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Mr. Peter Lloyd : No specific amount is included in the income support rates for April 1988 for the payment of water rates.
Family Credit
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he is now in a position to provide information on the number of single parent families in receipt of family credit.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : At the end of November, approximately 98,000 lone parent employees received family credit. No information is available about how many lone parents were among the 20,000 recipients of family credit where the parent was in self-employment.
Retirement Homes
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many places in residential homes for the elderly are supported by payments from his Department ; what is the cost ; and if he will provide the equivalent figures for each year since 1980.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Payments by the Department of Social Security are not made for the purpose of supporting places in residential homes. Income support is available to help individuals with insufficient resources of their own to meet their fees in independent residential care and nursing homes.
The table sets out the number of people in independent homes receiving income support (formerly supplementary benefit), and the estimated annual cost, for each year since 1980. Information specifically about residential homes for elderly people is not available.
December 1980 |13 |18 December 1981 |13 |23 December 1982 |16 |39 December 1983 |26 |104 December 1984 |42 |200 December 1985 |70 |348 February 1986 |90 |459 May 1987 |117 |671 May 1988 |147 |878
Benefits (North-East)
Mr. Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are receiving income support, and how many of these are under the age of 25 years, from each office at Wallsend, North Shields and Saxon house, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The number of people in receipt of income support by local office is :
|Number
-------------------------------------------
Wallsend |7,787
North Shields |10,183
Newcastle East (Saxon house) |14,269
Source: Manual count of cases in action.
The data are provisional and subject to
revision.
I regret that information is not available on the number of these claimants who are under the age of 25 years.
Mr. Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are receiving grants and loans, and how many are under the age of 25 years, from each office at Wallsend, North Shields and Saxon house, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information on the numbers of applications for social fund loans and grants processed and awarded, listed by local office, including information on budget allocations and expenditure, is available from the details held in the Library.
Separate statistics on the numbers of applicants under the age of 25 years are not collected. I regret, therefore, that this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Transitional Payments
Mr. Ashdown : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for transitional payments more than two months old are now outstanding (a) for south Somerset and (b) for the United Kingdom as a whole.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The transitional payments unit processes applications as soon as the necessary information is received from the relevant local authority. A number of cases have not been processed because the inquiry forms have not been returned by local authorities. There are 70 inquiry forms, which have been outstanding for over two months, with South Somerset district council. Information on inquiries outstanding for over two months, in the United Kingdom as a whole, is not readily available.
Young People (Care)
Mr. Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has studied the recent report produced
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by Barnardo's entitled "I Can't Go Back To Mum And Dad" ; and if he will make a statement about the effect of recent social security changes on young people leaving care who cannot return to their families.Mr. Peter Lloyd : We have studied the Barnardo's report closely. We are monitoring the effects of the reformed social security system on all client groups, including the youngsters covered by this report. Once this monitoring has been completed we shall decide what, if any, action is needed.
Unemployment Benefit
Mrs. Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in receipt of unemployment benefit have been unemployed for (a) less than two weeks, (b) between two weeks and six months and (c) for over six months, at the latest available date.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The table shows the number of people in receipt of unemployment benefit analysed by duration of their current spell of unemployment. The figures relate to May 1988, the latest date for which they are available.
Duration of current spell |Number of claimants of unemployment ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- less than 2 weeks |12,683 between 2 weeks and six months |380,653 more than six months |242,480 Source: 5 per cent. sample.
Retirement Age
Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what proposals he has for the equalisation of the retirement age for men and women under the state pension schemes ; what progress is being made towards their implementation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Proposals for the equalisation of state pension age continue to be under consideration. Negotiations have begun on the EC directive completing the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in statutory and occupational social security schemes.
Agency Benefits Unit
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the average time and the range of times which it takes the agency benefits unit to process claims from patients seeking help with National Health Service charges ; whether separate details are available in respect of dental claims ; and whether there are any proposals to make the claim form AG1 shorter.
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the average time taken by the agency benefits unit to complete and return form AG1 ; if he has any plans to improve this situation ; and why dentists are not informed about the decision reached.
Mr. Peter Lloyd [holding answer 13 January 1989] : In the five weeks ending 9 December 1988 claims were, on average, cleared within six working days ; 50.8 per cent. of claims were cleared within five working days and 91.4 per cent. within 10 working days. Since 5 December, a further
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21 staff have been recruited for the agency benefits unit. Furthermore, the completion of claim form AG1 is being monitored with a view to improving its effectiveness. Form AG1 is used to claim help with the whole range of NHS charges. Claims in respect of dental charges are not separately identifiable.Column 248
Margaret Beckett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, if he will publish in the Official Report the figures given in his answer on social security benefits on 7 December, Official Report, column 182 , at 1988 prices.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The information is as follows :
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|1978-79|1979-80|1980-81|1981-82|1982-83|1983-84|1984-85|1985-86|1986-87
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Widow's allowance
average number of beneficiaries (thousands) |36 |37 |34 |34 |33 |32 |31 |30 |30
expenditure ( £ million) |142 |140 |126 |120 |107 |106 |103 |97 |97
Widowed mother's allowance
average number of beneficiaries (thousands) |123 |119 |117 |114 |110 |105 |100 |93 |88
expenditure (£ million) |340 |308 |296 |<2>296 |<2>287 |<2>283 |<2>268 |<2>248 |<2>239
Death grant (by calendar year)
awards (thousands) |583 |593 |593 |591 |597 |600 |<1>600 |601 |<1>600
expenditure (£ million) |35 |30 |25 |24 |23 |22 |21 |21 |20
Maternity grant
awards (thousands) |622 |659 |654 |<1>640 |653 |662 |<1>700 |694 |<1>560
expenditure (£ million) |35 |30 |25 |23 |21 |22 |22 |20 |16
<1> Estimates
<2> Records of expenditure on widowed mother's allowance include amounts of additional pension payable.
Mr. Brian Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by local authority area the number of approved places in (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) local authority residential homes for the elderly, for each year since 1980.
Mr. Roger Freeman : The information readily available over the period relates to the number of places for elderly and younger physically handicapped people in local authorities own homes and places registered in private and
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voluntary homes under the Registered Homes Act 1984. the information for the years ending 31 March 1981 to 1986 is published in "Residential Accommodation for Elderly and Younger Physically Handicapped People : All Residents in Local Authority, Voluntary and Private Homes Year ending 31 March 1981 to Year ending 31 March 1986 England", a copy of which is available in the Library. The provisional information for year ending 31 March 1987 is given in the table.Column 247
Number of places in residential care homes for the elderly and for younger physically handicapped people as at 31 March 1987 (provisional)
Local authority |Places in local authority|Places in voluntary |Places in private |Total places in all
|homes |homes<1> |homes<1> |homes<1>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern Region |9,297 |1,019 |4,531 |14,847
Cleveland |1,494 |104 |367 |1,965
Cumbria |1,672 |127 |1,245 |3,044
Durham |1,883 |137 |560 |2,580
Northumberland |852 |173 |564 |1,589
Gateshead |649 |52 |107 |808
Newcastle upon Tyne |886 |228 |393 |1,507
North Tyneside |509 |63 |738 |1,310
South Tyneside |511 |10 |194 |715
Sunderland |841 |125 |363 |1,329
Yorkshire/Humberside |14,465 |1,749 |9,854 |26,068
Humberside |2,325 |187 |2,625 |5,137
North Yorkshire |2,004 |821 |2,893 |5,718
Barnsley |698 |0 |243 |941
Doncaster |748 |77 |345 |1,170
Rotherham |677 |16 |73 |766
Sheffield |1,813 |44 |282 |2,139
Bradford |1,425 |93 |1,418 |2,936
Calderdale |702 |32 |438 |1,172
Kirklees |1,163 |43 |534 |1,740
Leeds |2,165 |382 |709 |3,256
Wakefield |745 |54 |294 |1,093
North Western Region |17,347 |4,673 |15,337 |37,357
Cheshire |2,134 |775 |1,083 |3,992
Lancashire |3,985 |691 |6,768 |11,444
Bolton |706 |74 |405 |1,185
Bury |462 |392 |181 |1,035
Manchester |1,842 |233 |700 |2,775
Oldham |671 |0 |528 |1,199
Rochdale |608 |0 |329 |937
Salford |831 |201 |194 |1,226
Stockport |637 |36 |588 |1,261
Tameside |459 |83 |319 |861
Trafford |521 |122 |613 |1,256
Wigan |824 |16 |216 |1,056
Knowsley |222 |0 |63 |285
Liverpool |1,441 |719 |496 |2,656
Sefton |705 |1,075 |1,816 |3,596
St. Helens |316 |84 |92 |492
Wirral |983 |172 |946 |2,101
West Midlands Region |11,768 |2,289 |9,483 |23,540
Hereford and Worcester |1,207 |417 |2,131 |3,755
Shropshire |1,128 |31 |1,360 |2,519
Staffordshire |2,147 |370 |1,740 |4,257
Warwickshire |918 |372 |885 |2,175
Birmingham |2,509 |747 |1,358 |4,614
Coventry |677 |45 |601 |1,323
Dudley |563 |42 |581 |1,186
Sandwell |909 |0 |158 |1,067
Solihull |324 |166 |82 |572
Walsall |697 |0 |261 |958
Wolverhampton |689 |99 |326 |1,114
East Midlands Region |9,210 |1,732 |6,652 |17,594
Derbyshire |2,116 |431 |1,717 |4,264
Leicestershire |2,159 |423 |1,066 |3,648
Lincolnshire |1,437 |203 |1,778 |3,418
Northamptonshire |1,309 |337 |1,004 |2,650
Nottinghamshire |2,189 |338 |1,087 |3,614
Thames/Anglia Region |14,426 |5,344 |11,791 |31,561
Bedfordshire |1,145 |172 |754 |2,071
Berkshire |1,158 |635 |1,060 |2,853
Buckinghamshire |1,029 |874 |507 |2,410
Cambridgeshire |1,378 |316 |942 |2,636
Essex |3,389 |1,168 |2,565 |7,122
Hertfordshire |1,753 |826 |1,318 |3,897
Norfolk |1,896 |514 |2,738 |5,148
Oxfordshire |1,183 |340 |476 |1,999
Suffolk |1,495 |499 |1,431 |3,425
Inner London Region |6,785 |2,173 |874 |9,832
Camden |578 |206 |71 |855
Greenwich |560 |0 |109 |669
Hackney |523 |137 |0 |660
Hammersmith |461 |106 |16 |583
Islington |651 |58 |32 |741
Kensington |300 |249 |51 |600
Lambeth |702 |302 |172 |1,176
Lewisham |790 |18 |237 |1,045
Southwark |682 |300 |0 |982
Tower Hamlets |441 |125 |0 |566
Wandsworth |568 |636 |186 |1,390
Westminster |529 |36 |0 |565
City of London |0 |0 |0 |0
Outer London Region |9,156 |4,392 |4,655 |18,203
Barking |379 |0 |38 |417
Barnet |544 |1,003 |534 |2,081
Bexley |437 |5 |45 |487
Brent |437 |159 |72 |668
Bromley |475 |646 |330 |1,451
Croydon |608 |320 |698 |1,626
Ealing |599 |389 |302 |1,290
Enfield |550 |56 |354 |960
Haringey |457 |360 |140 |957
Harrow |412 |134 |396 |942
Havering |514 |0 |303 |817
Hillingdon |505 |96 |57 |658
Hounslow |473 |136 |5 |614
Kingston upon Thames |253 |18 |370 |641
Merton |262 |165 |165 |592
Newham |616 |109 |24 |749
Redbridge |481 |174 |231 |886
Richmond upon Thames |353 |434 |85 |872
Sutton |338 |176 |299 |813
Waltham Forest |463 |12 |207 |682
Southern Region |13,658 |7,759 |26,655 |48,072
Dorset |1,380 |673 |4,256 |6,309
Hampshire |2,854 |962 |5,850 |9,666
Isle of Wight |316 |126 |1,253 |1,695
Kent |2,807 |1,226 |2,525 |6,558
Surrey |2,016 |1,845 |1,962 |5,823
East Sussex |1,491 |1,527 |5,465 |8,483
West Sussex |1,602 |1,135 |4,086 |6,823
Wiltshire |1,192 |265 |1,258 |2,715
South Western Region |8,077 |2,844 |16,276 |27,197
Avon |2,538 |829 |2,295 |5,662
Cornwall |1,044 |251 |2,621 |3,916
Devon |2,217 |1,035 |8,929 |12,181
Gloucestershire |1,164 |480 |1,058 |2,702
Somerset |1,114 |249 |1,373 |2,736
England Total |114,189 |33,974 |106,108 |254,271
<1> Includes homes exempt from registration under Section 1(5)(j) of the Registered Homes Act 1984.
EMPLOYMENT
Hotels (Standards)
60. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to introduce minimum statutory standards for hotels.
Mr. Lee : No. Government regulation in this area would be costly. Bureaucratic, and unresponsive to the changing needs of the hotel industry and its customers. The national tourist boards are developing a voluntary classification scheme which has attracted widespread support. Consultations with the industry on the future shape of the scheme are continuing.
Labour Statistics
61. Mr. Patnick : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment by how much unemployment has fallen in inner city areas over the past year.
Mr. Lee : The number of unemployed claimants in inner city areas has fallen by almost 21 per cent. from 1,015,098 to 806,466 in the year to November 1988.
The comparison is affected by the change in the coverage of the unemployment count from September 1988, due to the new benefit regulations for young people aged under 18.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will meet the director of the Unemployment Unit to discuss the calculation of accurate unemployment totals ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lee : My right hon. Friend has no plans to do so and is satisfied that the official unemployment totals calculated by the Department of Employment are accurate.
Mr. Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest estimate of the number of vacancies for skilled and semi-skilled workers in the Greater London area.
Mr. Lee : Information is not available in the form requested. However, a survey conducted in June 1988 which revealed around 150, 000 vacancies in total in
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London, identified skilled and semi-skilled manual vacancies separately. The results have been published by this Department in a report, "The London Labour Market", a copy of which is in the Library.Business in the Community
62. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to meet representatives from Business in the Community to discuss future plans for local enterprise agencies.
Mr. Lee : I recently met representatives of Business in the Community to discuss the opportunities for local enterprise agencies arising from the White Paper "Employment for the 1990s" published on 5 December. Officials of my Department are having more detailed discussions with Business in the Community and local enterprise agency directors, and I will be speaking on the subject in April at a conference of local enterprise agency chairmen organised by Business in the Community.
Construction Industry
Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to seek to improve the safety record in the demolition section of the construction industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : New regulations are being prepared which provide for the management and co-ordination of health and safety on multi-contractor sites, increase the number of safety supervisors in smaller companies and amend the site notification procedure to identify sites where there are high risk activities. The introduction of regulations which would make the wearing of safety helmets compulsory on construction sites is also planned.
In addition to concentrating on the inspection of the more hazardous activities in the industry such as demolition and roofwork, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors will also be paying more attention to the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.
Inspectors will be looking at the level of training and supervision that has been provided and the precautions that have been taken to control the risks posed by demolition activities and will continue to draw attention to
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HSE published guidance on this subject. They will pursue their inquiries and any enforcement action to the highest levels in companies which do not measure up to the standards expected of them.YTS
Mr. McLoughlin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he proposes to make any changes in the YTS in 1989-90.
Mr. Cope : The Government want to ensure that more trainees are able to gain vocational qualifications on completion of YTS training to enable them to get jobs. We want YTS to set an example of training based on achievement of standards of performance. YTS will therefore increasingly encourage the achievement of nationally recognised vocational qualifications and managing agents with particularly successful records. Paperwork will be simpler.
The Government's guarantee of an offer of a suitable place to all young people under 18 who do not have a job remains unchanged. From April 1989, a new five-tier system of premium grants for special training will come into effect. These grants, payable over and above the basic YTS grant, will provide a more sensitive and selective approach to the funding of special training for groups of young people with particular needs. Each of the five levels of payment will have a value of £500 per filled place per year, giving a maximum of £2,500.
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There are to be no other changes in YTS funding, or of the first and second year trainee allowances. These decisions reflect the Government's policy of ensuring suitable provision for young people with special training needs, while encouraging employers to contribute an increasingly larger share of the costs of YTS training.Loan Guarantee Scheme
Mr. Mans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement about the future of the loan guarantee scheme.
Mr. Cope : I have recently announced the continuation of the loan guarantee scheme which was due to end on 31 March this year. In addition, the maximum loan available will be increased from £75,000 to £100,000.
There continues to be a demand for the LGS from firms that could not otherwise raise finance. On average in 1988, 180 loans per month were authorised. The survival rates of LGS borrowers have improved throughout the period that it has operated. We shall continue to keep under review the level of use of the scheme and whether firms could have obtained finance without using the LGS.
Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of technical and vocational education initiative pupils stay on until 18 years of age.
Mr. Cope : In England and Wales, 21 per cent. of pupils who entered TVEI pilot projects stayed on until 18 in 1987 ; and 22 per cent. in 1988. In Scotland, where many pupils complete their highers at the age of 17, 13 per cent. of pupils stayed on until 18 in 1988.
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