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Correspondence
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to answer the letter to him dated 2 April from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J. A. Javed. [160968]
Mr. Straw: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 11 May.
Prison Service Staff
Sir Nicholas Lyell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed in the Prison Service (a) as (i) prison governors and (ii) assistant governors working in prisons, (b) as prison officers working in prisons, (c) as support staff working in prisons and (d) as (i) prison governors and (ii) assistant governors working in an administrative capacity (I) in his Department and (II) outside individual prisons. [161001]
Mr. Boateng: As at 30 April 2001:
- (a) (i) The number of governing governors currently working in establishments was 130.
- (ii) The number of other senior operational management staff working in establishments was 774.
- (b) The number of prison officers, senior officers and principal officers working in establishments was 23,554.
- (c) The number of support staff working in establishments was 17,109.
- (d) (i) The number of grade 1 senior operational managers working in an administrative capacity at Prison Service headquarters was 37
- (ii) The number of other senior operational managers working in an administrative capacity at Prison Service headquarters was 210.
Additionally, four senior operational managers are currently seconded to other Government Departments and three to other organisations.
TREASURY
Disabled People (Unemployment)
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the (a) percentage and (b) numerical change in the number of unemployed disabled people was between (i) 1 May 1997 and (ii) the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [143372]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Paul Marsden, dated 11 May 2001:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about the percentage and numerical change in the number of unemployed disabled people between May 1997 and the latest available data (143372). I am replying in his absence.
- The available data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) are on a consistent basis only from spring (March to May) 1998.
- Between Spring 1998 and Spring 2000, the number of employed disabled people increased, so that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment rate for disabled people (the proportion of economically active working age people who are ILO unemployed) fell from 11.3% in Spring 1998 to 10.3% in Spring
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- 2000. During the same period, the number of ILO unemployed people in the UK of working age with a disability increased by 17,000 (4.8%).
- This information has been taken from the Labour Force Survey, National Statistics' main source of labour market data on individuals. The LFS identifies whether respondents have a current long-term disability covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) or a work-limiting disability. Both categories have been included to give a comprehensive and coherent coverage of disability.
- The measure of unemployment derived from the LFS is defined on a consistent and internationally recognised basis set out by the ILO. It counts as unemployed people who are (a) without a paid job, (b) available to start work within the next two weeks, and (c) have either looked for work in the last four weeks or are waiting to start a job already obtained.
Statistics (Northern Region)
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many jobs there were in the economy in the Northern Region (a) in 1996 and (b) at the latest date for which figures are available. [155044]
Miss Melanie Johnson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell to Mr. Fraser Kemp, dated 11 May 2001:
- The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question about the number of jobs in the Northern region in 1996 and for the most recent period for which data are available (155044). I am replying in his absence.
- Data on jobs are no longer published for the Northern Standard Statistical Region, but they are published quarterly for the North Eastern Government Office Region (GOR) in the Labour Market Statistics First Release for the North East region. These data may be accessed via the NOMIS database in the House of Commons Library.
Tax Credit Fraud
Mr. Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 3 April 2001, Official Report, column 154W, on tax credit fraud, if he will break down by (a) type of offence involved and (b) occupational group, the (i) penalties and (ii) prosecutions. [157873]
Dawn Primarolo [holding answer 10 April 2001]: Information on penalties is available only for the most recent 164 cases. Prior to that date, the information was held clerically and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information as to the occupation group is not routinely collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The primary reason for applying penalties in each of the 164 cases is given in the table.
| Penalties | Number |
|---|---|
| Undeclared partner | 60 |
| Earnings from self-employment understated | 25 |
| Undeclared job | 24 |
| Other undeclared income | 2 |
| Undeclared or understated savings | 21 |
| Undeclared land or property | 10 |
| Working insufficient hours | 11 |
| False claim for child | 5 |
| False claim for child care costs | 2 |
| Other | 4 |
Since my reply of 3 April 2001 there has been one additional prosecution in respect of Working Families Tax Credit, bringing the total to 16. The offences are given in the following table. The total number of offences is more than 16 as some individuals are prosecuted for more than one offence.
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| Offences | Number |
|---|---|
| False accounting | 9 |
| Theft | 6 |
| Going equipped to cheat | 2 |
| Conspiracy | 2 |
| Fraud | 2 |
| Deception | 1 |
The occupation groups of the 16 individuals are given in the table.
| Occupation groups | Number |
|---|---|
| Managerial and administrators | 2 |
| Associate professional and technical occupations | 1 |
| Clerical and secretarial occupations | 3 |
| Personal and protective services | 3 |
| Sales occupations | 2 |
| Unemployed | 5 |
Children's Tax Credit
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many one earner couples are on the Children's Tax Credit taper or above Children's Tax Credit entitlements who would be entitled if their income was divided equally between them as a two earner couple; [158696]
- (2) how many families are expected to (a) receive the full Children's Tax Credit, (b) receive a partial Children's Tax Credit because their income is too low to receive a full credit and (c) receive a partial Children's Tax Credit because their income is too high to receive a full credit; [158712]
(3) how many families are (a) on the Children's Tax Credit taper and (b) ineligible for the Children's Tax Credit because their earnings are above the threshold for entitlement; and how many of these are (i) one- earner couples, (ii) two-earner couples and (iii) single parents. [158688]
Dawn Primarolo: I will write to the hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many recipients of the Children's Tax Credit have, as a result, had a reduction in their entitlement to (a) Housing Benefit, (b) Council Tax Benefit, (c) Working Families Tax Credit, (d) Disabled Persons Tax Credit and (e) other benefits. [158711]
Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available on the number of rewards reviewed since 5 April. People who are claiming Children's Tax Credit, and also the Working Families Tax Credit or Disabled Person's Tax Credit, will
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have their award increased from June when they re-apply so that they will receive the full benefit of the Children's Tax Credit.
Helplines
Mr. Levitt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what telephone helplines to assist the public are administered by his Department and its agencies. [159508]
Dawn Primarolo: The information is as follows:
- HM Treasury
- Full details may be found on the website at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.
- Inland Revenue
- A full list can be found on the Inland Revenue website at www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk.
- Customs and Excise
- National Advice Service 0845 010 9000 8 am to 8 pm Monday to Friday. (There is a dedicated line for Welsh speakers and a textphone line.) This deals with Customs/VAT and other taxes like Insurance Premium Tax.
- Customs Confidential 0800 59 5000 24 hours a day seven days a week. (To report smuggling and fraud.)
- National Insolvency Helpdesk 0151 703 8711/8450 8.30 am to 5 pm Monday to Thursday, 8.30 am to 4 pm Friday.
- Tariff Classification 01702 366 077 9 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday. (To obtain commodity codes for imported goods.)
- Trade Statistics 01702 367 485 10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday. (Statistics on imports.)
- Office for National Statistics
- The ONS helplines are listed on the "contacts" pages of the National Statistics website at www.statistics.gov.uk (actual page address http.//statbase/email.asp).
- Debt Management Office
- Full details on the website at www.dmo.gov.uk.
- Office of Government Commerce
- Full details on the website at www.ogc.gov.uk.
- Royal Mint
- The Royal Mint does not provide a "service to the citizen" as with most mainstream Government Departments; they do provide a dedicated telephone inquiry and helpline for Coin Club customers. In addition, the Information Office is charged with assisting members of the general public with their coinage inquiries. Both telephone numbers are published.
- Government Actuaries Department
- Full details may be found on the GAD website at www.gad.gov.uk.
- National Savings
- Full details may be found on the website at www.nationalsavings.co.uk.
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