised in the horn of Africa following the drought in 2011, where CERF funding enabled the UN and partners to rapidly respond in a difficult environment.
The UK provided £40 million to the CERF in 2011 and we will provide £40 million for 2012. In addition to this funding, we announced, at the replenishment conference, an extra £20 million for the CERF for 2012 because of a shortfall in its funding. The UK’s funding for future years is set to increase subject to the CERF’s performance.
Treasury
Alcoholic Drinks: Prices
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the introduction of a minimum price per unit on alcohol. [97818]
Miss Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm
Child Care Tax Credit
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families will no longer receive childcare support as a result of the increase in the hours limit for eligibility for working tax credit. [97705]
Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 6 December 2011, Official Report, column 297W.
Glenda Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families will no longer receive childcare support as a result of the increase in the hours limit for eligibility for working tax credit. [97711]
Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the parliamentary question answered on 6 December 2011, Official Report, column 296W.
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Child Care Vouchers
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parents made use of the HM Revenue and Customs Childcare Voucher scheme in each financial year between 2007-08 and 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the number of parents likely to make use of the scheme in 2011-12. [97096]
Mr Gauke: The average number of taxpayers in receipt of child care vouchers during each financial year is estimated to be as follows:
2007-08: 250,000
2008-09: 310,000
2009-10: 370,000
2010-11: 430,000
2011-12: 500,000.
Convention on the Protection of the European Communities’ Financial Interests
Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions UK authorities have requested (a) technical and (b) operational assistance from the European Commission to facilitate an investigation into fraud, corruption or money laundering under Article 7 of the Second Protocol of the Convention on the protection of the European Communities' financial interests in the last five years; and what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of that Protocol. [97652]
Mr Gauke: The UK has applied for funding to two EU programmes in the field of the protection of the financial interest of the EU: the Hercule programme aimed at combating cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting; and the Pericles programme aimed at protecting the euro against counterfeiting. The UK has also supported the EU Commission by providing trainers on EU-funded technical support operations, and hosted individuals on EU Commission-assisted projects. HM Treasury is not aware of any instance when UK authorities have asked for operational assistance from the European Commission.
All member states have adopted the 2nd protocol of the Convention, allowing for cooperation with each other and the Commission should the occasion arise.
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Caroline Flint: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reduction in carbon dioxide emissions his Department has made under the 10:10 initiative. [97935]
Miss Chloe Smith: Under the 10:10 initiative, HM Treasury achieved a reduction of 14.2% (against the weather corrected baseline) and 14.3% (against the non- weathered corrected baseline) in carbon emissions.
Data regarding the Departments’ emissions can be found on the Cabinet Office website in several reports using the following link:
https://update.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/green-government
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Enterprise Resource Planning
Mr Jenkin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on enterprise resource planning systems in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [96607]
Miss Chloe Smith: HM Treasury uses Oracle for enterprise resource planning within the Treasury Group at an annual licence cost of £121,945.06.
Excise Duties: Biofuels
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs is taking to enforce the fuel duty derogation for biodiesel producers. [91454]
Miss Chloe Smith: Production of less than 2,500 litres of biodiesel per year is exempt from duty. Suppliers are liable to account for the duty if they produce 2,500 litres or more and supply the oil for fuel production.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) ensures that the rules relating to this threshold are complied with through education, monitoring and targeted assurance activity. The regulations concerning the production and supply of motor and heating fuel provide HMRC with sanctions to prevent manipulation. HMRC has issued guidance to ensure that businesses understand the rules, and has taken action, in the form of assessments of unpaid tax and penalties, when businesses have been found to have breached them—for example, by claiming that their customers, rather than they as suppliers, are liable for duty.
To assist members of the public in reporting cases of concern, HMRC have developed an e-mail template, which is available online at:
https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/shortforms/form/AAG_TAI
Excise Duties: Fuels
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he has had any discussions on establishing a fuel duty regulator to regulate the amount of fuel duty paid at times of unexpected increases in fuel prices; [98099]
(2) when his Department expects to report on the outcome of the trial of a derogation of fuel duty in rural areas; and what discussions he has had on establishing a trial in rural Wales. [98102]
Miss Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers routinely discuss a range of issues with colleagues and stakeholders. Budget 2011 abolished the fuel duty escalator and replaced it with a fair fuel stabiliser. Fuel duty across the UK will increase by inflation only, when oil prices are high. If the oil price falls below a set trigger price on a sustained basis, duty will increase by RPI plus 1p per litre. The Government will publish details of the design of the fair fuel stabiliser at Budget 2012.
Motorists in remote Scottish islands and the Isles of Scilly will benefit from the 5p per litre discount which took effect on 1 March 2012. The rural fuel duty rebate pilot scheme's operation will be monitored on an ongoing basis and the Government can report that more than 90 businesses have applied to take part.
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First-time Buyers
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to support first-time home buyers. [97441]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Government and housebuilders are together providing around £400 million to assist almost 10,500 first-time buyers to purchase a new build property in England through the Firstbuy scheme announced at Budget 2011. Firstbuy provides a 20% loan to top up first-time buyers' own deposit of 5% allowing buyers to take out a mortgage for 75% of the property. FirstBuy is being delivered by the Homes and Communities Agency, working with housebuilders and housing associations, as part of our Affordable Homes Programme.
In addition, The Housing Strategy, published 21 November 2011, set out that the Government will also introduce a NewBuy scheme to help those who have a small deposit to buy a newly built home.
Under the scheme, home buyers will be able to purchase new build houses and flats with a 5% deposit. House builders and the Government will help provide security for the loan. The Government will take on a contingent liability which will build up in line with purchases under the scheme, to a maximum of £1 billion. This will help up to 100,000 families and young people to buy their own home.
First-time Buyers: Stamp Duties
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on his decision to end the land stamp duty tax exemption for first-time home buyers on 24 March 2012; and if he will reconsider that decision. [97547]
Miss Chloe Smith: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), receives representations on all aspects of taxation including stamp duty land tax (SDLT).
The Chancellor announced in the autumn statement on 29 November 2011, Official Report, columns 799-810, that the SDLT relief for first time buyers has been ineffective in increasing the number of first time buyers entering the market. The relief will therefore end as planned in March 2012.
HM Revenue and Customs
Gordon Henderson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will review the implications for HM Revenue and Customs' three year repayment rule of errors made by HM Revenue and Customs. [97402]
Mr Gauke: There is no three year repayment rule; in most cases the relevant time limit for claims and for HMRC to raise an assessment will be four years. Under transitional provisions, for many taxpayers these new time limits will not come into effect until 1 April 2012.
Time limits for claims to and assessments by HMRC provide certainty for taxpayers and the Department. At the time of the formation of HM Revenue and Customs, there were a wide range of time limits applying across
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taxes. Following extensive public consultation the Finance Act 2008 introduced changes to align time limits where possible across taxes.
In general, HMRC will only accept claims for repayment of direct tax which are made within the statutory time limits. However, HMRC will repay direct tax in respect of claims made outside the statutory time limits where the over-payment has arisen because of an error by HMRC or another Government Department and where there is no dispute or doubt as to the facts.
Income Tax
Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of tax receipts were paid by the top (a) one, (b) five and (c) 10% of taxpayers in the most recent period for which figures are available. [97515]
Mr Gauke: Shares of income tax liabilities are shown in National Statistics table 2.4 ‘Shares of total income (before and after tax) and income tax for percentile groups, 1999-00 to 2011-12’ at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-4.pdf
Income Tax: Rates and Bands
Brandon Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) male and (b) female income taxpayers have earnt less than £10,000 in 2011-12. [97329]
Mr Gauke: An estimated 2.32 million taxpayers have total income less than £10,000 in 2011-12, of which 41% are male and 59% are female.
Estimates are based on the 2007-08 Survey of Personal Incomes, projected using economic assumptions consistent with the Office for Budget Responsibility's March 2011 economic and fiscal outlook.
Insolvency: EU Action
Priti Patel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of UK businesses that will be affected by the implementation of the EU's Solvency II rules. [97747]
Mr Hoban: Solvency II is a review of insurance regulation which will create a single rulebook and single market for insurers across Europe with the overarching aim of enhancing insurers' financial soundness so as to ensure appropriate policyholder protection.
There are over 700 UK-based insurance firms. Of these, Solvency II will apply to about 550-600 UK-based insurance firms that will be in scope of the directive, as determined by Article 4 of the Solvency II directive. We do not have an exact figure because there are some insurers who will not know whether they will be in scope until closer to the implementation date. Following Solvency II implementation, the current UK regime for insurers will continue to apply to insurers that are out of scope of Solvency II.
This, and further information can also be found in the recent HM Treasury and Financial Services Authority consultations on the transposition of Solvency II, available on the HM Treasury website.
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Interest Rates
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK economy of an increase in interest rates of (a) 0.5%, (b) 1.5% and (c) 2.5%. [98115]
Miss Chloe Smith: A one percentage point rise in the cost of Government borrowing would add around £7.5 billion to debt interest payments by 2016-17. A one percentage point rise in effective mortgage rates would add around £10 billion a year to households' mortgage interest payments.
Investment: Carbon Emissions
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what timetable the interim Financial Policy Committee has set to identify systemic carbon risks to the financial system. [97432]
Mr Hoban: The interim Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is aware of this issue. The Bank of England will explore it further with market participants to assess the extent to which they have considered the issue, and whether they take it into account when making investment decisions. Should the FPC conclude, at any point, that carbon assets do pose a systemic risk to the financial system, they will report and explain that risk in their six-monthly Financial Stability Report.
Multinational Companies
Alex Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to prevent multi national companies receiving tax write-offs. [96553]
Mr Gauke: In seeking to determine tax liabilities HMRC engages with taxpayers and their advisors to resolve disputes of fact and/or law. Such discussions can be complex and may involve grey areas within the tax system. If HMRC is unable to agree an appropriate settlement it looks to litigation or some form of arbitration.
Where a company is unable to meet its tax liabilities HMRC seeks arrangements to obtain the tax. Tax will only be written off when it is clearly not recoverable.
In July 2011 the National Audit Office endorsed the strong governance HMRC has put in place on large business tax settlements, its achievement in recent years of bringing in substantial revenues while tackling tax avoidance, and HMRC's Litigation and Settlement Strategy.
HMRC nonetheless committed to making further improvements to its governance and to increasing transparency about its work with large businesses.
On 27 February 2012 HMRC announced new governance arrangements for significant tax disputes, to provide greater transparency, scrutiny and accountability. Effective and efficient tax collection is critical to maintaining tax receipts to fund public services.
These new arrangements are workable and cost-effective, without undermining the core tax principles of taxpayer confidentiality and effectiveness of collection.
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National Insurance: Data Protection
Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he plans to take to protect the identity of individuals when the use of a national insurance number is confused between multiple users. [97769]
Mr Gauke: When HMRC identifies the possibility that an NI record is confused, immediate action is taken to establish the true owner and prevent intrusion, this includes an investigation to determine the reason for the confusion and whether there has been any attempt to deliberately misuse the NI number.
To minimise any confusion or distress to the individual, HMRC endeavours to complete investigations as quickly as possible.
PAYE
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many companies were issued with penalties for (a) late and (b) incorrect payment of (i) PAYE and (ii) VAT in the financial year (A) 2009-10, (b) 2010-11 and (c) 2011-12 to date. [97094]
Mr Gauke: With regard to PAYE, HMRC has interpreted this question as relating to late payment penalties (LPP) which are applied selectively on risk principles, and it would not be in the public interest to disclose this information. Disclosing the number of penalties could undermine the effectiveness of the penalty regime, which relies to some extent on the deterrent effect of the penalties.
With regard to VAT, HMRC does not hold the information for penalties issued to companies for late payment of VAT and incorrect payment of VAT in a format which distinguishes how many companies they were issued to, and it would cost a disproportionate amount to provide it.
Pocket Lighters: Import Controls
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2011, Official Report, columns 135-36W, on pocket lighters: import controls, on which occasions HM Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency have detained suspect shipments of pocket lighters; and what steps were taken in each case. [96613]
Mr Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs and the UK Border Agency have not detained within the last two years any suspect shipments of pocket lighters due to non-conformity with EU and UK safety standards.
Revenue and Customs: ICT
Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the potential benefits of further integration of HM Revenue and Customs' systems. [97767]
Mr Gauke:
HMRC is driving a significant amount of systems integration through its Change Programme. The Department has a very explicit systems strategy (‘The 13 Machines’) that is one of the five foundational
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building blocks that underpinned HMRC's proposal for delivering the UK Treasury comprehensive spending review (SR10).
The 13 machine strategy is based on consolidation of systems onto a set of 13 key technology groups already present on the HMRC IT estate and the consolidation of the associated common business processes. A reduction in the diversity, and hence cost, will be achieved by directing all IT spend on business change initiatives to "13 machines" technologies.
HMRC currently has significant programmes in progress that are delivering the strategy and developing integrated systems e.g. the 'one click' initiative which is aimed at making it easier for business to transact on line with HMRC, the new machine gaming duty, charities policy changes and RTI (real time integration) all re-use and integrate a number of significant underpinning components. Further integration of systems will be explored as we plan beyond the current SR10 deliverables.
Stamp Duty Land Tax: Greater London
Mr Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many first-time buyers in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) the London borough of Bexley have been liable for the zero rate of stamp duty land tax on house purchases below £250,000 since 2010. [96430]
Miss Chloe Smith: Since April 2010, 815 transactions claimed stamp duty land tax (SDLT) first-time buyers' relief in the London borough of Bexley. This relief exempts from charge qualifying transactions where the chargeable consideration is above the zero per cent SDLT threshold and up to £250,000.
No reliable data are available on a parliamentary constituency basis.
Tax Avoidance
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to bring forward proposals for a general taxation anti-avoidance rule. [97506]
Mr Gauke: The study group led by Graham Aaronson QC looking at a possible GAAR for the UK delivered its report in November 2011. The Government have announced that they will make their formal response in the 2012 Budget.
Tax Avoidance: Bookmakers
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to tackle tax and levy avoidance by offshore bookmakers. [97331]
Mr Gauke: General betting duty (GBD) is charged on bets made with a bookmaker who is in the UK. Bets made with a bookmaker who is offshore and outside the UK are outside the scope of GBD.
The Horserace Betting Levy is administered by the Horserace Betting Levy Board, an independent public body sponsored by the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
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Tax Credit: Greater London
Mr Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency and (b) the London borough of Bexley were in receipt of (i) working tax credit and (ii) child tax credit at the latest date for which figures are available. [97986]
Mr Gauke: This information is published in the HMRC snapshot publication “Personal Tax Credits: Provisional Statistics—Geographical Statistics”. Information for December 2011 can be found at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-geog-dec2011.pdf
Table 3 has this information by local authority and table 4 has this information by Westminster parliamentary constituency.
Tax Relief: Manufacturing Industries
Chris White: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to the public purse was of tax relief for the manufacturing sector in each of the last three years. [98223]
Mr Gauke: Information on all tax reliefs received by the manufacturing industry is not available, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Taxation: Gambling
Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the level of revenue that would accrue from the introduction of an online gambling tax. [98101]
Miss Chloe Smith: Online gambling supplied from the UK is currently subject to general betting duty, remote gaming duty or pool betting duty. The Government are reviewing the case for changing the basis of taxation for remote gambling by moving to a place of consumption basis of taxation. No decision has been taken on whether to proceed with reform.
The revenue that a place of consumption based taxation regime would generate would depend on rates and design of the regime.
Working Tax Credit
Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of families in Warrington North constituency who will no longer be entitled to working tax credit as a result of the change to the number of working hours needed to qualify to be introduced on 1 April 2012. [97835]
Mr Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 72.
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Church Commissioners
Metal Theft
Gloria De Piero: To ask the hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, what the cost was of metal theft from Church of England property in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire, (c) the East Midlands and (d) England in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2011. [98209]
Tony Baldry: The insurance cover available from Ecclesiastical Insurance who insure the majority of churches in England has changed over the years in question, so a true year-on-year comparison of cost is difficult to make.
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The following tables illustrate the claims made by Church of England Churches on their Ecclesiastical Insurance policies for theft of metal. The figures are likely to be higher in reality as not all the churches concerned will have made claims on their insurance unless the value of the claim exceeded the insurance excess which will have varied from church to church.
Total value of cost to the Church of England for:
2010 was around £6.5 million of which around £2.3 million was covered by insurance.
2011was around £10 million of which around £4.4 million was covered by insurance.
(a) Figures are not available for the Ashfield constituency.
(b) The total claims from churches in the county of Nottinghamshire and the surrounding counties:
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Total | |||||
| Claims | Cost (£) | Claims | Cost (£) | Claims | Cost (£) | Claims | Cost (£) | |
| Note: East Midlands Counties comprise Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire. | ||||||||
(c) The total claims from churches in the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and other Dioceses in the East Midlands:
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | Total | |||||
|
|
Claims | Cost (£) | Claims | Cost (£) | Claims | Cost (£) | Claims | Cost (£) |
| Note: East Midlands Dioceses comprise Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Peterborough and Southwell and Nottingham. | ||||||||
Business, Innovation and Skills
Action for Employment
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what contracts with his Department and its agencies A4e (a) is bidding for and (b) has been awarded but have not yet commenced either independently or in partnership with other companies. [97480]
Norman Lamb [holding answer 1 March 2012]: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have no contracts with A4e.
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
I have asked chief executives of the Executive agencies to respond to the hon. Member direct.
Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 28 February 2012:
I am replying on behalf of Companies House to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 27 February, UIN 97480 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Companies House has never tendered or awarded any contracts, either independently or in partnership with other companies, to A4e.
Letter from Stephen Speed, dated February 2012:
The Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills has asked me to reply to your question what contracts with his Department and its agencies A4e (a) is bidding for and (b) has been awarded but have not yet commenced either independently or in partnership with other companies.
The Insolvency Service is not in receipt of any contract bids from A4e and has not awarded any contracts to A4e either independently or in partnership with other companies.
Letter from John Alty, dated 28 February 2012:
I am responding in respect of the Intellectual Property Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled 27 February 2012, to the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Intellectual Property Office does not have any contracts that A4e is either (a) bidding for or (b) has been awarded but have not yet commenced either independently or in partnership with other companies.
Letter from Peter Mason, dated 29 February 2012:
I am responding in respect of the National Measurement Office (NMO) to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 27 February 2012, asking the Secretary of State, Department for Business,
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Innovation and Skills about contracts with the Department or its agencies which A4e may be bidding for or have been awarded but have not yet commenced.
NMO has no contracts with A4e, either in force or awarded but not yet commenced. Nor are there any contracts open for bidding which we would expect to be appropriate for A4e.
Letter from Dr Vanessa Lawrence, dated 28 February 2012:
As Director General and Chief Executive of Ordnance Survey, I have been asked to reply to you in response to your Parliamentary Question asking what contracts with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its agencies A4e (a) is bidding for and (b) has been awarded but have not yet commenced either independently or in partnership with other companies.
Ordnance Survey has no contracts out to tender, or awarded but not yet commenced which involve A4e either as a sole bidder or in partnership with any other company. Ordnance Survey has had no record of any contractual dealings with A4e.
I hope this information is of use.
Letter from David Williams, dated February 2012:
Thank you for your question addressed to the Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills regarding, what contracts with his Department and its agencies A4e (a) is bidding for and (b) has been awarded but have not yet commenced either independently or in partnership with other companies. (97480)
Please be advised that A4e is not bidding for nor has it been awarded any contracts that have not yet commenced with the UK Space Agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Letter from John Hirst, dated 29 February 2012:
I am replying on behalf of the Met Office to your Parliamentary Question tabled on 27 February, UIN 97480 to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.
The Met Office has no record of any contracts that A4e is either bidding for or has been awarded but have not yet commenced either independently or in partnership with other companies.
I hope this helps.
Letter from Malcolm Dawson, dated 28 February 2012:
I am writing in regard to the Parliamentary Question you tabled on 27 February 2012 which asked the following:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, what contracts with his Department and its agencies A4e (a) is bidding for and (b) has been awarded but have not yet commenced either independently or in partnership with other companies.
I can advise on behalf of Land Registry, which is an executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, that A4e is not currently bidding for nor have they been awarded any contracts with our agency.
Letter from Geoff Russell, dated 5 March 2012: