Mr Chris Pond: I have been asked to reply. We have no proposals for introducing a statutory levy. The Health and Safety Executive is working with the major gas supply companies on voluntary funding for a gas safety publicity strategy that includes the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. Agreement has been reached with the Energy Retail Association (representing the six largest suppliers) and the first...
Mr Chris Pond: Direct payment into an account is now the normal way that we pay benefits and pensions, over 96 per cent. of customer accounts are now paid this way. Direct payment increases choice, reduces fraud and assures a safe, convenient, more modern and efficient way of paying benefits. It increases financial inclusion, and allows people to make savings on many of their bills by paying by direct...
Mr Chris Pond: Cheque payments are designed for the small number of people who we cannot pay directly into an account. We settled on this solution following extensive consultation with customer representative groups. The cheque provides the facility for a third party (including a carer) to cash cheques under £450 on the customer's behalf at a Post Office and this facility has worked successfully for many...
Mr Chris Pond: holding answer 23 March 2005 Bereavement Benefit was introduced in April 2001. Information on the number of claims is not available. The available information on the number of recipients is in the table. Bereavement Benefit recipients in Great Britain -- Number 2002 2003 2004 All bereavement benefit recipients in Great Britain 36,300 43,600 45,300 Widowed parents allowance...
Mr Chris Pond: The Department has lodged a petition of appeal with the House of Lords in this case. We are therefore unable to comment further at this time.
Mr Chris Pond: No payments or grants were made to local authorities specifically in respect of asylum seekers, including those subsidies for housing benefit or council tax benefit. Although asylum seekers may have been eligible for housing benefit and/or council tax benefit, estimates of the proportion of subsidy payments which relate to asylum seekers for each local authority are unavailable.
Mr Chris Pond: The Government believe that there is already an appropriate balance of legislative and non-legislative responsibilities on directors in relation to health and safety and have no immediate plans to legislate. However, we have asked the Health and Safety Executive to assess the effectiveness of the current measures in place concerning director responsibilities for health and safety, to review...
Mr Chris Pond: The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the following table. Income support claimants of working age in Great Britain by client group: February 2004 to November 2004 -- Number All working age Aged 60 or over Disabled Lone parent Others February 2004 2,199,500 11,700 1,118,000 820,500 249,200 May 2004 2,170,800 11,000...
Mr Chris Pond: The average council tax benefit payment to claimants over 60 is £11.90 a week. The average housing benefit payment to those claimants over 60 is £48.98 a week. Notes: 1. The figures are based on a one per cent. sample and subject to a degree of sampling variation. 2. Council tax benefit data excludes any second adult rebate cases. 3. Housing benefit data excludes extended payments. 4. The...
Mr Chris Pond: It is already the Department's policy to give benefit claimants information about all the payment options available, including the Post Office Card account, when they apply for benefits. This enables them to make an informed decision about which account best meets their individual needs.
Mr Chris Pond: A total of 350 lone parents in Crosby have gained a job through the new deal for lone parents since the start of the programme in October 1998. Figures for lone parents who have gained work through the other new deal programmes are not available.
Mr Chris Pond: Through the New Deal we have introduced a wide range of initiatives to help individuals improve their employment prospects by giving them the skills, support and confidence they need to move into work. We have successfully rolled out Work Focused Interviews to provide lone parents with the opportunity to discuss work options and find out about the help available to them. From 12 April 2004...
Mr Chris Pond: On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI inspection report on Gravesham borough council was published today and copies have been placed in the Library. In 2003–04, Gravesham borough council administered some £21 million in housing benefits, about 41 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. Between April 2001 and March 2004 the council...
Mr Chris Pond: On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI inspection report on Hinckley and Bosworth borough council was published today and copies have been placed in the Library. In 2003–04 Hinckley and Bosworth borough council administered some £10 million in housing benefits, about 35 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. BFI's comprehensive...
Mr Chris Pond: On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI inspection report on South Buckinghamshire district council was published today and copies have been placed in the Library. In 2003–04, South Buckinghamshire district council administered some £9 million in housing benefits, about 38 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. BFI found that the...
Mr Chris Pond: On behalf of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the BFI inspection report on Flintshire county council was published today and copies have been placed in the Library. In 2003–04, Flintshire county council administered some £26.5 million in housing benefits, about 10 per cent. of its gross revenue expenditure. In the final quarter of 2003–04 the council was...
Mr Chris Pond: Our successful economic and labour market policies have cut long-term unemployment by three quarters to its lowest level for 30 years. New deal 25-plus has played an important role in this success, so far helping more than 210,000 people into work. I suspect that the l,650 people who have been helped into work through the new deal in Newark, including 250 people through new deal 25-plus, will...
Mr Chris Pond: There is one very effective way to prevent people from going back on to such schemes, and that is to scrap them altogether, which is, I assume, the hon. Gentleman's proposal. We do not propose to do that. Given that we are talking about people who face some of the greatest barriers to entering and remaining in work, inevitably, in a dynamic labour market, some of them will need continuing...
Mr Chris Pond: I can certainly give my hon. Friend that reassurance. Indeed, he will know that we have extended the help for new deal 25-plus even further. Last year, we extended early entry to the scheme to more disadvantaged groups, including lone parents, people with basic skills, ex-service personnel and refugees. Frankly, we have no intention whatsoever of scrapping such a scheme, which has helped...
Mr Chris Pond: No. We are looking to give that group of people additional support because many of them want to get back into the labour market. We have no intention, however, of making that compulsory. We will ensure that they get all the help necessary, and we will make a proper assessment of their needs to see what help they need to get into work.
