| Previous Section | Home Page |
68. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the take-up rate for child benefit.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Around 98 per cent.
45. Mr. Bernie Grant : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of uprating child benefit to bring it to the same level in real terms as it stood at in 1984.
59. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of uprating child benefit to bring it to the same level in real terms as it stood at in 1984.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Bristol, South (Ms. Primarolo) earlier today.
73. Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the present arrangements for paying child benefit.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Child benefit is normally paid to mothers every four weeks through their bank or building society account or four- weekly or weekly by order book.
Benefit Deductions
10. Mr. Terry Davis : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of claimants have deductions from their benefit at source.
57. Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of claimants have deductions from their benefit at source.
72. Dr. Godman : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of claimants have deductions from their benefit at source.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Just under 10 per cent. of income support recipients have one or more deductions from their benefit. Information on deductions from other social security benefits is not held centrally.
Pension Schemes
16. Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to extend self-administration of pension schemes.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I presume my hon. Friend is referring to our announcement of the exemption of certain small self-administered schemes from our proposals to restrict pension schemes from engaging in employer- related investments. I announced during the Committee stage of the Social Security Bill last week that, in view of recent evidence of an increase in the practice, the Government have decided to commission a report before deciding what precise restrictions shall be introduced in regulations.
Column 520
Community Charge Rebates
19. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the rebate system for the community charge ; and how many people he expects to take advantage of it.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The community charge benefit scheme to be introduced in April this year is significantly more generous than the old rate rebates system. We estimate that 9.75 million chargepayers will be helped in 1990-91, at a cost of £1.75 billion.
71. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the cost of advertising and explaining the community charge rebate.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Community charge benefit is being advertised by the Department of Social Security, the Department of the Environment, the Welsh Office and Scottish Office and by local authorities. The Department of Social Security will shortly publish an information leaflet and the Department of the Environment has also published a series of leaflets on rebates and reductions. The total cost of these leaflets will be over £300,000. The Department of the Environment's advertising campaign covering newspapers, magazines, television and radio ran from January to February at a cost of £4 million. Local authorities are responsible for the day-to-day administration of community charge benefit, and may advertise community charge benefit in ways that they consider to be suitable. It is not possible to estimate their costs.
Low-income Families
20. Mr. Allen McKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much will be spent on benefits for children in low-income families, excluding child benefit, in the next financial year.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Our planned expenditure on provision for families in 1990-91, excluding child benefit, is nearly £5.4 billion. With the addition of child benefit expenditure of £4.6 billion, this makes a total provision for the family of nearly £10 billion.
58. Mr. Fatchett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much will be spent on benefits for children in low-income families in the next financial year, excluding child benefit.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Planned expenditure on provision for families in 1990-91, excluding child benefit, is £5,359 million. This includes the extra help to low income families with children which since April 1988 has amounted to £350 million in real terms. The benefits included in this total are one-parent benefit, family credit, maternity benefit and statutory maternity pay, and income support, housing benefit and community charge benefit paid to lone parents and to people looking after elderly parents.
Community Care Grants
21. Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will revise directive 29 to allow claimants for community care grants to be eligible for funds to pay deposits for rented housing ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 521
Mr. Scott : We have no current plans to do so, but we will continue to monitor the situation carefully.Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many community care grants applications by month since January 1989 have been (a) met in full, (b) met in part, (c) dealt with by a combination of grant and loan, (d) met with a loan only and (e) refused.
Mr. Scott : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Mr. Wigley) on 19 January at column 487.
Social Fund
23. Mr. Cunliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to review social fund appeals.
42. Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to review social fund appeals.
53. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to review the operation of social fund appeals.
Mr. Scott : No. We are satisfied that the appeals system for the regulated part of the social fund, that is, funeral, maternity and cold weather payments, is working well.
24. Mr. Roy Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many, and what percentage, of social fund loans have gone to pensioners.
Mr. Scott : People aged 60 and over received 21,000 budgeting loans and 3,600 crisis loans in the period April 1989 to January 1990. This represents 4.5 and 0.1 per cent. respectively of loans awarded. In addition, community care grants were awarded in 8,300 cases where a loan had been applied for.
28. Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the social fund refusal rate for the latest available month.
38. Mr. John P. Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the social fund refusal rate for the latest available month.
44. Dr. Marek : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the social fund refusal rate for the latest available month.
Mr. Scott : Details of the individual refusal rates for the three types of payment are in the Library. The overall refusal rate can be derived from the numbers of applications decided and awards made which are also available in the Library.
50. Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to improve the access of people on invalidity benefit to social fund community care grants.
62. Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to improve the access of people on invalidity benefit to social fund community care grants.
65. Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to improve the access of people on invalidity benefit to social fund community care grants.
Column 522
Mr. Scott : No. Like single payments, where help could only be given to people entitled to supplementary benefit, social fund community care grants are intended for those in receipt of income support.
67. Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to review local social fund budgets.
Mr. Scott : As a result of our close monitoring of the social fund, I recently announced that an extra £3 million had been made available this year for 106 offices coming under pressure from an increase in demand. We are currently considering social fund allocations to individual offices for 1990-91 and will make an announcement in due course.
74. Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has any plans to increase the payment from the social fund in the event of severe weather.
Mr. Scott : No. We believe that £5 is a reasonable amount to pay towards the extra expenses for heating incurred in each week of very cold weather, given that ordinary heating costs are an element in regular weekly benefit.
Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has any plans to ensure that the social fund loans budget become self- financing ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Scott : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) on 29 January at column 35.
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Oldham, West of 26 February, (Official Report, column 589, on the High Court judgment on the social fund, if he will send a copy of the revised guidance to the honourable Member for Oldham, West at the same time as it is placed in the Library.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will publish the monthly anticipated expenditure profile for the social fund for the year 1990-91 ;
(2) when he expects to announce the local office allocations for the social fund for the year 1990-91 ;
(3) when he will announce the formula on which local office allocations for the social fund for 1990-91 will be based. Mr. Scott An announcement will be made in due course.
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will be revising the cash limits for the social fund announced for 1990-91.
Mr. Scott : I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) on 22 February 1990 at column 894.
Departmental Service
25. Mr. Allan Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps have been taken to improve his Department's service to the public.
Column 523
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Since the Government reforms were introduced in 1988, the social security system has become simpler for claimants to understand and easier for staff to operate. As a result there have been very real all-round improvements in standards of service to the public. In particular the average 1989-90 times taken to clear income support claims and callers have both improved by 24 per cent. when compared with pre-reforms' performance.I am aware, however, that there is still room for further improvement, particularly in certain inner cities. We are tackling this by relocating some work, which requies no face-to-face contact, away from London to areas where we have fewer problems over staff recruitment and retention. In addition, between now and 1991, we expect our programme to computerise social security operations in all local offices to make a major impact on the speed and accuracy of the service they provide.
Pensioners (Income)
26. Miss Widdecombe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the most recent figure for pensioners whose incomes fall in the lowest quintile of national income distribution.
Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the latest available figures on the proportion of pensioners whose incomes fall in the lowest fifth of national income distribution.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The latest available figures show that in 1979, a total of 38 per cent. of pensioners were in the bottom quintile of national income distribution, and in 1987 the proportion had improved to 24 per cent.
33. Sir George Young : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the increase in pensioners' average net incomes since 1979.
39. Mr. Alison : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the increase in pensioners' average net incomes since 1979 ; and if he will make a statement.
51. Mr. Wood : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the most recent figures he has for the change in pensioners' incomes from savings since 1979.
55. Mr. Shersby : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the most recent figures he has for the increases in pensioners' average net incomes since 1979.
63. Sir Geoffrey Finsberg : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much pensioners' average net incomes have increased since 1979.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The latest available figures show that between 1979 and 1987 average pensioners' total net income increased by over 31 per cent. in real terms. The figures also show that, over the same period, income pensioners receive from their savings more than doubled in real terms.
Disabled People
27. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a further statement on his proposals to extend help with the extra costs of disability to less severely disabled people of working age and below.
Column 524
Mr. Scott : "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People" (Cm. 917) which we laid before Parliament on 10 January includes a proposal to introduce a new disability allowance in April 1992 for people of working age and below. The new benefit will incorporate the existing payments made through attendance allowance and mobility allowance within a common structure for administration and adjudication and introduce new lower rate payments for people with moderate-to-severe disabilities who have care and mobility needs. The disability allowance will have two separate components : a care component paid at three different levels, and a mobility component paid at two levels. We estimate that about 850,000 people will receive the mobility component of the disability allowance, including 150,000 who do not qualify for help through mobility allowance. We estimate some 540,000 will receive the care component, including 140, 000 who do not qualify for attendance allowance.
Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on his policy towards the HELIOS programme of the European Community for disabled people.
Mr. Scott : Information on the steps the Government are taking to ensure that the United Kingdom plays a full and active role in the HELIOS programme was given in my reply to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Wythenshawe (Mr. Morris) on 20 December 1989 at Column 302. I opened the conference, which was well attended, to publicise the HELIOS programme on 9 February.
43. Mr. Andy Stewart : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent estimate he has made of how many people will gain from the disability package set out in "The Way Ahead".
47. Mr. Burt : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people he estimates will benefit from the proposals set out in "The Way Ahead".
Mr. Scott : We estimate that some 850,000 disabled people and carers will gain from the proposals set out in "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People".
46. Mr. Ian Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a further statement on his plans for help to those who are less severely disabled and of working age and below.
Mr. Scott : The proposals set out in "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People" (Cm. 917) include a number of measures to help those who are less severely disabled and of working age and below. In particular, the new disability allowance for people of working age and below will extend help with the extra costs of being disabled ; the new disability employment credit will make it easier for disabled people to take up jobs ; and there will be an increase of up to £10 a week in severe disablement allowance for those disabled early in life. These proposals are in addition to the package of 10 measures announced last October. These include improving the help provided by income support and housing benefit for the least well off who are disabled by increasing the disability premium for adults by £1.70 for a single person and £2.60 for a couple ; helping families with disabled children by raising the disabled child's premium from £6.50 to £15.40 ; and
Column 525
helping carers by introducing a carer's premium for those receiving invalid care allowance. In addition, mobility allowance will be extended to people who are both deaf and blind ; attendance allowance will be extended to children under two ; and the six- month waiting period for attendance allowance will be abolished for terminally ill people. We are also improving incentives to rehabilitation for employment by increasing by £6.50 the therapeutic earnings limit in invalidity benefit (IVB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA), and enabling people receiving IVB and SDA to keep their benefit when they go on an employment rehabilitation course.48. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people will benefit from new measures to help disabled people who do not qualify for attendance allowance or mobility allowance.
Mr. Scott : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes (Mr. Rathbone) on5 February at column 519.
Housing Benefit
34. Mr. Geraint Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he plans to increase housing benefit in real terms in the next financial year.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The uprating of housing benefit and community charge benefit personal allowances and premiums takes effect in April 1990. Certain premiums are being increased above the amount required to maintain their value in real terms : these are the family premium, the disabled child premium and the lone parent premium. In October the lone parent's earnings disregard is to increase from £15 to £25, and a carer's premium is being introduced.
Mr. William Powell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish for each local authority area in Northamptonshire, the number of people presently receiving housing benefit and income support together with housing benefit ; and what are the costs involved.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The information requested is in the table.
Housing Benefit: Estimated recipients and benefit expenditure
Local authority |Housing |Housing |Local
|benefit only |benefit and |authority
|Income |estimated
|support |cost
|Numbers |Numbers |£ million
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Corby |1,834 |2,500 |4.5
Daventry |1,804 |1,539 |2.8
East Northampton |1,981 |2,128 |2.9
Kettering |2,989 |2,904 |4.6
Northampton |6,668 |7,978 |15.4
South Northants |1,896 |1,392 |2.3
Wellingborough |2,295 |3,172 |4.7
Note: Expenditure information is not available by recipient group.
Source: Local authority caseload returns November 1988-August 1989 and 1989-90
expenditure estimates.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the number of households and persons in the London borough of Lambeth claiming housing benefit and rate relief in 1988 and in 1989.
Column 526
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : Information about the number of households or persons claiming housing benefit is not available. However, the estimated number of households receiving housing benefit is in the table.
9
|1988 |1989
---------------------------------------------------------
Assistance with rent only |1,538 |1,492
Assistance with rates only |1,363 |1,852
Assistance with both rent and rates |26,836|26,275
|---- |----
All housing benefit |29,737|29,619
Source: Local authority complete caseload return
November 1988; partial return May 1989 supplemented by
estimates.
Glasgow Office
35. Mr. Carrington : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the working of the Glasgow social security centre ; and what further plans he has to extend benefit- processing work away from south-east England.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : The income support work of Ealing, Southall and Acton offices is being processed at the Glasgow social security centre. Notting Hill began transfer of work on 12 February. Monitoring and evaluation of performance at Glasgow indicates that claims are being processed faster and more accurately.
There are currently no plans to extend further benefit processing work away from south-east England beyond the 21 London offices already identified for relocation.
Disability Benefits
36. Mr. Ashley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received from disablement organisations about disability benefits.
Mr. Scott : We have received comments on the OPCS surveys of disability and our proposals in "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People" (Cm. 917) from 70 organisations of and for disabled people and from a large number of individual people with disabilities. The Social Security Advisory Committee have also written to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State welcoming our proposals as a significant improvement to the system of benefits for disabled people. We shall continue to take into account the views of interested organisations and individuals in the course of further work on our proposals for change, in particular in our detailed work on the new disability allowance and the disability employment credit.
Community Care
37. Rev. Martin Smyth : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what views he sought from individuals and organisations involved in caring for mentally ill, disabled or elderly relatives at home as part of the review of benefits being undertaken by his Department.
Mr. Scott : The Government encouraged comments on the findings of the major surveys of disability carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys between 1985 and 1988 : and our proposals for improving social security help for disabled people and carers have been made in the light of the views and comments of interested organisations. I have sent a copy of "The Way Ahead : Benefits for Disabled People" (Cm. 917) to a number of
Column 527
organisations, including the National Council for Carers, inviting their comments, and on 27 February my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met representatives of "Caring Costs", a coalition of over 20 voluntary organisations representing carers. We shall continue to take into account the views of interested organisations and individuals in the course of our detailed work on the proposals.Income Support
40. Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent discussions he has had on the level of income support payable to residents of private and voluntary residential and nursing homes.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : We have had meetings with a variety of interested organisations and individuals.
69. Mr. Favell : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he has received any recent representations that able-bodied unemployed young people under 18 years refusing to take training should be paid income support.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : We have received no such representations. There is no reason why able-bodied 16 or 17-year-olds should not find work or a YTS place if they do not wish to continue their studies. If these young people refuse to take advantage of the opportunities available to them there is no justification for them to have recourse to the social security system.
However able-bodied young people who can go onto YTS but cannot live at home, for example because they have no home, would be at risk of physical or sexual abuse or are estranged from their families, can claim income support during the same period as the child benefit extension period, provided they are seeking a job or YTS place.
War Pensions
49. Mr. Gerald Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent contact social security Ministers have had with representatives of war pensions interest groups.
| Next Section
| Home Page |