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Pensions
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's estimated percentage of total pensioners who will be drawing a state earnings-related pension in (a) 1992, (b) 1995, (c) 2000, (d) 2005, (e) 2010, (f) 2015, (g) 2020 and (h) 2025, respectively.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available in the form requested.
Benefits
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give his most recent estimate of DSS benefits unclaimed for the financial year 1990-91 and the Government resources allocated to identifying individuals in that category.
Mr. Jack : The latest available information on the take-up of the income-related benefits is for 1987 and is contained in the published "Estimates of Take-up", a copy of which is available in the Library. Information about the resources for identifying individuals who may be eligible for such benefit could be obtained only at
disproportionate cost.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the likely impact of SI 1991, No. 1950 on eliminating backdated claims for benefit and the numbers affected ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The amendment regulations in SI 1991, No. 1950 define more explicitly the circumstances in which unlimited arrears of benefit are payable on review in cases of official error. They carry forward in a more specific format the provisions of the previous regulation 72. It is still possible, therefore, for claimants to obtain unlimited arrears of benefit provided that there is evidence to show that there has been official error.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the likely impact of SI, 1991, 1520 on reducing entitlement to family credit and income support and the numbers affected ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : SI 1991 No. 1520 amends the Family Credit (General) Regulations 1987. It reduces the number of hours which a person will need to work to satisfy the remunerative work rule in family credit from 24 to 16 hours from April 1992. Otherwise it contains only minor amendments.
The change in the hours rule will not reduce entitlement to family credit. On the contrary, it will bring many more families into eligibility. We estimate that around 45,000
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families on income support and working 16 or more hours a week will become eligible for family credit in April 1992. Around 30,000 of them will be entitled to more family credit than they would otherwise receive in income support. For the remainder, there will be protection arrangements which will enable them to continue to receive income support, where appropriate on top of their family credit. We expect that a further 35,000 families with a parent who is already working 16 hours or more will come on to family credit in due course after April 1992. In the longer term we expect the reduction in the qualifying hours rule to attract many more people into work and on to family credit and thus become better off.Separate provisions will ensure that an estimated 15,000 people without dependent children working between 16 and 24 hours a week and receiving income support at the point of change will continue to be entitled to that benefit from April 1992.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 18 October, Official Report, columns 275-76, if he will give the number and percentage of the total of those in receipt of (a) income support pensioner premium, (b) retirement pension, (c) SERPS, (d) a and b , (e) a and c, (f) b and c .
Miss Widdecombe : I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Services, Dearne Valley
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the result of his Department's questionnaire sent to a random selection of clients, requesting their views on the proposed changes in the Dearne Valley area of centralising his Department's services ; and if he will list the questions asked and the responses received to them.
Miss Widdecombe : The organisation of work in local offices is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Funeral Expenses
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reasons his Department refused to authorise the funeral expenses of the late Mrs. Ivy Butlin, St. Bernards Hallaton Manor, Leicestershire.
Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mortgage Assistance
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the number and proportion of unemployed claimants and lone parents on income support with mortgages to pay ; how many are having their mortgage interest paid by his Department ; and what were the comparable figures for each year from 1981 to 1985.
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Miss Widdecombe : Information on the number of people on income support with mortgages to pay is not routinely collected. However, amounts may be included in the assessment of income support for interest on loans taken out to buy the homes, or to make certain essential repairs and improvements to the home. Estimates of the numbers and proportion of unemployed claimants and lone parents with amounts for mortgage interest included in the assessment of supplementary benefit from 1981-86 are given in the table, as are the latest available figures for income support :Column 575
Year |Unemployed |As proportion of all|Lone parents |As proportion of all
|claimants |claimants receiving |claimants receiving
|help with mortgages |help with mortgages
|Per cent |Per cent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supplementary Benefit
1981 |139,000 |71 |36,000 |18
1982 |191,000 |81 |40,000 |17
1983 |182,000 |75 |49,000 |20
1984 |200,000 |72 |54,000 |19
1986 |244,000 |69 |66,000 |19
Income Support
1990 |88,000 |28 |77,000 |25
Source: Annual Statistical Enquiries.
Notes: Figures for numbers of claimants are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Figures from 1983 onwards are not comparable with earlier figures because they were collected on a different basis.
No Enquiry was undertaken in 1985.
Supplementary Benefit was replaced by Income Support in 1988.
Residential Care Homes
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what provision his Department is making to provide for the shortfall between the fees charged by residential homes and nursing homes and the level of income support under community care.
Miss Widdecombe : The present system of income support limits will be preserved for existing claimants who are resident in homes when the new funding structure is introduced in April 1993. As now, under those arrangements there will be limits to the level of benefit available for different types of care and these will be reviewed regularly. Subject to the normal qualifying conditions, those whose fees are at or below the limit will have their charges met in full.
Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing the rates of supplemental payment for individual elderly people in residential accommodation in (a) local authority homes for the elderly, (b) homes for the elderly operated by voluntary organisations, (c) nursing homes operated by voluntary organisations, (d) homes for the elderly operated by the private sector and (e) nursing homes operated by the private sector ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : In local authority residential accommodation, income support of £41.60 may be paid towards the minimum charge, together with £10.40 for personal expenses.
Income support up to the following national limits may be paid to people in independent and voluntary homes :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Residential care homes
Elderly and other (including physically disabled
over pension age) |160
Very dependent or blind elderly |185
Mentally ill |170
Suffering from drug or alcohol dependency |170
|Mentally handicapped
Physically disabled and disablement began under
pension age |230
Nursing homes
Elderly and other (including physically disabled
over pension age) |255
Mentally ill |255
Suffering from drug or alcohol dependency |255
Mentally handicapped |260
Physically disabled and disablement began under
pension age |290
Terminal illness |275
An amount of £11.40 is added for personal expenses in both residential care and nursing
homes.
In Greater London, the limits may be increased by an amount of £23 in residential care
homes and £33 in nursing homes.
On 21 October, at Columns 639-657, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, announced
proposals for substantial increases in all these limits from April 1992.
Local Offices, Doncaster
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he next plans to visit the local offices of his Department covering the Doncaster area, to assess the effectiveness and efficiency with which these offices deal with claims.
Miss Widdecombe : The effectiveness and efficiency of local offices is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. Ministers have no plans to visit the agency's offices in the Doncaster area.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the current targets for his Department's offices covering the Doncaster area for meeting (a) delivery and (b) accuracy for benefits administered.
Miss Widdecombe : The setting of targets for district offices is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive at the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
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Pensioners
Sir Ian Gilmour : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further to his replies to the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham, Official Report, 20 May, column 388-9, how many of the 610,000 single pensioners with less than £5 a week in addition to their state pensions, including supplementary benefit, were in receipt of supplementary housing pension ; and how many were in receipt of housing benefit.
Miss Widdecombe : I will write to my right hon. Friend as soon as possible.
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Colne Valley (Mr. Riddick) of 23 July, Official Report, columns 541-43, on pensioners' incomes, he will give the same analysis for each quintile of pensioners' incomes.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave him on 18 October at columns 273-74.
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would have been the value of the state retirement pension for (a) a single person and (b) a married couple for each of the years 1980 to 1991 if it had been uprated in line with average earnings or increase in prices, whichever was the higher.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to him on 14 October at columns 52-53.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security further to his reply to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of 18 October on persons in receipt of state pensions and SERPS, if he will give figures on the same basis as the current table, showing the numbers in each category had the scheme remained unaltered since 1979.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Nottingham, North of 18 October on persons in receipt of state pensions and SERPS, what social security characteristics and qualifications are common to the individuals currently receiving £29 or more as a SERPS pension.
Miss Widdecombe : I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the maximum amount of additional pension from state
earnings-related pension currently being paid to any individual.
Miss Widdecombe : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Fund
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants applied for grants or loans under the social fund during the financial year 1990-91 in
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each of the benefit offices in Kincardine and Deeside constituency ; how many were turned down and for what reason ; what was the average size of the grant, crisis loan or budgetary loan in the year ; and if he will provide comparable figures for the first three months of 1991-92.Mr. Scott : The administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each social security office in (a) Kincardine and Deeside district and (b) Aberdeen district the numbers of social fund applications (i) submitted and (ii) rejected on grounds of insufficient priority in each of these categories (1) grants, (2) budget loans and (3) crisis loans in each year since 1988-89 and the most recent figures for the first months of 1991-92.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Allen : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the figures for the latest and previous years as to how many applications there have been to the various components of the social fund in Nottingham ; how many have been accepted or refused, giving percentage for each and the grounds for refusal ; and what percentage of loans have been recovered.
Mr. Scott : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Single Parents
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single parents in each of the three parliamentary constituencies covering Doncaster receive income support ; and what were the comparable figures for (a) 12 months, (b) 24 months, (c) 36 months and (d) 48 months ago.
Miss Widdecombe : I understand from Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency, that the information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Grants and Loans, Scotland
Mr. Maxton : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the initial financial allocations in the current financial year for (a) grants, (b) budget loans and (c) crisis loans for each social security office in Scotland ; and if he will give any additional allocations made to Scottish social security offices, respectively, after April.
Mr. Scott : Details of the initial April 1991 allocations made to Scottish social security district offices for social fund loans and grants are held in the Library. Details of additional allocations made since the start of the current financial year were placed in the Library after the end of the summer recess.
Allocations made to each district in respect of loans are not further divided into separate crisis and budgeting loan sections.
Column 579
Seasonal Unemployment
Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he last reviewed the rules governing seasonal unemployment.
Miss Widdecombe : Following a review of the unemployment benefit scheme in 1988 the legislative provisions preventing the payment of benefit to seasonal workers during their off-season were repealed by the Social Security Act 1989. The Act also introduced the requirement for unemployed claimants to show that they are actively seeking work as a basic condition of entitlement to benefit.
Private Security Firms
Mr. George : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the number of private security firms currently employed by his Department, the number of employees for each firm on the contract, the total value of each contract and the total value of all contracts for each financial year since 1984-85.
Mr. Jack : I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Community Charge
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated cost to public funds of poll tax benefit to eligible water consumers in (a) the last and (b) the present financial year.
Miss Widdecombe : Community charge benefit helps people on low incomes pay their personal community charge and collective community charge contributions. There is no benefit specifically designed to help claimants pay water charges.
National Insurance Contributions
Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the number of people who have been reclassified by his Department as employed rather than self-employed for the purpose of national insurance contributions since 1979.
Mr. Jack : I understand from Miss Ann Chant, the chief executive of the Contributions Agency, that the information is not available.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Private Security Firms
Mr. George : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the number of private security firms currently employed by his Department, the number of employees for each firm on the contract, the total value of each contract and the total value of all contracts for each financial year since 1984-85.
Column 580
HOUSE OF COMMONS
House of Commons Broadcasting
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list all the individuals and organisations who currently have access to the live feed of television pictures of the House.
Mr. MacGregor : The information requested is as follows : The organisations and individuals within the House and its outbuildings who receive a clean television feed from the Chamber are : Mr. Speaker ; Mr. Speaker's Secretary ; the Chairman of Ways and Means ; the supervisor of broadcasting ; the parliamentary sound archive unit ; and the Press Gallery (within which some broadcasting organisations have made their own separate arrangements). There are also monitors in each of the Division Lobbies. Although some Government Departments have arranged through the Central Office of Information to take the clean feed, this facility does not apply to Ministers' rooms in the House. The Select Committee on Broadcasting has considered on a number of occasions whether Members should be allowed to receive the clean feed in their rooms but, hitherto, has taken the view that that would be costly and intrusive, and might discourage attendance in the Chamber. The Committee has said, however, that it will keep the matter under review.
So far as organisations outside the House are concerned, all the main broadcasters within the United Kingdom (that is, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, BSkyB and cable companies) are entitled under the terms of the first report of the Select Committee on Televising of Proceedings of the House of Session 1988-89 to receive the clean feed. As regards foreign-based broadcasters, BBC and ITN make available on the daily Eurovision news exchange extracts from the clean feed of up to two minutes, whilst House of Commons Broadcasting Unit Ltd. (now Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit Ltd., PARBUL) has licensed WTN and Visnews to supply overseas customers with material from the House of Commons of not more than five minutes duration. In addition, a large number of foreign broadcasters have been licensed to take longer coverage, including :
Country |Company
----------------------------------
Australia |ABC
|Channel 9
Canada |CBC
Germany |ARD
|ZDF
Hong Kong |TVB News
|Asia TV
Ireland |RTE
Japan |NHK
United States |ABC
|CBS
|CNN
|C-Span
|NBC
The Press Association has been licensed to provide newspapers with still photographs of the Chamber. These are made, using a freeze-frame technique, from a clean feed supplied for the purpose. There are a further 26 organisations, mainly in broadcasting or the press, who are already authorised to take a clean sound feed and who on the basis of a policy decision taken by the Select Committee are also entitled, without the need to seek separate permission, to take a clean television feed if they wish. Very few of these organisations have in fact exercised their right to receive the television feed, although precise information about their identity is not readily available since, as indicated, they do not need the further approval of the Select Committee to do so. The full list of 26 is as follows :
British Forces Broadcasting Service
Manx Radio
South African Broadcasting Corporation
National Public Radio (USA)
Radio stations affiliated to the National Association of Hospital Broadcasting Organisations
Scandinavian Broadcasting (Danish [DR], Finnish [YLE], Norwegian and Swedish radio and television)
Voice of America
Falkland Islands Broadcasting
Associated Press Ltd.
IBS News Ltd.
Radio and Television Hong Kong
Radio Basildon
London Broadcasting Co. Ltd. (who are authorised to supply the feed to national newspapers)
Israel Broadcasting Authority
Norddeutscher Rundfunk Hamburg
Westdeutscher Rundfunk Cologne
Deutsche Welle, Cologne
Wall Street Journal London Bureau
Reuters Ltd.
Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB)
Sound Productions (Overseas Promotions) Ltd.
TV Asahi
Christian Science Monitor
Telerate Europe/Gulf
Bank of England
New York Times London Bureau
Mr. Allen : To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list those individuals and organisations who received the live coverage of the House in the period when it was covered by satellite.
Mr. MacGregor : I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the period of a few weeks at the end of 1989 when continuous coverage of the House's proceedings was broadcast on an experimental basis on a temporarily spare channel on one of the Astra satellites. The service was accordingly available to anyone with suitable equipment for receiving the transmissions direct from the Astra satellite or via a local cable network carrying the relevant Astra channel. This did not, however, apply to the House or any of its outbuildings, since the Services Committee had not at that stage approved the principle of access to satellite and cable services.
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