| Previous Section | Home Page |
Column 564
Mr. Portillo : Government policies provide a firm basis for sustained growth with low inflation. That is the best way to protect the living standards of all groups.
Privatisation
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the net contributions to public finances from the formerly publicly owned companies in the five years prior to their privatisation.
Mr. Dorrell : The net contributions to public finances, represented by the negative external financing requirements--EFRS--for ex-nationalised industries in the years leading to their privatisations, is shown in the table below. The positive EFRs represent a cost to the public finances. Data in previous years are not available on a consistent basis.
Column 563
External Financing Requirements
£ million
|1980-81 |1981-82 |1982-83 |1983-84 |1984-85 |1985-86 |1986-87 |1987-88 |1988-89 |1989-90 |1990-91 |1991-92
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Aerospace |<1>-3.0 |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P
National Freight Company Ltd |10.0 |7.0 |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P
British Transport Docks Board |1.0 |13.3 |-11.8 |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P |P
Enterprise Oil |n/a |n/a |n/a |-65.0 |-20.0 |P |P |P |P |P |P |P
British Telecom |-109.0 |250.0 |-323.0 |-225.0 |-341.0 |P |P |P |P |P |P |P
British Shipbuilders (Warships) |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |78.0 |P |P |P |P |P |P |P
British Nuclear Oil Corporation |-217.0 |-269.5 |-59.7 |9.5 |42.7 |31.3 |P |P |P |P |P |P
British Gas |-409.0 |39.0 |-230.0 |-45.0 |-189.0 |-190.0 |-684.0 |P |P |P |P |P
British Airways |304.0 |167.7 |-34.7 |-173.8 |-334.6 |-211.3 |-113.0 |P |P |P |P |P
British Airports Authority |18.0 |1.9 |1.7 |17.9 |9.6 |-21.0 |17.4 |-8.6 |P |P |P |P
National Bus Company |85.0 |74.2 |62.1 |64.5 |55.7 |47.6 |-18.7 |-117.8 |-1.9 |P |P |P
British Steel |1,119.0 |766.0 |569.0 |318.0 |523.0 |411.0 |22.0 |-290.0 |-392.0 |P |P |P
Water (England and Wales) |n/a |280.1 |291.3 |350.0 |286.4 |207.5 |106.8 |34.1 |11.2 |-4.6 |P |P
Girobank |<2>n/a |-3.5 |-4.5 |-11.7 |-2.4 |-3.1 |-9.1 |-18.9 |-25.0 |-16.9 |P |P
Electricity (England and Wales) |140.0 |-221.2 |-153.8 |-485.0 |522.9 |-467.6 |-1,325.0|-1,261.0|-1,773.0|-1,262.0|-209.1 |P
North of Scotland Hydro-Electric
Board |42.0 |-60.1 |-2.0 |-20.0 |41.6 |-39.3 |-11.8 |4.3 |-9.5 |33.1 |2.8 |-22.6
South of Scotland Electricity
Board |32.0 |127.7 |127.3 |253.0 |285.1 |229.1 |235.7 |124.3 |132.5 |-307.1 |-108.9 |-47.8
<1>BAe figure for 1980-81 up to 31 December 1980.
<2>Girobank was a part of the Post Office EFR in 1980-81.
P=Privatised.
n/a=Not applicable.
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the amount of corporation tax received from formerly publicly owned companies since each privatisation has taken place.
Mr. Dorrell : Corporation tax paid by formerly publicly-owned companies since 1987-88 is as follows :
Year |£ billion ------------------------------ 1987-88 |1.5 1988-89 |1.6 1989-90 |1.5 1990-91 |2.1 1991-92 |2.3 1992-93 |2.3 1993-94 |1.9
Pensioners (Income Tax)
Mr. Hendry : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total amount of income tax paid, in the most recent year for which figures are available, by people aged (a) over 65 years, (b) over 70 years and (c) over 75 years.
Column 564
Mr. Dorrell : Provisional estimates for 1994-95 are given below :
Total income tax liability
|£ billion
----------------------------------------------------
Taxpayers aged 65 years or over |5.0
Taxpayers aged 70 years or over |3.0
Taxpayers aged 75 years or over |1.6
All taxpayers |69.7
Royal Taxation
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the broad categories of spending which are tax deductible under the memorandum of understanding on royal taxation ; and what limitations there are on the items which are classified as tax deductible.
Mr. Dorrell : Appendix A to the memorandum of understanding sets out rules for determining the head of state expenses deductible from Privy Purse income, so that income tax falls only on the income used for the Queen's personal expenditure. Paragraph 4 lists nine categories of deductible expenses. Similarly, appendix B to the
Column 565
memorandum sets out four categories of expenses for the income of the Prince of Wales from the Duchy of Cornwall. The memorandum of understanding makes it clear that only official expenses within these categories are deductible.Venture Capital Trusts
Mr. Horam : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress he is making with consultations on the consultative document on venture capital trusts issued last March.
Mr. Dorrell : We have undertaken extensive consultations on the venture capital trust proposals and are now reflecting on the points that have been made.
Inheritance Tax
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his reply of 9 March, Official Report, column 220, if he will make it his policy to require those landowners benefiting from conditional exemption from inheritance tax on the grounds that there is public access across their land to cause notices to be erected at suitable intervals around the perimeter of the land indicating a right of public access.
Mr. Dorrell : As I explained in my reply to the hon. Member on 8 March, Official Report, column 98, the owner of land which is conditionally exempt from inheritance tax is required to publicise the agreed public access arrangements. Each case is considered individually and the extent and nature of the publicity will depend on all the facts of each particular case. For new designations of scenic land in England, owners are required to display at all points of entry on to their land map boards showing the agreed public access.
Mr. Gordon Prentice : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total acreage of land in England where the landowners benefit from conditional exemption from inheritance tax by virtue of there being a right of public access.
Mr. Dorrell : The area, rounded, of land in England of outstanding scenic interest which is conditionally exempt from inheritance tax or capital transfer tax is 51,000 hectares.
Higher Rate Tax
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 17 December 1993, Official Report, column 970, if he will provide comparable information on higher rate tax forgone by reigon for the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Dorrell : The available data were given in my reply of 17 December.
Exchange Rate Mechanism
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what factors Her Majesty's Government took into account before entry into the exchange rate mechanism ; what estimates of the effect on United Kingdom exports and imports were made at the time ; and what was the outturn up to September 1992 ;
Column 566
(2) what has been the change in the nominal rate for the pound sterling against the (a) deutschmark and (b) ecu since December 1989 ; and what has been the effect on exports, imports, output and employment in the principal import-competing and export industries, distinguishing between trade with EC countries and trade with the rest of the world ;(3) what was the change in the real and nominal exchange rates of the pound against (a) the dollar, (b) EU countries and (c) the rest of world from (i) September 1992 and (ii) February 1993 to latest available date.
Mr. Nelson : The Government took into account a broad range of economic and political factors before sterling's entry into the exchange rate mechanism in 1990. The exchange rate is only one factor affecting exports, imports, output and employment. It is difficult to isolate the effects of the exchange rate from that of other factors such as activity and prices in the United Kingdom and its trading partners. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 21 March, Official Report, column 15, which provides references to exchange rate and price data which can be used to calculate the information requested.
Retail Prices Index
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the import share of goods sold retail which are covered by the retail prices index ; what has been the relative price increase since August 1992 of (a) such imported goods and (b) domestically produced goods.
Mr. Nelson : The information requested is not available.
Capital Gains Tax
Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the yield from capital gains tax in each of the last five years and what were the costs of collection in each year ; what proportion of the yield and costs in each year derived from the taxation of investments in unquoted companies ; and what estimates he has made of each figure for each of the next two years.
Mr. Dorrell : The requested figures for capital gains tax yield and costs of collection are :
£ million
|Total Net |Cost of
|Receipts<1> |Collection<1><2>
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |1,854 |34.3
1990-91 |1,852 |39.0
1991-92 |1,140 |43.3
1992-93 |982 |38.4
<5>1993-94 |711 |<4>N/A
<3>1994-95 |900 |N/A
<3>1995-96 |1,000 |N/A
<1> The figures quoted exclude tax on gains made by companies
included in corporation tax. Some of the costs associated with
companies, however, cannot be separately identified and are
therefore included in the costs figures for CGT rather than for
corporation tax.
<2> Costs are based on total departmental expenditure. Manpower
usage and costs of administration for 1989-90 onwards have been
adjusted to reflect a new basis of costing therefore direct
comparisons of this and later figures with earlier years may be
misleading. More detail regarding this adjustment is given in the
Board of Inland Revenue's Report for the year ending 31st March
1991.
<3> Summer Economic Forecast rounded to the nearest £100 million.
<4> The 1993-94 cost of collection is not yet available and will be
given
in the Board of Inland Revenue's Report for the year ending 31st
March 1994 to be published in September 1994.
<5> Provisional.
I regret that routine information on CGT yield and costs analysed by type of asset is not available. However, a recent survey of capital gains taxpayers with liabilities in 1990-91 showed that around one sixth of the disposals and one third of net chargeable gains arose from shares in unquoted companies. This survey was before changes were made to retirement relief and the introduction of reinvestment relief, which will affect the proportion of tax coming from investment in unquoted trading companies.
Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the annual loss of revenue from capital gains tax resulting from a change of tax residence by individual taxpayers.
Mr. Dorrell : The information on which to base a reliable estimate is not available.
Tax Receipts
Mr. Barnes : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the total receipts from (a) value added tax and (b) income tax for 1979 and for each subsequent financial year for which figures are available.
Sir John Cope : The information requested is given in the table below. It also appears monthly in "Financial Statistics" which is produced by the Central Statistical Office.
Column 568
VAT and Income tax receipts
Year |VAT |Income tax
|(£ billion)|(£ billion)
------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |8.2 |20.6
1980-81 |11.0 |24.3
1981-82 |11.9 |28.7
1982-83 |13.8 |30.4
1983-84 |15.2 |31.1
1984-85 |18.5 |32.5
1985-86 |19.3 |35.4
1986-87 |21.4 |38.5
1987-88 |24.1 |41.4
1988-89 |27.3 |43.4
1989-90 |29.5 |48.8
1990-91 |31.0 |55.3
1991-92 |35.6 |57.5
1992-93 |37.3 |56.8
<1>1993-94 |39.2 |58.4
<1> Provisional outturn.
Alcohol Duties
Mr. Steen : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amounts and percentages of the total revenue raised by duties on alcohol arose from (a) spirits, (b) wines and (c) beers in each month since 1 December 1993 or other convenient period.
Sir John Cope : A breakdown of excise revenue for spirits, beer and wine from December 1993 to May 1994 is as follows:
£ million
|December|January |February|March |April |May
|1993 |1994 |1994 |1994 |1994 |1994
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spirits |307 |115 |68 |112 |126 |128
Percentage of alcohol revenue |43.6 |25.4 |26.5 |32.3 |28.9 |30
Beer |242 |235 |133 |161 |214 |201
Percentage of alcohol revenue |34.3 |51.9 |51.6 |46.8 |49.1 |47.2
Wine |148 |93 |53 |67 |86 |87
Percentage of alcohol revenue |21 |20.5 |20.5 |19.2 |19.7 |20.4
Note:-The figures for April and May 1994 are provisional.
VAT (Fuel)
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many pensioners receiving compensation for the cost of value added tax on fuel will pay income tax on that money.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 24 June 1994] : Some 3.4 million pensioners, out of a total of 10 million, pay income tax.
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much of the compensation for the cost of value added tax on fuel given to pensioners will return to the Treasury in the form of income tax.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 24 June 1994] : The Inland Revenue estimates that in 1994-95, about £20 million of income tax will come from the increase in benefits to pensioners given in the value added tax compensation package.
Column 568
Consultants
Mr. Meacher : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultancy income has been paid under Government contracts to (i) Touche Ross, (ii) Arthur Andersen, (iii) Coopers and Lybrand, (iv) Ernst and Young, (v) KPMG Peat Marwick and (vi) Price Waterhouse in each of the last five years.
Mr. Nelson [holding answer 1 July 1994] : This information is not held centrally.
Contracts
Mr. Byers : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what occasions in the last 10 years he or a Minister in his Department has given a direction to civil servants to award a contract against the advice of the civil service ; what was the subject matter of the contract and its value ; and when it was awarded.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 8 July 1994] : I know of no such cases.
Column 569
Luxury Cars
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he will take to ensure that non-Italian luxury cars are subject to a taxation system when sold in Italy that does not discriminate against cars made in other EU countries.
Mr. Needham : I have been asked to reply.
Officials have made written and oral representations in Brussels in support of a formal complaint to the Commission by a British car manufacturer. The British embassy in Rome has raised the issue with the Italian Government. We have made clear our willingness to discuss further action to help British car manufacturers affected by the Italian tax.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Child Support Agency
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has on the number of fathers who have left their jobs following assessment by the Child Support Agency.
Mr. Burt : The information requested is not available. It is, however, unlikely that many fathers would leave their jobs to avoid paying maintenance for their children. Following the legislative changes in February, the maintenance assessment formula ensures that all absent parents, and their second families, are at least £30 a week better off after payment of maintenance than they would be if unemployed and receiving income support. In addition, someone who has left work voluntarily is not entitled to unemployment benefit, and income support is payable at a reduced rate.
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many complaints he has received about the workings of the Child Support Agency since its creation.
Mr. Burt : The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for Ros Hepplewhite, the chief executive. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from J. T. Hughes to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 12 July 1994 :
In her absence the Chief Executive, Mrs. Hepplewhite, has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about the number of complaints that have been received about the Child Support Agency since its creation. Between 5 April 1993 and 31 March 1994, 10,886 complaints were recorded, which represents just over 1 per cent. of the 850,000 cases the Agency has taken on.
I hope you will find this reply helpful.
War Pensions
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are currently in receipt of (a) war widows' pension or (b) war disablement pension.
Mr. Hague : On 30 June 1994 there were :
(a) 49,272 war widows' pensions in payment ; and
(b) 250,315 war disablement pensions in payment.
Column 570
Mr. Simon Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has of the total cost of war widows' pension payments in (a) 1978-79, (b) 1983-84, (c) 1987-88, (d) 1992-93, (e) 1993-94 and (f) 1994-95.
Mr. Hague : Table A details actual expenditure in respect of war widows for the financial years 1978-79, 1983-84, 1987-88, and 1992-93
Table A
Financial year |Amount
|(£ millions)
---------------------------------------------
1978-79 |117
1983-84 |177
1987-88 |190
1992-93 |225
Total actual expenditure for 1993-94 is not yet available. Table B details the current estimate of expenditure in respect of war widows for that year and the estimate for 1994-95.
Table B
Financial year |Amount
|(£ millions)
---------------------------------------------
1993-94 |237
1994-95 |237
Disabled People
Mr. Alan W. Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, when the hearing of a case involving a disabled person has to be resited because of difficulties of access for that disabled person from what would have been its normal venue, the resultant additional expenses can be reimbursed by the appropriate administrative department.
Mr. Scott : Any appellant who attends the hearing of an appeal has all travelling and associated expenses reimbursed.
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list (a) the amounts payable and the earnings limits for adult dependency increases payable with invalidity benefit since 1971, (b) the changes in eligibility conditions for adult dependency increases payable with invalidity benefit since 1971, (c) the arrangements for transitional protection for each and (d) numbers of claimants receiving transitional protection under each heading.
Mr. Scott : The information is in the tables :
(i) adult dependency increases: rates and earnings limits
Date |Weekly rate |Earnings limit
|£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------
September 1971 |3.70 |9.50
October 1972 |4.15 |9.50
October 1973 |4.75 |9.50
July 1974 |6.00 |13.00
April 1975 |6.90 |20.00
November 1975 |7.90 |20.00
November 1976 |9.20 |20.00
November 1977 |10.50 |40.00
November 1978 |11.70 |45.00
November 1979 |14.00 |45.00
November 1980 |15.60 |45.00
November 1981 |17.00 |45.00
November 1982 |18.85 |45.00
November 1983 |19.55 |45.00
November 1984 |20.55 |45.00
September 1985 |20.55 |28.45
November 1985 |23.00 |30.45
July 1986 |23.25 |30.80
April 1987 |23.75 |31.45
April 1988 |24.75 |32.75
April 1989 |26.20 |34.70
April 1990 |28.20 |37.35
April 1991 |31.25 |41.40
April 1992 |32.55 |43.10
April 1993 |33.70 |44.65
April 1994 |34.50 |45.45
Note: Until 16 September 1985, the increase was withdrawn
on a tapered basis when earnings exceeded the limit shown
above by 0.10p or more. From that date except in
transitionally protected cases the increase is wholly
extinguished when earnings exceed the limit shown above by
any amount.
Column 571
(ii) Changes in eligibility conditions and details of transitional protection
Date and description |Details of
of change |transitional
|protection
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
November 1981
Payment for a prescribed relative discontinued |Right to protection continues for a maximum of two years whilst
| entitlement remains. No longer applies.
November 1983
Provision made for a dependent husband if his |Not required-beneficial change.
earnings are no more than the increase
payable.
November 1984
Occupational pensions treated as earnings. |Protection continues whilst increase remains in payment.
| Number still benefitting unknown.
Provision made for a male adult dependant |Not required-beneficial change.
caring for a child.
September 1985
Tapered earnings rule abolished |Right to protection continues whilst entitlement remains.
(see note to Table (i)). | 3,000<1> recipients estimated as benefitting at 4 April 1992.
October 1989
Personal pensions treated as earnings. |Protection continues whilst increase remains in payment.
| Number still benefitting unknown.
<1>Rounded to the nearest thousand.
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people on invalidity benefit who were found (a) capable of alternative work and (b) capable of normal occupation in each of the quarters between the quarter ended June 1993 and quarter ended June 1994 subsequently received (i) unemployment benefit, (ii) income support, by virtue of signing on as unemployed and (iii) regained entitlement to invaldity benefit.
Mr. Scott : Information about subsequent activities of people found capable of work following a medical examination by the Benefits Agency medical service is being collected as part of the arrangements for monitoring the revised medical control procedures introduced from April 1993. The sample size from this exercise is not yet sufficient to provide statistically reliable information.
Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total sum currently withheld from recipients of invalidity benefit in respect of the Government's appeal against the decision of the social security commissioner regarding equal treatment for women and men in entitlement to the benefit.
Mr. Scott : Around 37,000 women are having their increase of benefit suspended pending the outcome of the appeal. Information about the amount of money involved is not routinely collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Column 572
Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals concerning invalidity benefit where received by his Department during each of the quarters between the quarter ended June 1993 to the quarter ended June 1994 ; and what percentage of these were found in the claimant's favour.
Mr. Scott : The available information is in the table :
Appeals registered with Social Security Appeal Tribunals:
Invalidity Benefit
Quarter ending |Appeals |<1>Appeals |<2>Percentage
|lodged with |heard and |decided in the
|the tribunal |decided by |claimants
|the tribunal |favour
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 June 1993 |5,689 |1,800 |51.7
30 September 1993 |7,021 |2,961 |54.9
31 December 1993 |7,150 |3,225 |57.8
Source: Analytical Services Division.
<1>Includes appeals lodged in an earlier quarter.
<2>Percentage of appeals heard and decided.
Benefits Claims
Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action is being taken to establish and investigate inconsistencies in information given in relation to claims for different benefits made by the same person.
Mr. Lilley : I have authorised a series of exercises to compare information held on different departmental
Column 573
computer files to ensure that inconsistencies are identified. Work has already started to match data for income support, family credit and child benefit. Any inconsistencies identified from such work will be investigated.Privatisation
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which organisations, agencies and other bodies relating to his departmental area of responsibility have been privatised since 1990 ; and what plans he has for further privatisation.
Residence Qualification
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for what reasons foreigners entering the United Kingdom immediately qualify for social security benefits ; which other EC countries have a similar policy ; and if he will now take steps to amend the recent United Kingdom situation so as to require a minimum of six months' residence to qualify for benefit.
Mr. Burt : In general, income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit are not available to people who come from outside the European Economic Area. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced yesterday new regulations which will reduce eligibility further. From 1 August claimants to these benefits will have to satisfy a habitual residence test, unless they are workers, refugees or given exceptional leave to remain in this country. The qualifying conditions for other social security benefits vary but are usually dependant on a contribution condition. Eligibility conditions for income-related safety net benefits in other EEA countries vary widely, but most have a residence condition, the changes announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, yesterday bring us into line with them.
Retirement Pensions
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many British pensioners residing overseas in countries where their pensions are frozen are over (a) 80, (b) 75 and (c) 70 years of age ; and what would be the cost of unfreezing their pensions above these respective age thresholds.
Mr. Hague : The information is in the table.
|Number of pensioners
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pensioners aged 80 and over |79,273
Pensioners aged 75 and over |123,366
Pensioners aged 70 and over |228,377
Estimated cost of unfreezing pensions
|£ million
------------------------------------------------
Pensioners aged 80 and over |107
Pensioners aged 75 and over |138
Pensioners aged 70 and over |192
Mr. Churchill : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals are in receipt of frozen
Column 574
British state retirement pensions ; and what is the average level of weekly payment in (a) Australia, (b) Canada, (c) New Zealand, (d) South Africa and (e) the Falkland Islands.Mr. Hague : The information is in the table.
Country |Number of |Estimated
|retirement pension|average level of
|and widow |weekly payment
|beneficiaries at
|29 January 1994 |£
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia |159,235 |21.54
Canada |118,362 |17.86
New Zealand |32,042 |20.57
South Africa |33,208 |21.17
Falkland Islands |17 |29.26
Benefits Agency
Dr. Lynne Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for each Benefits Agency district office in Birmingham (a) how many people were in receipt of (i) invalidity benefit and (ii) disability premium at the beginning of each of the last three financial years, (b) how many people (1) in receipt of invalidity benefit and (2) in receipt of disability premium were referred to a regional medical officer for a medical examination in each of the last three financial years and how many were found to be (x) incapable of work, (y) fit for work within limits and (z) fit for work.
Mr. Scott : This 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.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 11 July 1994 :
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about benefit recipients in Birmingham. The information is not available in the format requested. This is because Benefit Agency (BA) District boundaries do not correspond exactly with county or borough boundaries.
Birmingham postal districts B1 to B45 are dealt with by the BA Districts of Birmingham, Chamberlain, Birmingham Heartlands, Birmingham North West, Birmingham South East and Birmingham South West collectively. Other Birmingham postal districts are dealt with by BA Districts which also cover areas outside the Birmingham grographical region. Statistics relating to recipients of Invalidity Benefit (IVB) and Disability Premium payable with Income Support dealt with by these Districts and who were resident in a Birmingham postal district could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. At Appendix 1, I have provided the numbers of people claiming IVB in each of the Birmingham Districts covering postal districts B1 to B45. The figures show the position on the last working day of March in each year from and including 1992. This information was obtained from a monthly 100 clerical count of cases in each District's offices, and represents the most accurate statistics available to show the position at the beginning of each financial year. No corresponding information can be provided for March 1991. IVB recipients were not identified separately until May 1991. Prior to this date, numbers of IVB cases were aggregated with Sickness Benefit cases. In addition, there is no requirement for Districts to retain statistics relating to numbers of claims for more than two years. The statistics provided for IVB recipients to include a small number of customers who have claimed but are not receiving benefit ; eg. where there is underlying title to IVB but a higher, overlapping benefit is in payment.
At Appendix 2 I have provided numbers of people receiving Disability Premium with their entitlement to Income Support
Column 575
from the BA Birmingham Districts on the last working day of March each year since 1992. Statistics relating to Income Support recipients are not routinely collected in relation to financial years. The figures provided represent the most accurate available to reflect the position on the dates in question.Information regarding numbers of recipients of Invalidity Benefit and Disability Premium referred to the Medical Reference Service of the Benefits Agency Medical Service (BAMS), (formerly the Regional Medical Service), in the last three financial years ; and the outcomes of any medical examinations ; is only available at disproportionate cost.
BA Districts in Birmingham refer cases to the BAMS, Birmingham, reference office. However, this office also receives references from a much larger geographical area. Such information as is available relating to the Birmingham reference office has been provided at Appendix 3. These statistics have only been maintained since 1 January 1993 and therefore no earlier information is available. BAMS provide an opinion on a customer's capacity for work. However, the decision on this question lies with the Adjudication Officer (AO), the independent adjudication authority. The AO considers the BAMS report along with all other available evidence.
Where the customer has a regular employment, BAMS provide an opinion on capacity for work in that regular employment and any suitable alternative work. Statistics relating to numbers of cases found incapable of work ; fit for suitable alternative work ; and fit for work ; by an AO following reference to BAMS, could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
| Next Section
| Home Page |