House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 20 Jul 2005 (pt 29)

Coventry Area Pathfinders (IT Problems)

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the IT problems in the Coventry area Pathfinders have been resolved. [11702]

Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 14 July 2005]: Local authorities procure their IT systems through a tendering process and enter into a contract with their chosen IT supplier. Local authorities are then responsible for managing the contract including the quality of the

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product procured and the service provided. Therefore, this is a matter for the chief executive of Coventry city council.

Departmental Advertising

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the (a) Department and (b) non-departmental bodies for which the Department is responsible has spent on advertising in the last three years, broken down by media type. [9501]

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Department has spent on advertising in each of the last five years. [10240]

Margaret Hodge: The Department's media spend is available for the last three financial years and is set out in the following tables. Spend before this period, and the requested information on advertising spend of the Department's non-departmental public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
2004–05 £

Campaign/subject TV Radio Press⁽⁴⁴⁾ Other⁽⁴⁵⁾

State pension deferral — — 115,440 —

Disability Discrimination Act — 1,016,540 885,000 90,000

Targeting benefit fraud 1,481,000 1,140,000 4,460,000 2,778,000

Direct payment 2,668,000 930,000 475,000 735,000

Council tax benefit — 12,810 660,970 —

Pension credit 1,687,580 46,840 2,633,520 20,500

Winter fuel payments — — 514,910 —

IB reforms pilots — 35,290 70,630 —

Lone parent leaflet promotion marketing — — 215,740 —

National vacancy campaign — — 323,500 66,000

Total 5,880,300 3,191,800 10,606,580 7,128,300

2003–04 £

Campaign TV Radio Press⁽⁴⁴⁾ Other⁽⁴⁵⁾

Age positive — — 70,400 —

Second state pension — — 209,180 —

Pension service awareness — — 906.100 —

New deal 3,526,190 818,030 1,043,320 —

Disability Discrimination Act — 40,290 — —

Targeting benefit fraud 1,835,000 1,145,000 1,423,000 3,980,000

Direct payment 3,594,000 1,872,000 5,389,000 240,000

Council tax benefit — — 556,230 —

Pension credit 3,570,860 30,990 6,305,170 —

Winter fuel payments — — 625,000 —

Jobseekers direct 1,565,730 — 66,420 —

IB reforms pilot — 45,090 67,510 —

Jobcentre plus customer marketing — — 11,860 1,389,000

National employer campaign — — 1,158,020 —

Total 14,091,780 3,951 ,400 17,831,210 5,609,000

2002–03 £

Campaign TV Radio Press⁽⁴⁴⁾ Other⁽⁴⁵⁾

Age positive — — 644,490 61,850

Future pensioners/informed choice 1,576,510 — 1,301,440 —

Second state pension — — 488,700 —

New deal for musicians — — 32,900 —

Disability Discrimination Act — 50,060 — —

Targeting benefit fraud — 35,000 — —

Direct payment — 383,000 475,000 —

Winter fuel payments — — 627,450 —

Inherited serps — — 645,730 —

Total 1,576,510 468,060 4,215710 61,850

⁽⁴⁴⁾ Press includes national press, regional press, specialist press, advertorials and featurelink.
⁽⁴⁵⁾ Other includes outdoor, online and ambient media.
Notes:
1. These tables do not include the following as the information is not held centrally and to obtain it would incur disproportionate cost:
spend by non-departmental bodies for which the Department is responsible;
details of highly localised publicity activity by the Department's customer-facing businesses;
recruitment or procurement advertising. This also applies to figures for Jobcentre Plus publicity in 2002 to 2003 as at that time allocations sat with various policy teams and within regional budgets for ad hoc allocations.
2. The figures in these tables refer to media spend only, excluding production and other costs.
3. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
4. All figures are quoted net of VAT.

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Campaign/subject	TV	Radio	Press⁽⁴⁴⁾	Other⁽⁴⁵⁾
State pension deferral	—	—	115,440	—
Disability Discrimination Act	—	1,016,540	885,000	90,000
Targeting benefit fraud	1,481,000	1,140,000	4,460,000	2,778,000
Direct payment	2,668,000	930,000	475,000	735,000
Council tax benefit	—	12,810	660,970	—
Pension credit	1,687,580	46,840	2,633,520	20,500
Winter fuel payments	—	—	514,910	—
IB reforms pilots	—	35,290	70,630	—
Lone parent leaflet promotion marketing	—	—	215,740	—
National vacancy campaign	—	—	323,500	66,000
Total	5,880,300	3,191,800	10,606,580	7,128,300

Campaign	TV	Radio	Press⁽⁴⁴⁾	Other⁽⁴⁵⁾
Age positive	—	—	70,400	—
Second state pension	—	—	209,180	—
Pension service awareness	—	—	906.100	—
New deal	3,526,190	818,030	1,043,320	—
Disability Discrimination Act	—	40,290	—	—
Targeting benefit fraud	1,835,000	1,145,000	1,423,000	3,980,000
Direct payment	3,594,000	1,872,000	5,389,000	240,000
Council tax benefit	—	—	556,230	—
Pension credit	3,570,860	30,990	6,305,170	—
Winter fuel payments	—	—	625,000	—
Jobseekers direct	1,565,730	—	66,420	—
IB reforms pilot	—	45,090	67,510	—
Jobcentre plus customer marketing	—	—	11,860	1,389,000
National employer campaign	—	—	1,158,020	—
Total	14,091,780	3,951 ,400	17,831,210	5,609,000

Campaign	TV	Radio	Press⁽⁴⁴⁾	Other⁽⁴⁵⁾
Age positive	—	—	644,490	61,850
Future pensioners/informed choice	1,576,510	—	1,301,440	—
Second state pension	—	—	488,700	—
New deal for musicians	—	—	32,900	—
Disability Discrimination Act	—	50,060	—	—
Targeting benefit fraud	—	35,000	—	—
Direct payment	—	383,000	475,000	—
Winter fuel payments	—	—	627,450	—
Inherited serps	—	—	645,730	—
Total	1,576,510	468,060	4,215710	61,850

Departmental IT Projects

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which of his Department's IT projects are categorised as red light; and if he will make a statement. [10779]

Mr. Plaskitt: The Department for Work and Pensions has a strong record in adopting the Office of Government Commerce's (OGC) policy and best practice initiatives. All the Department's Mission Critical/High and Medium Risk Projects are subject to OGC Gateway Reviews. Disclosure of details relating to the traffic light status awarded by OGC Gateway Reviews would be likely to prejudice both the ability of OGC to examine the effectiveness, efficiency and economy with which Government Departments exercise their functions and also the formulation and development of Government policy.

Departmental Staff

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much staff time, and at what grade, has been spent at relevant assessment panels and moderating meetings in (a) 2003–04 and (b) 2004–05 in relation to his Department's Performance and Development System; how much money has been claimed in travel and subsistence by (i) panel members, (ii) chairs and (iii) human resources staff in each of those years; and what the cost has been of (A) hiring venues and (B) providing refreshments at the meetings in each of those years. [11311]

Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is not available.

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many full-time equivalents have worked for the Department for each of the last five financial years for which figures are available. [11522]

Mrs. McGuire: Table C of Civil Service Statistics shows the numbers of staff by department and agency between 1998 and 2004, on a full-time equivalent basis.

Civil Service Statistics 2004 is available in the Library.

Departmental Union Representation

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many trade union learning representatives there are in his Department. [3315]

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Mrs. McGuire: There are at present 337 accredited trade union learning representatives in the Department for Work and Pensions.

Departmental Website

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the time periods after which publications are removed from his Department's website. [12948]

Mr. Plaskitt: DWP publications are kept live" on the website for the current and the previous calendar years.

Older publications are available from DWP's Library Archive, and can be requested via e-mail or post. Information on how to do this is displayed prominently on the relevant pages of the website.

Disability Allowance

Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many young people have been registered for disability allowance in the Mid-Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency in each year since 1997. [10906]

Mrs. McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the chief executive of the disability and carers service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

Letter from Terry Moran to Mrs. Nadine Dorries, dated 20 July 2005:

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many young people have been registered for disability living allowance in the Mid-Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency in each year since 1997. The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.

The requested information available is in the attached table.

I hope this is helpful.

DLA recipients under the age of 16 in Mid-Bedfordshire constituency as at February each year since 1997 Thousand

DLA liveload⁽⁴⁶⁾

1997 0.1

1998 0.2

1999 0.2

2000 0.2

2001 0.2

2002 0.2

2003 0.3

2004 0.4

2005 0.4

⁽⁴⁶⁾ Figures are less than 500 and subject to a high degree of sampling variation.
Notes:
1. Based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to sampling variation.
2. Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.
4. Parliamentary constituencies are allocated using the relevant ONS post code directory.
Source:
Information Directorate, 5 per cent. data.

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	DLA liveload⁽⁴⁶⁾
1997	0.1
1998	0.2
1999	0.2
2000	0.2
2001	0.2
2002	0.2
2003	0.3
2004	0.4
2005	0.4

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