Senior Civil Servants
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what proportion of officials of the three most senior grades in her Department have (a) resigned, (b) taken voluntary early retirement, (c) left the Department for alternative employment, (d) been dismissed, (e) taken long-term sick leave and (f) taken administrative leave since May 2010. [139221]
Mr Duncan: Within DFID, since May 2010, of the 31 staff in the three most senior grades there were (a) three resignations (9.7%); (b) four voluntary early retirements (12.9%); (c) No leavers who left the Department for alternative employment (0%); (d) No dismissals (0%); (e) No staff who have taken long-term sick leave (0%) and (f) No staff who have taken administrative leave (0%); amongst staff employed in our three most senior grades.
Justice
Criminal Proceedings
Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment he has made of the exercise by judges of their power to adjourn proceedings in criminal cases; and if he will make a statement; [138738]
(2) if he will bring forward legislative proposals to impose restrictions on the right of judges to adjourn proceedings in criminal cases. [138739]
Mrs Grant: The power to adjourn criminal proceedings is a matter of judicial discretion, and it would not be appropriate for the Government to restrict its exercise. Proper use of the power to adjourn is essential to good case management, which is one of the main objectives of the Criminal Procedure Rules and something that the senior judiciary are keen to encourage.
Employment Tribunals Service
Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many employment tribunals have taken place relating to zero-hour contracts in each of the last three years. [139013]
Mrs Grant: Information on the number of employment tribunal complaints involving zero-hour contracts is not held centrally. It could only be collated by manually examining individual tribunal files. Accordingly, it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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However, complaints relating to zero-hour contracts would be categorised by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service as falling within the National Minimum Wage and or Working Time jurisdictions, as recorded in the statistics published annually and quarterly by the Ministry of Justice.
For the purpose of answering this question, we have assumed the term “taken place” to mean complaints which have been disposed of by the Tribunal.
The following table shows the number of National Minimum Wage and Working Time complaints which have been disposed of.
| Disposals by employment tribunal for National Minimum Wage and Working Time claims 2009-10 to 2011-12 | |
| Nature of Claim | Number |
| Note: Figures in the table are rounded independently (values below 100 are not rounded, values above 100 to 999 are rounded to the nearest 10 and values of 1,000 and over are rounded to the nearest l00). Source: ET Annual Statistics 2009-10 to 2011-12 | |
Fines: Wales
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the total value of fines and orders issued by courts in Blaenau Gwent in 2011-12 is that have not yet been collected; [138980]
(2) how much money raised from fines and orders issued by courts was used to pay for compensation to victims of crimes in Blaenau Gwent in 2011-12. [138982]
Mrs Grant: The value of financial impositions and confiscation orders imposed in Gwent in 2011/12 and outstanding at the end of the period is set out in the following table:
| £ | ||
| Imposed April 2011 to March 2012 | Balance outstanding(1) as at end of March 2012 | |
| (1 )The balance outstanding includes the balance on accounts that are being paid by instalments and accounts that were not due for payment by the end of March 2012. (2) Financial impositions include fines, cost orders, compensation orders and victim surcharge orders | ||
The value of compensation recovered in Gwent for orders imposed during 2011/12 and collected by the end of that period was £192,665. This is made up of £135,830 from fines related compensation orders and £56,835 from confiscation orders.
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Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 so that small and medium-sized businesses who have been mis-sold interest rate swap products have access to costs protection in any legal case. [138775]
Mrs Grant: Costs protection—in the form of qualified one way costs shifting (QOCS)—is being introduced from April 2013 for personal injury cases (including clinical negligence) only. The Government announced on 12 December 2012, Official Report, column 39WS, that they will delay implementation of the provisions in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 for defamation and privacy proceedings until a costs protection regime has been developed.
Costs protection will not be available in other proceedings when the relevant provision in Part 2 of the Act comes into effect on 1 April 2013. However, the Government will keep under review whether to introduce costs protection in other areas of litigation, in the light of the experience of QOCS.
Small Claims
George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many cases were allocated to the small claims track in 2012; and on how many such case judgements were made; [139178]
(2) how many applications were made for (a) a warrant of execution against debtor's goods, (b) an attachment of earnings order, (c) a charging order against a debtor's property and (d) a third party debt order in respect of judgements made in the small claims track in 2012. [139179]
Mrs Grant: The Ministry of Justice holds statistical information in relation to the number of cases allocated to the small claims track and the number of such cases where judgements were made for the first three quarters of 2012. In the first three quarters of 2012, a total of 46,726 cases were allocated to the small claims track, and for 13,326 of these cases judgements were made during 2012. The low proportion of cases where judgements were made is because most cases allocated to track are still being processed, or were settled or withdrawn before judgements are made.
In the first three quarters of 2012:
(a) 75,635 applications were made for a warrant of execution against a debtors goods;
(b) 52,305 applications were made for an attachment of earnings order;
(c) 50,938 applications were made for a charging order against a debtors property and
(d) 83 applications for a third party debt order in respect of judgment made in the small claims track.
All the figures listed above are currently provisional and the fourth quarter data are not yet available.
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Scotland
Procurement
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of procurement contracts offered by his Department has been advertised on the Contracts Finder website since that website's inception. [138873]
David Mundell: Other than minor or bespoke purchases, the Scotland Office does not undertake direct procurement or tendering projects. It utilises existing service contracts between suppliers and the Scottish Government or the Ministry of Justice, Since May 2010, only one contract has been issued directly by the Scotland Office, and this was issued to the Royal Mail during the Scottish Parliament elections. The requirements of that contract, which were subject to article 61 of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2010, meant that it was not appropriate to advertise on the Contracts Finder website.
Public Expenditure
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 779W, on official hospitality, what specific steps his Department has taken to reduce costs since May 2010. [138955]
David Mundell: Since May 2010, all expenditure incurred by the Scotland Office has been subject to rigorous examination. Specifically we have reduced costs by utilising framework contracts between suppliers and other Government bodies to achieve maximum savings, by cancelling the contract for the ministerial car in London, and by sharing accommodation space with other Government bodies.
Transport
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Andrew Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much additional money was made available by his Department to (a) each local authority in the UK and (b) North Yorkshire County Council for road repairs in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12. [138963]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport provides funding to local authorities in England which can be used for road repairs through highways maintenance and integrated transport block grants. This funding is not ring-fenced and allows authorities, including North Yorkshire County Council, which is responsible for the local road network, the freedom to develop and implement solutions which best suit its priorities. The funding for road repairs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are matters for the respective Administrations.
The following table highlights the funding we provided through these block grants between 2009-10 and 2011-12:
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| £ million | |||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |
Tables have been placed in the Library of the House setting out the additional funding the Department for Transport has allocated to local highway authorities in England, including North Yorkshire County Council, in both 2010 and 2011 for road repairs following severe winter weather. North Yorkshire received £2.6 million in March 2010 and £6.6 million in March 2011.
In addition we announced in December 2012 a further £215 million for highways maintenance to be allocated over the next two financial years (2013-14 and 2014-15). North Yorkshire will receive £3.9 million in 2013-14 and £2.1m in 2014-15. A table setting out this information has been placed in the Library of the House.
Transport
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what timetable he has set local authorities in (a) Derbyshire, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) Sheffield City region to determine the allocation of major transport scheme resources. [139370]
Norman Baker: We have now provided indicative funding figures to enable local transport bodies to develop their programmes of local transport infrastructure in readiness for the devolution of funds from 2015. The boundaries of the local transport bodies in these particular areas have not yet been determined and we continue to look to local partners to reach a consensus on this. We have not set them a timetable for this but we would expect it to be informed by the governance review that is being undertaken by the Sheffield City Region. Firm funding allocations for local major transport schemes will be determined following future spending rounds within Government.
A written statement to the House on this subject was made on 23 January 2013 and is available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/devolution-of-funding-for-local-major-transport-schemes-indicative-funding
Treasury
Corporation Tax: Duchy of Cornwall
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the tax status and eligibility for corporation tax of the Duchy of Cornwall. [139207]
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Mr Gauke: The tax arrangements for the Duchy of Cornwall are set out in the Memorandum of Understanding on Royal Taxation, attached to the Report of the Royal Trustees published on 11 February 1993 (HC464) and subsequently amended.
Motor Vehicles
Mr Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the value of (a) UK exports of cars to the EU and (b) UK imports of cars from the EU was; and what the value of (i) UK exports of cars to the rest of the world and (ii) UK imports of cars from the rest of the world was in each of the last 30 years. [139127]
Sajid Javid [holding answer 24 January 2013]: The information requested is provided in the following table:
| UK trade in motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons for the period 1996 to 2012 | ||||
| £ million | ||||
| UK exports to the EU | UK imports from the EU | UK exports to outside the EU | UK imports from outside the EU | |
| Notes: 1. Trade is presented on a general trade basis. 2. EU trade includes Below Threshold Trade Allocation (BTTA) at a monthly level. 3. 2012 data are January to November 2012 year date inclusive and subject to update. 4. Trade data prior to 1996 are not available electronically. Source: Overseas Trade Statistics, HM Revenue and Customs | ||||
The data provided are for trade recorded within the sub-heading “8703” in the tariff product classification system. The “8703” heading covers ‘motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons’.
The definition of the “EU” will have changed over the period displayed, with the EU having gone through enlargement during this time, e.g. with 10 additional member states joining the EU in May 2004.
HM Revenue and Customs are only able to provide trade in goods data electronically from 1996 onwards. Information for previous years can be obtained from paper copies of the Overseas Trade Statistics publications, which can be found in the House of Commons Library.
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NHS Commissioning Board: Pay
Tessa Munt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2013, Official Report, column 761W, on NHS Commissioning Board: pay, on what date the Chief Secretary to the Treasury approved the salaries for the new appointments under the control of the Secretary of State for Health of the (a) Chief Executive, (b) non-Executive Chairman and (c) the National Directors on the executive board of the NHS Commissioning Board. [138733]
Danny Alexander: I approved the salaries for the national directors of the Commissioning Board in December 2011, and formally agreed the spot rate for the position of chief executive as part of a framework for NHS very senior managers' pay in May 2012. The salary of the non-executive chairman was not submitted for my approval as it is below relevant limits.
Northern Rock
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2013, Official Report, column 100W, on Northern Rock, if officials in his Department were made aware of any earlier estimate of the probable remediation costs before receiving the final estimate on the afternoon of 5 December. [139641]
Sajid Javid: As set out in the previous answers the decision to remediate interest charges for Northern Rock Asset Management customers with Consumer Credit Act (CCA) regulated loans where the loan documentation is not compliant with CCA requirements was taken by the UKAR Board on 5 December. The estimated remediation costs were established on the afternoon of 5 December.
Revenue and Customs
Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff are employed in HM Revenue and Customs' minimum wage enforcement teams; and how many such staff were employed in each year since 2008. [139573]
Mr Gauke: The current number of staff in post in HMRC minimum wage compliance teams is 122. I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 5 September 2011, Official Report, column 353W, for data related to earlier years.
Self-employed: Child Benefit
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people who are self-employed claimed child benefit in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) each parliamentary constituency in the last year for which figures are available; [139628]
(2) what estimate he has made of the total amount of child benefit paid to people who are self-employed in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland in the last year for which figures are available. [139629]
Sajid Javid: The information is not available.
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Taxation: Whisky
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of a per bottle or production tax on the Scotch whisky industry; [139365]
(2) what recent representations he has received from the Scottish Government on a per bottle or production tax for Scotch whisky. [139369]
Sajid Javid: Treasury Ministers and officials have discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. EU law requires that duties on spirits, including Scotch whisky, are set in relation to alcoholic strength. The duty is currently £26.81 per litre of pure alcohol.
Working Tax Credit
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2012, Official Report, column 78W, on working tax credits, how many families are no longer eligible for working tax credits in each (a) region and (b) parliamentary constituency as a result of the change in working hours requirements from April 2012; and what the average loss is for families affected by the change. [136741]
Sajid Javid: The number of families working 16 to 24 hours and not eligible for working tax credit (WTC) as at 1 December 2012 is given in the following table. A breakdown at constituency level is not available as it is not possible to produce reliable estimates.
| Table 1: Number of couples with children in the tax credit population working between 16 and 24 hours and who have suffered a cash loss by not being eligible for working tax credit, as of 1 December 2012 | |
| Region | Number of families (thousand) |
| (1) Regions where the sample size is too small to give a reliable estimate. | |
Table 1 shows the number of couples with children who are working between 16 and 24 hours and whose tax credits award is lower as a result of losing eligibility to WTC. The average reduction in award for these people, compared to if they had retained eligibility, is £2,985.
In addition there are around 10,000 couples nationally who have lost eligibility but whose income was high enough that the WTC element of their award was fully
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tapered away, so they were only in receipt of the child tax credit (CTC) element. Even though they have lost WTC eligibility, these couples should be receiving the same level of CTC. However, due to the way that daily rates are calculated, rounding effects may mean that these families have experienced a nominal decrease in their award.
The figures in Table 1 relate to the snapshot position of families as at December 2012 and so will include those families who were working between 16 and 24 hours at April, as well as new claimants who are working 16 to 24 hours and existing claimants who have changed their work so that they are now working 16 to 24 hours. Table 2 shows how many of the 203,000 families who were working 16 to 24 hours in April 2012 have increased their combined hours to at least 24 by December. This will therefore not include new claims.
| Table 2: Number of couples with children in the tax credit population working between 16 and 24 hours as of 1 April 2012 and who had increased their combined working hours to at least 24 by December 2012 | |
| Region | Number of families (thousand) |
Table 2 shows that, of the 203,000 families working 16 to 24 hours in April, 112,000 have not lost WTC eligibility as they have reported increased hours to HMRC. Excluding those of the 203,000 families who are exempt from the change in rules and those who are no longer affected due to other changes in circumstance, this shows that approximately three quarters have reported increased hours.
The number of families working 16 to 24 hours by constituency as at April 2012 was released in answer to two questions from the hon. Member for Stockport (Ann Coffey) (104628 and 104629), which were answered on 23 April 2012, Official Report, columns 611-12W. The information requested was subsequently placed in the House of Commons Library and can be found at:
http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-0724/Couples%20working%20for%2016-24%20hours%20for%20HoCL.pdf
Two previous question from the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Cathy Jamieson) asked for the information as at December 2011 (88172 and 88178). Those were answered on 10 January 2012, Official Report, column 72W and the information referred to in that answer can be found at:
http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2012-0031/DEP2012-0031.doc
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Written Questions: Government Responses
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to answer question 136741, tabled on 8 January 2013 for answer on 14 January 2013. [139166]
Sajid Javid: I have done so today.
Women and Equalities
Marriage: Ceremonies
Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she has had with (a) local authorities and (b) the Church of England on her proposals for (i) council halls, (ii) village halls and (iii) parish halls to be able to conduct religious-only marriages. [138306]
Mrs Grant: Religious marriage ceremonies, other than those according to the rites of the Society of Friends (Quakers) or according to the Jewish religion, can only be carried out in buildings which have been registered as places of worship and also registered for the solemnisation of marriages by the religious group concerned. Council halls and village halls are not usually registered as places of worship so cannot be registered for the solemnisation of religious marriage ceremonies. They may however be authorised for the solemnisation of civil marriage ceremonies, in which no religious element is allowed. Parish halls may be registered for the solemnisation of religious marriage ceremonies if they are also a registered place of worship. Ministers have no proposals to change this, and have had no discussions on this issue.
Work and Pensions
Child Maintenance
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he intends to publish a client charter setting out planned performance standards for the new Child Maintenance Service which began work in December 2012. [139366]
Steve Webb: The Child Maintenance Service has created a client charter which sets out the service experience which will be delivered by the 2012 scheme. The charter is sent to both parents as part of the initial application and case set up processes and is available as a fact sheet on request any other time. We intend to enhance the charter with performance standards once we have learnt the lessons of the pathfinder period. Performance information on the service delivered by the Child Maintenance Service will be shared via the Quarterly Summary of Statistics publication.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications to the new statutory child maintenance scheme have been (a) received and (b) processed to the point of initial clearance, since the new scheme commenced for a pathfinder group of parents in December 2012. [139367]
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Steve Webb: We are carefully observing results of the 2012 scheme and progress so far has been good. However, we are not yet in a position to release statistics regarding the number of applications and how many of them have been cleared.
When system data become available and fully assured they will be released as part of a managed process, which will be pre-announced and in line with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made on implementation of stage one of the new child maintenance system; whether he intends the current pathfinder group of new parents eligible to apply to the Child Maintenance Service to be extended; and if he will make a statement. [139368]
Steve Webb: Last month, following extensive testing, we introduced the 2012 scheme as a pathfinder with a small number of clients. We are carefully observing the results and progress so far has been good.
When the 2012 scheme is seen to be working well, we will open it to applicants with two or more qualifying children. After a further period to test how the system performs at these higher volumes, we will open it to all new applicants.
Electronic Government
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received about the usability of the new arrangements for the Directgov jobs database; what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the new arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [139636]
Mr Hoban: Universal Jobmatch is part of the Government's digital agenda, aimed at providing easy online access to Government services. It provides an online job posting and matching service which is open to everyone, regardless of whether or not they are claiming a benefit. During the early provision of this service some people experienced difficulties, which were resolved as a matter of urgency and the continuing operation of the Universal Jobmatch service is subject to constant monitoring.
To provide some idea of the scale of the service, since its launch before Christmas over 1.3 million jobseekers have successfully registered for the service and over 320 million job searches have been undertaken.
As this service has only recently been launched it is too early to make an assessment of its effectiveness.
Employment and Support Allowance
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households have accessed the additional employment support available for families who will be affected by the household benefit cap to date. [139634]
Mr Hoban: The information is not readily available and has not previously been published as official statistics.
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Jobseeker's Allowance
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people who are no longer entitled to contribution-based jobseeker's allowance after six months and remain unemployed since April 2010. [139145]
Mr Hoban: The information requested is not available. However, information on the number of jobseeker's allowance (JSA) claimants, by type of JSA and duration, is available from 5% sample data and can be found at:
http://83.244.183.180/5pc/tabtool.html
Guidance for users is available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
Pension Credit: East Yorkshire
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Haltemprice and Howden constituency were in receipt of pension credits in (a) 2011 and (b) 2012. [139643]
Steve Webb: Statistics on pension credit are available from 100% data and are published on the Department's website at:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/pc/tabtool_pc.html
Guidance for users is available at:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/tabtools/guidance.pdf
Personal Independence Payment
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his Department plans to publish the independent research design to examine the effects of the personal independence payment on (a) mental and physical health, (b) poverty, (c) isolation and (d) health and social care use for people with disabilities. [139371]
Esther McVey: The Department published its outline evaluation proposals for personal independence payment on 13 December 2012. The evaluation will aim to explore the extent to which personal independence payment has met its policy objectives and is intended to be flexible, recognising that over time the importance of issues may change and new areas of investigation may be required. The proposals are available on the DWP website:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/pip-evaluation-proposals.pdf
The Department has also committed to commissioning and publishing an independent review of the operation of the assessment for personal independence payment by the end of 2014. We haven't set the parameters of the independent review yet but we will work together with interested parties, such as the Work and Pensions Select Committee, to ensure that the review meets its legislative remit of reporting on the operation of the assessments.
Personal Independence Payment: Veterans
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the annual financial benefit to injured service personnel and veterans from the armed forces independence payment. [139474]
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Esther McVey: Service and ex-service personnel who are awarded the armed forces independence payment will receive payments amounting to £6,988.80 per annum following its introduction in April. It will be a new Ministry of Defence scheme which forms part of the armed forces compensation scheme.
Universal Credit
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects universal credit recipients to be able to report a change of circumstance online. [139635]
Mr Hoban: The facility to provide change of circumstance online will be available to universal credit claimants once the online service is tested and proven to a satisfactory level. We are considering options for controlling the number of claimants using the online service during Phase 2 rollout building up the service over time.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all new applications for in- work benefits will be treated as applications for universal credit from April 2014; and if he will make a statement. [139637]
Mr Hoban: From 2014, we will establish universal credit as the primary means of support for those who are in work, as well as those out of work, replacing working tax credits altogether by the end of 2017.
Universal Credit: Veterans
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of ex-service personnel that stand to benefit from the decision to disregard income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit. [139475]
Mr Hoban: Modelling of universal credit is based on the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS guidance recommends rounding results appropriately to account for known issues with using survey data, such as sampling error.
Due to a small sample size we cannot provide a precise estimate of the number impacted by this policy, however modelling suggests that fewer than 50,000 households may benefit from the decision to disregard income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit.
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to the universal credit. [139477]
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Mr Hoban: Modelling of universal credit is based on the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS guidance recommends rounding results appropriately to account for known issues with using survey data, such as sampling error.
Due to a small sample size we cannot provide a precise estimate of the cost of this policy, however modelling suggests that the annual cost of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit is less than £50 million.
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the annual financial benefit to injured service personnel and veterans of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit. [139478]
Mr Hoban: Modelling of universal credit is based on the 2010-11 Family Resources Survey (FRS). FRS guidance recommends rounding results appropriately to account for known issues with using survey data, such as sampling error.
Due to a small sample size we cannot provide a precise estimate of the financial benefit of this policy, however modelling suggests that the annual financial benefit to injured service personnel and veterans of disregarding income from war pensions and armed forces compensation scheme guaranteed income payments when calculating entitlement to universal credit is less than £50 million.
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Work Capability Assessment: North West
Debbie Abrahams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have (a) undergone work capability assessments, (b) been found capable of work, (c) appealed against their assessment and (d) been successful in their appeals in each North West local authority area in each year from 2010 to date; and what proportion of the relevant caseload this represents in each case. [139144]
Mr Hoban: The Department regularly publishes statistics on the outcomes of work capability assessments (WCA) for new employment and support allowance (ESA) claims and those going through the WCA process as part of the incapacity benefits reassessment (IBR) process.
The latest publication relating to IBR claims is here:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/workingage/index.php?page=esa_ibr
Table 2 in the above publication provides a local authority breakdown of WCA outcomes for IBR claims. Note that appeals data is not available for IBR claims.
The following tables provide a breakdown of the total initial WCAs for north western local authorities completed on new ESA claims, the number found fit for work at the initial WCA, the number of completed appeals against these fit for work decisions and the number of appeals where the original DWP decision was overturned. Information is provided on WCA outcomes for all claims received up to May 2012; and appeals heard for claims starting up to November 2011, the latest data available. Note that all figures have been rounded to the nearest 10, so columns may not sum to the totals shown.
| Table 1: WCA outcomes and completed appeals for new ESA claims starting April 2010 to March 2011 | |||||||
| Number of claimants | Percentage of all completed initial WCAs | ||||||
| Local authority | All completed initial WCAs | Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA | All appeals against FFW decision | Successful appeals | Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA | All appeals against FFW decision | Successful appeals |
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| Table 2: WCA outcomes for new ESA claims starting April 2011 to March 2012 and completed appeals for claims starting April 2011 to November 2011 | |||||||
| Number of claimants | Percentage of all completed initial WCAs | ||||||
| Local authority | All completed initial WCAs | Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA | All appeals against FFW decision | Successful appeals | Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA | All appeals against FFW decision | Successful appeals |
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| Note: Percentage for appeals figures omitted as appeals data does not cover same period as WCA outcomes. | |||||||
| Table 3: WCA outcomes for new ESA claims starting April 2012 to May 2012(1) | |||
| Number of claimants | Percentage of all completed initial WCAs | ||
| Local authority | All completed initial WCAs | Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA | Fit for Work outcome at initial WCA |
| (1 )Appeals data is not available for this period | |||