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22 Mar 2006 : Column 405W—continued
Unitary Authorities
Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what studies his Department has evaluated on the performance of unitary authorities. [59498]
Mr. Woolas: None. However the Comprehensive Performance Assessment and Best Value Performance Indicator performance data prepared by the Audit Commission show such information by type of local authority.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Carer's Allowance
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of (a) men and (b) women in Bridgend constituency who were in receipt of carer's allowance in each of the last five years. [59980]
Mrs. McGuire: The administration of carers 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, dated 22 March 2006:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) men and (b) women in Bridgend constituency who were in receipt of carers' allowance in each of the last five years.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
(11) 2001 and 2002 figures are as at September. 2003, 2004 and 2005 figures are as at August.
Notes:
1. Only cases in payment are shown (those with underlying entitlement but not actually receiving payment have been excluded).
2. Parliamentary constituencies have been allocated using the ONS postcode directory.
Definitions and conventions:
-" Nil or Negligible; ." Not applicable; Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study for totals and 100 percent samples for detail.
Departmental Information
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve the (a) quality of management information and (b) appraisal of effectiveness within his Department. [49514]
Mrs. McGuire: Improvements to the quality, timeliness and coverage of management information are being made on the back of the introduction of new IT systems under the department's modernisation programme and by a corporate management information service that was introduced in 2003. The Department's effectiveness is assessed in the Departmental Report and Autumn Performance Report, through which it publishes its progress against public service agreement targets. In making these assessments, the Department takes account of expert advice on best practice in measurement and data quality. The Autumn Performance Report published on 15 December 2005 contains the most recent update on delivery of these targets; copies are available in the Library.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many hours (a) initial training and (b) ongoing training are given to staff who work on disability living allowance fraud cases. [55296]
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.
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Letter from Terry Moran, dated 22 March 2006:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many hours (a) initial training and (b) ongoing training are given to staff who work on disability living allowance fraud cases.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Careers Service (DCS).
The information you require is not available in the format you have requested. This is because Disability Living Allowance fraud work involves thousands of generalised staff as well as staff who specialise in fraud in both DCS and Jobcentre Plus. All staff have individual requirements, which are reviewed on an ongoing basis. am sorry I cannot be more helpful.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he was first informed of errors within disability living allowance DLA(A) forms; what steps he has taken to make the public aware of those errors; when he expects to rectify the errors; and if he will make a statement. [59493]
Mrs. McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance and attendance allowance is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mr. Terry Moran. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Terry Moran, dated 22 March 2006:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he was first informed of errors within DLA/A (Adult) and DLA/A (Child) forms; what steps he has taken to make the public aware of those errors; when he expects to rectify the errors; and if he will make a statement.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
In December 2005, the DLA claim pack, which was in two parts was revised and the two parts amalgamated to produce a unified claim pack. The guidance notes were also amended to reflect the changes. Subsequent feedback in January 2006 has indicated that the guidance notes are not as clear as they might be with regard to the parts of the claim pack to be completed if a person is claiming under Special Rules" provisions.
The consequence of any potential confusion is that some parts of the claim pack may be completed unnecessarily. The outcome of the claim would be unaffected by this. DCS will revise the guidance notes to take account of the feedback received at the earliest opportunity, which will be at the next print run due in June 2006, and accordingly does not intend to take any additional interim steps to raise public awareness.
A fuller revision of the DLA claim pack, including guidance notes, is planned for October 2006. As part of that revision the DCS Advisory Forum, on which Macmillan are represented, will be fully consulted.
In addition the DCS were advised on 2 March 2006 that there was a discrepancy between the clerical version and the electronic version of the DLA child claim pack guidance notes. A correction to the electronic version was effected on 15 March 2006 and the notes are now identical to the clerical claim pack guidance notes.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of new incapacity benefit claims were referred for medical review in the most recent year for which figures are available. [51984]
Mrs. McGuire:
Claims to incapacity benefit are initially accepted on the basis of medical evidence but are all subject to medical review to find out whether the
22 Mar 2006 : Column 408W
person is still incapable of work. Most cases will require a medical examination, but where a person's condition is severe, incapacity may be accepted on the basis of medical or other evidence without the need for an examination.
Information on the number of examinations carried out on new incapacity benefit claims is not available as it is not possible to split initial examinations from the total examination figure which includes initial and subsequent examinations.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research has been (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned by his Department on the mortality rates of individuals claiming incapacity benefit; and if he will make a statement. [53901]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department has not undertaken or commissioned any such research.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of new incapacity benefit claimants in 2005 aged (a) over 50 years and (b) under 50 years had previously been receiving (i) statutory sick pay and (ii) jobseeker's allowance. [58686]
Mrs. McGuire: The most recent available information is in the following tables.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate, 1 per cent. Sample.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. Earlier quarters have been updated to include late notified commencements. For this reason the percentage of all IB commencements may be misleading when compared to earlier quarters.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. Samples.
22 Mar 2006 : Column 409W
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of incapacity benefit claimants reaching the first anniversary of their claim aged (a) over 50 years and (b) under 50 years left the benefit in the next year in each of the last five years. [58689]
Mrs. McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
Notes:
1. Figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance claims, including IB credits only case).
2. Figures for the latest quarter do not include any late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. For illustration purposes, total IB only terminations for May 2004 increased by 33 per cent. in the year following their initial release.
3. Percentages are calculated using the total terminations in that quarter as a denominator.
Source:
Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new claimants for incapacity benefit were aged (a) over 50 years and (b) under 50 years in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2005. [58690]
Mrs. McGuire: The information is in the following table.
Notes:
1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. Figures for the latest year do not include some late notifications and are subject to major changes in future quarters. For illustration purposes, total commencements for the quarter ending May 2004 increased by 18 per cent. in the year following their initial release.
3. New commencements to SDA ceased in April 2001. Some commencements still appear after this date due to the case being re-built.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples.
John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women in receipt of incapacity benefit owing to mental health conditions in the Easington constituency are aged (i) 20 to 29, (ii) 30 to 40, (iii) 41 to 49 and (iv) 50 to 60 years. [59040]
Mrs. McGuire:
The available information is in the table.
22 Mar 2006 : Column 410W
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
2. '—' means nil or negligible.
3. 'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance claims, including IB credits only cases.
4. Diagnoses are taken from the International Classification of Diseases (ICD10).
Source:
DWP Information Directorate, Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent. data.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed incapacity benefits for (a) mental health reasons and (b) musculo-skeletal disorders in each year from 1979–80 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [59345]
Mrs. McGuire: The information is not available in the format requested. Incapacity Benefit was introduced in April 1995; information is not available broken down by diagnoses for predecessor benefits. The available information is in the table.
Notes:
1. Figures for the years 1995 to 1998 have been produced using 5 per cent. data and have been rated up in accordance with the Great Britain WPLS 100 per cent. incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance totals.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. 'Claimant' figures include all incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance claims, including IB credits only cases.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate, 5 per cent. samples from 1995 to 1998 and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent. data thereafter.
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Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of those claimants of incapacity benefit who are primarily affected by a mental health problem for which they are receiving treatment. [59854]
Mrs. McGuire: As at August 2005, there were 1,089,100 incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in Great Britain whose primary diagnosis was within the 'Mental and Behavioural Disorders' group of diagnoses; this represents 39 per cent. of the case load.
The Department does not have records of the medical treatment benefit claimants receive.
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