| Previous Section | Home Page |
Police Bail
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the type of condition he intends police may apply to police bail.
Mr. Maclean : Under the Bail Act 1976 a court may attach conditions to the grant of bail if it considers that is necessary in order to ensure that, for example, a defendant surrenders to custody, does not commit an offence while on bail, and does not interfere with witnesses or otherwise obstruct the course of justice. I intend the police to be able to attach conditions for similar purposes to bail which they grant. I do not consider it appropriate to specify the precise nature of such conditions, which will vary according to the circumstances of the individual case.
Prisons (Drug Tests)
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his timetable for introducing urine testing for drugs in prison ; and what is his estimate of the cost in this financial year and in 1994-95.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Alun Michael, dated 19 October 1993 :
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about drug urine testing in prisons.
Detailed plans, including a timetable, for the introduction of drug urine testing are still being developed. There has been no estimate of the cost.
Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to alter the ruling that people who have had previous convictions for unrelated matters can have their award for compensation from the criminal injuries compensation scheme reduced or refused.
Mr. Maclean : Details of the rules of the new tariff scheme will be given in a White Paper to be published later in the year. It is expected that the basic rules for eligibility will remain largely as before.
Lenient Sentences
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his timetable for extending the Attorney-General's right of appeal for lenient sentences ; and what is his estimate of the cost in this financial year and in 1994-95.
Mr. Maclean : We shall lay the necessary order before Parliament at the earliest appropriate opportunity. Our preliminary estimate is that the number of additional cases likely to justify referral to the Court of Appeal, and any additional costs, will be low.
Column 222
Drugs
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the findings of research carried out for his Department by Sheffield university on drug use by young people.
Mr. Maclean : We intend to publish the report by Sheffield university by the end of this year.
Trespassers
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his timetable for implementing his proposal for new powers for the police to stop trespassers disrupting lawful activities ; and what is his estimate of the cost in this financial year.
Mr. Charles Wardle : We intend to introduce legislation to implement these proposals as soon as a suitable opportunity arises. The timetable thereafter will depend upon the speed of progress which such legislation makes. It is too soon to offer reliable estimates of the costs and savings to which the proposals will give rise.
Rape Trials
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when, and through what process, he intends to abolish the judge's mandatory warning to juries in rape trials about the truthfulness of women ; and from what date he intends the changes to apply.
Mr. Maclean : We intend to introduce legislation to abolish this requirement as soon as a suitable opportunity arises. The commencement date will, of course, depend upon the progress which such legislation makes.
British Citizenship
Sir Ivan Lawrence : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to grant British citizenship to the wives and widows of service men who served in the defence of Hong Kong during the second world war ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Howard : I have no power to grant British citizenship to this group of people unless they meet the residence requirements of the British Nationality Act 1981 or quality under the Hong Kong selection scheme ; and I do not think that I would be justified in bringing forward legislation to dispense with the normal statutory provisions in their case. The Government have on many occasions given an assurance that these wives and widows may come to the United Kingdom with a view to settlement at any time. I readily repeat that assurance. It would then be open to them to apply in the normal way to be registered or naturalised as British citizens when they met the statutory requirements.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Pensions
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has as to the percentage of gross domestic product spent on pensions in each EC country.
Column 223
Mr. Hague : The latest information available on pensions expenditure in each member state of the EC is contained in the Eurostat publication "Digest of Statistics on Social Protection in Europe, Volumn 1 : Old Age". This publication covers the years 1980-1988 and covers questions of definition and incomplete information which are important in interpreting the data. The Eurostat study "Social Protection Expenditure and Receipts 1980-1991" includes revised and more recent information on that part of social protection expenditure which is directed to the elderly, but it does not allow the identification of expenditure on pensions. Copies of both publications are in the House of Commons Library.
National Insurance
Mr. McGrady : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps will be taken to ensure that the national insurance scheme will provide the same range of benefits to widowers and widows ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hague : We have no plans to extend the current widows' benefits provisions to widowers, but we will keep the position under review.
Benefit Investigations
Mr. Gapes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many1P Mr. Hague : The administration of benefit fraud is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. I understand that he has written to the hon. Member about this matter.
Letter from Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. Mike Gapes, dated 12 August 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking, how many claimants have had their benefit stopped for investigations ; and how many were subsequently reinstated in each year since 1987.
I regret that on this particular occasion I am unable to answer your question as the Sector Fraud organisation does not record information in this way.
I am able to say, however, that it is not general practice to "stop" a customer's benefit until it is certain that it is correct to do so. The decision to withdraw benefit has to be made by an Adjudication Officer and, as such, is not within the remit of any officer connected with the investigation of alleged fraud. I must also point out that only a very small percentage of the Benefit Agency's customers will ever have any dealings with a member of the Sector Fraud organisation as the vast majority of customers are honest and trustworthy.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many invalidity benefit claims were referred to the Benefits Agency medical service less than six months after winning an appeal against disqualification in (a) April, May and June 1992 and (b) April, May and June 1993 ;
(2) how many invalidity benefit recipients who were carrying out voluntary work activities were referred to the
Column 224
Benefits Agency medical service in April, May and June, broken down by (a) numbers disqualified and (b) numbers found incapable of work.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.
Supplementary Benefits
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what savings his Department has made as a result of the abolition of single payments in the former supplementary benefit system, for each year since 1988.
Mr. Scott : The supplementary benefit scheme was replaced in 1988 by income support and the social fund. The different nature and scope of the schemes means that direct comparisons cannot be made between them.
No precise estimate of any savings resulting from the abolition of supplementary benefit single payments can therefore be made.
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals against disqualification from invalidity benefit were heard in (a) April, May and June 1992 and (b) April, May and June 1993 ; and how many were successful.
Mr. Scott : The information is not available in the form requested. However, in April, May and June 1992 a total of 1,311 appeals were heard against a variety of invalidity benefit decisions. Of these, 681 were decided in the appellant's favour. Information for the later period is not available.
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for invalidity benefit were received from people previously in receipt of (a) sickness benefit, (b) income support and (c) statutory sick pay in the year 1992-93.
Mr. Scott : The information is not available. Such information as is available is in the table. Information about invalidity benefit recipients previously receiving income support is not available. Spells of invalidity benefit commencing in the period 2 April 1990 to 30 March 1991 immediately in continuation of entitlement to :
|Recipients
-----------------------------------------
Sickness benefit |87,000
Statutory sick pay |128,000
Notes:
(i) Based on a 1 per cent. sample of
claimants, rounded to the nearest
thousand.
(ii) 30 March 1991 is the latest date
for which figures are available.
(iii) Figures exclude cases where there
has been a break in incapacity of eight
weeks or less.
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list changes made to benefits for long-term sick and disabled people, since April 1988 together with an estimate for each year to 2000 of the cost or savings for each change.
Mr. Scott : For a list of changes I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Bristol, East (Ms Corston) on 26 July, c. 715-16.
Column 225
An estimate of the costs and savings in each case as requested is not readily available and could be obtained only atdisproportionate cost.
Mr. Chisholm : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants were in receipt of invalidity benefit in (a) Edinburgh, (b) Scotland and (c) the United Kingdom in each of the past five years for which figures are available.
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. For such information as is available I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. McAllion) on 20 July at columns 280-81.
Community Action
Mr. David Shaw : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what national insurance arrangements have been made for community action participants.
Mr. Hague : Community action which was announced in the Budget statement on 16 March will commence on 27 July. Participants will not be liable to pay national insurance contributions while they are taking part in this new work experience project. Furthermore, their future contributory benefit entitlement will normally be protected by the award of "approved training" credits.
Income-related Benefits
Mrs. Angela Knight : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he has plans to change the way contributions to personal pension schemes are taken into account in income-related benefits ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Burt : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State plans to lay before Parliament amendments to the regulations on the treatment of such contributions in the income-related benefits. It has been the intention since 1988 that when assessing earnings for the income-related benefits a deduction should be made of half of any contributions to a private pension scheme, and administrative practice has been in line with this. But the current regulations do not correctly reflect this policy. In consequence awards have been made since July 1988 which are incorrect in law at a total cost of £8 million. Amendments to the income-related benefits regulations will be introduced to bring the legislation fully into line with existing policy and administrative practice.
Income Support
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what steps his Department is now taking to review the entitlement to income support of claimants in the light of the Court of Appeal's decision in the case of Percival White v. Chief Adjudication Officer ; and what guidance has been issued to those adjudicating claims for income support in relation to inquiries initiated or procedures adopted in view of the court's ruling ;
(2) what steps he has taken to assure nursing home residents, their relatives, and the proprietors of homes in which they reside affected by the judgment of the Court of
Column 226
Appeal in the case of the Percival White v. Chief Adjudicating Officer that, if income support claims are reviewed and payments discontinued alternative payments will be made by the district health authority responsible for providing the resident with in-patient treatment and care.Mr. Burt : When the decision of the Court of Appeal has been published it will be studied carefully to ascertain whether any income support claimants, other than those involved in the case, will be affected. The decision confirms the existing policy and it is, therefore, expected that the number of people affected will be small. Most people whose care in a nursing home has been arranged by a health authority are already being assessed as patients. However, the vast majority of people in nursing homes are private residents and there is no question of their being regarded as in-patients. General guidance can only be issued when the decision has been studied in detail. However, the Central Adjudication Services will give advice to adjudication officers who require assistance with similar cases.
I understand that the Department of Health issued advice to regional and district health authorities in 1991 on their responsibilities in this area.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list by premium the deductions made from the income support of claimants who are also subject to a deduction for voluntary unemployment.
Mr. Burt : Only recipients of the family premium were found to have deductions when benefit was reduced because of voluntary unemployment, but the numbers in the sample are too small to give a reliable estimate.
Source : Income Support Statistics Annual Enquiry, May 1992.
Mr. Wigley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how long the figure set as the level of fuel debt which leads to a deduction from and direct payment of income support has been in operation ;
(2) what is the basis for the figure set as the level of fuel debt which can lead to a deduction from and direct payment of income support.
Mr. Burt : The minimum amount of fuel debt which can lead to direct payment to the fuel company is set at the level of the personal allowance for a single claimant aged not less than 25 years old. The figure has been set since the introduction of income support in April 1988.
Child Maintenance
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many applications for child maintenance have been made by parents with care who (a) are or (b) are not in receipt of income support or family credit ;
(2) in how many cases of the child support maintenance application forms returned to Child Support Agency centres, the parent with care has refused to authorise him to collect maintenance ;
(3) if he will make a statement on the work of the Child Support Agency in its first three months at each of the four Child Support Agency centres presently operating ;
(4) what was the average time taken by each Child Support Agency centre, during the first three months, to complete a maintenance assessment, from the date of maintenance inquiry form being sent to the absent parent ;
Column 227
(5) how many maintenance assessments have been carried out by each child support centre since the launch of the Child Support Agency in April ;(6) how many (a) maintenance application forms and (b) maintenance inquiry forms have been sent out by the Child Support Agency at each of the Child Support Agency centres ; and how many in each case have been returned :
(7) how many of the maintenance assessments prepared by the Child Support Agency since April relate to children living with parents who are on income support and family credit.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Mrs. Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library. Letter from Ms R. Hepplewhite to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 26 July 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Child Support Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking about various aspects of the work of the Child Support Agency in its first three months of operation.
I have attached as an annex to this letter a table providing information about the number of maintenance application and maintenance enquiry forms which have been issued, the number of these which have been returned and the number of maintenance assessments which have been completed.
You asked also for a breakdown of the number of applications and assessments made in relation to parents who are in receipt of benefit. As you will be aware, Alistair Burt, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security, pointed out in his reply of 13 July to a question from Frank Field MP reported at Column 482 of the Official Report that, after only three months' operation, it is too early to provide such a breakdown which is reliable enough for publication, and we do not currently collect information about the number of maintenance assessments made in relation to this group. It is also too early to provide reliable information on average clearance times, such as that which you have requested.
You asked also about the number of applications received where the parent with care has refused to provide authority for the collection of maintenance. Whilst information is not available in this form, you may wish to know that some 2,300 have so far been referred for interview in connection with the requirement to co-operate. Although it is too early to draw any overall conclusions from the data so far available my view is that the Agency has made a steady start in introducing the new arrangements for ensuring that parents meet their responsibilities for child maintenance whenever they are able to do so.
I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library. Annex
The number of Maintenance Application/Maintenance Enquiry Forms sent out by the Agency at each Agency Centre, the number returned and the number of assessments in the period 5 April to 30 June are as follows :
Maintenance Application Forms
|Issued |Returned
------------------------------------
Hastings |51,000 |24,500
Falkirk |37,000 |18,000
Dudley |54,000 |29,000
Belfast |35,000 |18,500
|------- |-------
Total |177,000 |90,000
Column 228
Maintenance Enquiry Forms and assessments completed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Recovery of Payments
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to improve the performance of his Department in the recovery of overpayments of social security benefits.
Mr. Burt : The administration of benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library. Letter from Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 27 July 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking what plans he has to improve the performance of his Department in the recovery of overpayments of social security benefits.
The report of the Efficiency Scrutiny into the Management of Departmental Debt in December 1989 identified a number of key issues concerning recovery of money owed to the Department, the major concern was the priority given in the Department to benefit delivery over revenue collection. In order to take forward the recommendations of the Efficiency Scrutiny an Information Study was conducted over a 6 month period ending in June 1991.
Following the recommendations made in the above reports various initiatives have been implemented in the overpayment recovery field. An Income Support recovery yield target for the financial year 1992-93 of £30 million was issued in August 1992. This was a 45 per cent. increase over the amount collected in 1991-92 and yet it was exceeded, the total recovery being £38.2 million. Further targets have been introduced for 1993-94 amounting to £54 million with recovery on non Income Support overpayments also being included. The BA are actively pursuing the establishment of a Central Recovery Group to collect outstanding overpayments of Income Support where the customer is no longer in receipt of benefit.
In addition to the above BA staff have been issued with revised training material and a good practice guide aimed at assisting in the identification, calculation and recovery of overpaid benefit. The Overpayment Recovery Guide, a manual which assists staff in their recovery work, has been comprehensively rewritten and the letters which notify customers of overpayments and request repayment have been drafted in plain English. The procedure for referring cases for civil action, should recovery break down, has also been streamlined and is showing positive results.
Work is also proceeding to develop Information Technology to assist in the overpayment process.
I hope you will find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also appear in the Library.
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases in each of the last five years civil enforcement action has been taken in either the county court or the sheriff's court to recover sums owed by way of social security benefits.
Column 229
Mr. Burt : The administration of social security benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member shortly and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 29 July 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking in how many cases, in each of the last five years, civil enforcement action has been taken in either the County Court or the Sheriffs' Court to recover sums owed by way of Social Security benefits".
The information you have requested is shown below.
Year ending 31 March
|County court |Sheriff's court
----------------------------------------------------------------
1989 |311 |113
1990 |250 |84
1991 |249 |57
1992 |612 |260
<1>1993 |6,657 |1,235
<1> The reasons for the 1993 figures being higher than previous
years are that the work has been devolved from a central
location to Area Offices which has led to increased efficiency.
In addition, in July 1992, the process for referring cases was
streamlined and the proceedings limit was reduced from £300 to
£50.
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a breakdown by benefit of the number of recipients of benefits other than income support, where deductions are being made for the recovery of overpayments under section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.
Mr. Burt : The administration of benefits is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. Keith Bradley, dated 27 July 1993 :
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking for a breakdown by benefit of the number of recipients of benefits, other than Income Support, where deductions are being made for the recovery of overpayments under section 71 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.
I regret that I am unable to provide the exact information you requested. Overpayments are recovered by virtue of both sections 71 and 74 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992. The relevant section is noted on individual claims to assist in the adjudication process only. These details are not collated locally and therefore no central records can be maintained. Obtaining the information you requested could be done only at disproportionate cost.
However, you may be interested to know that recovery by deduction from non Income Support benefits to recover overpayments is currently being made on 21,142 claims. These overpayments are being recovered by virtue of both sections 71 and 74 of the 1992 Administration Act. I can advise that of these, 15,494 are for benefits administered by our District Offices with the following details for those benefits administered centrally ;
Column 230
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the official report and a copy will be placed in the Library.
| Next Section
| Home Page |