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16 Feb 2006 : Column 2446W—continued
Voice Stress Analysis
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what (a) discussions and (b) contract negotiations his Department has held in the last two years with Capita on the use of voice stress software in processing telephone benefit claims; [49975]
(2) what research his Department has carried out into voice stress analysis in processing benefit claims over the telephone following publication of the report in October 2005 entitled Reducing Fraud in the Benefit System; [49990]
(3) what payments have been made to (a) Capita and (b) other firms for undertaking trials of voice stress software in his Department for processing telephone benefit claims; [49991]
(4) what plans he has to trial voice stress software for the processing of telephone benefit claims; and what the likely date is of the (a) commencement and (b) termination of such trials; [49993]
(5) what trials (a) have been and (b) are being undertaken on the use of voice stress software in processing telephone benefit claims. [49994]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Department has not entered into negotiations with, or made payments to, any organisation in relation to voice stress software. The Department is currently considering how the technology might be piloted in order to establish its effectiveness in relation to DWP business. To date no trials have been undertaken and any pilot undertaken will be run in line with DWP procurement guidelines and procedures.
Welfare Reform Green Paper
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how the £360 million announced in his statement on the Welfare Reform Green Paper is to be spent; from which budgets this sum has been drawn; and over what period of time it is to be allocated. [49799]
Margaret Hodge:
The funding for welfare reform has been drawn from the budgets provided to the Department through the 2004 Spending Review
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settlement which covered the financial years 2005–06 to 2007–08. Details are available in The departmental report 2005 (Cm 6539) published in June 2005. The £360 million funding is largely to be spent extending the pathways to work programme beyond the pilot areas, and covers 2006–07 and 2007–08.
Winter Fuel Payments
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals received winter fuel payments in each London borough in the last year for which figures are available. [52302]
Mr. Timms: The information is in the table.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
2. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Source:
Information Directorate, 100 per cent. Sample.
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