House of Commons Hansard Debates for 23 Jul 1991

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Poll Tax

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has anything to add to his answers on the cost of abolishing the poll tax 20 per cent. contribution rule on 27 June, to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside, Official Report, column 519, and of 2 May to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Brown), Official Report, column 328.

Miss Widdecombe : The estimated cost of abolishing the 20 per cent. contribution which I gave in my reply to the hon. Member on 27 June at column 519 updated the estimate that I gave in my reply to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East (Mr. Brown) on 2 May at column 328. I wrote to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, East on 27 June to draw his attention to the revised estimate.

Contributions Agency

Mr. Peter Bottomley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will be in a position to publish the 1991-92 compliance targets for the Contributions Agency.

Mr. Jack : The Contributions Agency's business plan was published on 2 April 1991 and contained compliance targets that were based on agreed incremental improvements over estimated performance in 1990-91. As such they were provisional. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has now agreed the following compliance targets for 1991-92 :

To increase collection of contributions arrears by 10 per cent. to £218 million.

To increase Class 1 arrears identified from survey by 35 per cent. to £17.5 million.

To increase the number of new Class 2 contributors identified by 60,000.

To increase identified Class 1 adjustment by 35 per cent. to £16.3 million.

Actively Seeking Work Rule

Mr. Roger King : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to place in the Library a copy of the research commissioned by his Department into awareness of the actively seeking work rule.

Mr. Jack : I have done so today.

Small Businesses

Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the achievements of (a) his policies and (b) his Department in helping small businesses over the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months ; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors those achievements and the statistical results of such monitoring.

Mr. Jack [holding answer 22 July 1991] : The Department and its agencies have introduced a number of specific measures in support of the Government's general policy of placing a high priority on helping small businesses. The measures, of both policy and procedure, include :

(i) The Department has continued to consult regularly its panel of employers over the last 12 months, both at formal meetings and in correspondence. We have,

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in addition, set up a sub-group of the main panel specifically to consider Child Support Agency matters. A representative of small businesses is a member of the sub-group. We have also conducted a major consultation exercise with employers and employers' organisations, including those representing small businesses, on the administrative arrangements for the collection of NI contributions on cars and fuel.

The Contributions Agency, which was launched officially in April 1991, has established additional consultation arrangements with employers and employers' representatives. The first Contributions Conference was held in July 1990 ; this is to be an annual event with the next Conference scheduled for 6 August 1991. In addition two specialist group seminars were arranged in January and February 1991 and the Agency intends to continue this pattern with at least two seminars each year. The National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses, and the Forum of Private Business regularly attend the Contributions Agency's conferences and seminars.

(ii) Small businesses benefitted when, as a result of research by independent consultants in 1989, we made changes to the literature sent to employers in February 1990. The Department commissioned further research which was conducted in September and October last year to establish employers' reactions to these changes. They were very favourable but further improvements were identified which were reflected in the literature issued to employers in March 1991. Included in the 1991 communications package was a revised Employers' Guide to National Insurance (NI) contributions, and a new Quick Guide to NI contributions, Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) and Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). The new Quick Guide is simpler in style and language and more sympathetic to employers' needs than earlier versions. It was written following close liaison with small employers and payroll administrators.

(iii) The Contributions Agency is conducting a customer market survey, with the help of external consultants. The survey is being carried out to establish the views of the Agency's customers (including small and large employers, and the self-employed) on the service currently provided and to obtain their requirements for improvements or changes to existing services. The survey's findings will help to determine how the quality and range of the Agency's service, and its information and advice systems, could be enhanced. (

(iv) The Contributions Agency is currently in the final stages of producing both a Contributors' and Employers' Charter. These will provide a clear statement of the service standard to be provided by the Agency. The present intention is to publish the Charters this summer.

(v) With assistance and funding from the Department, the Institute of Data Processing Management produced a test package, in September 1990, which covered the detailed processing of SSP and SMP. Software producers are now able to test their software against this package and thus ensure the accuracy of their product and advertise it accordingly. Employers can consequently purchase, with confidence, software which will greatly assist them in the administration of SSP and SMP.

(vi) The Statutory Sick Pay Act 1991 introduced a change from 100 per cent. reimbursement of SSP paid to 80 per cent. Provision, in the form of "Small Employers' Relief" (SER) was made in the Act to help certain small employers who have above normal levels of sickness in their workforce. Employers who qualify for SER can revert to 100 per cent. reimbursement of SSP if they are liable to pay SSP to an employee for more than six weeks within a period of incapacity for work. We consulted small employers' representatives on the detail of the SER scheme and also on the drafting of

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the explanatory leaflet NI 278--"Statutory Sick Pay--Small Employers' Relief" which was sent to all known employers.

(vii) From April 1991, businesses whose average monthly payments to the Inland Revenue of Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and NI contributions, were less than £400 in total, were given the option of making their payments quarterly rather than monthly. Seven hundred thousand businesses (half of all employers) could benefit from this measure. (

(viii) A Purchasing and Supply Manual has been produced and distributed to all parts of the Department, including the Agencies. It contains a section on small firms, stressing the need to give them an opportunity to tender for the Department's business and to pay invoices promptly. We continue

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to give prominence, on our training courses for purchasing staff, to the need to consider using small firms and give each participant copies of the Department of Employment booklet "Think Big Buy Small" and "Tendering for Government Contracts". We have an entry in the latter document and are to produce our own booklet for suppliers. We have not designed performance indicators specifically for monitoring achievements in this area but the Department has a system to monitor proposals which impact on business, to ensure the needs of small businesses are taken into account. We attach particular importance to action taken to help small firms and will continue to explore further ways of doing so.

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