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There were 13 investigations in 1993 and 10 investigations so far in 1994.Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what method is used to deal with excess flight pressure on the air traffic control system; and how many times this has been used in the past five years.
Mr. Norris: Within the United Kingdom, National Air Traffic Services establishes a flow rate for each sector of air space which takes into account air traffic controller manning. In order to prevent air traffic control demand exceeding the agreed level in United Kingdom air space the London flow management unit, situated at Heathrow, applies departure and flow restrictions measures. Such measures are designed to ensure that safety is not compromised and are applied throughout the busy times of the day.
Market Testing
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.
Mr. Norris: Items in the Department's "Competing for Quality" programmes which have resulted in contracts being let to the private sector are listed.
|Annual value
|(£ million,
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IT and facilities management |EDS |13.895(a)
Computer bureau facilities |Digital |0.238
Distribution services |Eros Marketing Support, HMSO (b) |0.146
Stationery supplies |Dudley Stationery |0.300
Book and periodical procurement |Dawsons, HMSO (b) |0.346 (c)
Office machinery |AM International, Highway Business Systems, Dahle, Berrys of Holborn, HMSO (b)|0.129
Vehicle Certification Agency: microfilming, data storage and reprographics |REM Office Systems- Bristol |0.015
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency forms design |Claydon Heeley |0.080
Vehicle Inspectorate: I strategy support |EDS |0.240
Vehicle Inspectorate: roller brake testing maintenance |VL Test Systems
Vehicle Inspectorate: weighbridge maintenance |Metler Toledo |0.220
Coastguard property management |HSB Partnership, Povall-Worthington, Bell Ingram, W S Atkins |0.440
Road Workers (Injuries)
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department has of injuries to workers on (a) motorways, (b) other trunk roads and (c) other roads during each of the last five years involved in (i) construction, (ii) repairs and (iii) cleaning; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Oppenheim: I have been asked to reply.
The Health and Safety Executive does not record information on injuries to road workers in the form requested.
The table shows the number of injuries to workers while carrying out road surfacing work and highway maintenance for the last five years:
Injuries to workers<1> arising from surfacing and highway
maintenance works as reported to the Health and Safety
Executive's Field Operational Division 1989-90 and 1993-94-
provisional
Surfacing<3>
Year |Fatal |Major<5> |Over 3 day<5>|Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |7 |133 |1,613 |1,753
1990-91 |6 |109 |1,464 |1,579
1991-92 |4 |92 |1,219 |1,315
1992-93 |7 |95 |981 |1,083
1993-94<7> |4 |105 |744 |853
Highway
Maintenance<4>
Year (b) |Fatal |Major<5> |Over 3 day<6>|Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989-90 |1 |37 |1588 |1626
1990-91 |1 |68 |1467 |1536
1991-92 |- |51 |1198 |1249
1992-93 |3 |53 |926 |982
1993-94<7> |- |42 |814 |856
<1> Employees and self-employed people.
<2> Years commencing 1 April.
<3> Includes road building and repair.
<4> Includes street cleaning, maintenance of street furniture and gritting,
etcetera.
<5> As defined under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations 1985 and are chiefly amputations, serious fractures and other injuries
causing hospitalisation for more than 24 hours.
<6> Injuries causing incapacity for normal work for more than three days.
<7> Provisional.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Family Benefits
Mr. Wicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families have been eligible for, and what has been the cost to public funds of, (a) family income supplement and (b) family credit since their introduction.
Mr. Roger Evans: Information is not available on the total numbers eligible for the two benefits.
The table provides details of the number of families receiving either family income supplement or family credit in each year since 1971 and the benefit expenditure for each financial year.
|Financial year|Families in |Cost<3>
|receipt<2>
|000's |£ million
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Income Supplement (FIS)<1> |1971-72 |55 |4
|1972-73 |92 |10
|1973-74 |106 |13
|1974-75 |79 |12
|1975-76 |63 |12
|1976-77 |71 |18
|1977-78 |81 |25
|1978-79 |89 |24
|1979-80 |74 |27
|1980-81 |89 |42
|1981-82 |124 |66
|1982-83 |158 |94
|1983-84 |204 |123
|1984-85 |207 |126
|1985-86 |201 |130
|1986-87 |220 |161
|1987-88 |224 |180
Family Credit<1>
|1988-89 |281 |394
|1989-90 |319 |425
|1990-91 |327 |494
|1991-92 |353 |626
|1992-93 |448 |929
|1993-94 |515 |1,091
Notes:
<1> Family Income Supplement was introduced in August 1971 and replaced by family credit in
April 1988.
<2>Source:
-for 1971-72 to 1973-74 based on a 20 per cent. sample of awards.
-for 1974-75 to 1987-88 based on a 10 per cent. sample of awards.
-for 1988-89 to 1993-94 based on a 5 per cent. sample of awards.
Figures given are for September in each financial year with the exception of 1987-88 where
the figure is for October.
<3> Source:
Various editions of the public expenditure White Paper and departmental report.
Energy Expenditure
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total expenditure on energy for offices and buildings by (a) his Department
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and (b) his agencies in each of the last three years for which figures are available.Mr. Burt: The available information is in the tables.
|Year |£
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DSS Total |1991-92 |14,213,000
|1992-93 |15,600,000
|1993-94 |16,121,000
Benefits Agency |1991-92 |10,799,109
|1992-93 |11,788,296
|1993-94 |10,412,815
Contributions Agency |1991-92 |<2>Not applicable
|1992-93 |Not applicable
|1993-94 |1,483,226
Information Technology Services Agency |1991-92 |2,901,788
|1992-93 |3,126,456
|1993-94 |3,094,726
Resettlement Agency |1991-92 |512,103
|1992-93 |340,360
|1993-94 |305,808
Child Support Agency |1993-94 |448,425
DSS (HQ) |1991-92 |<1>Not applicable
|1992-93 |344,888
|1993-94 |376,000
Notes:
A number of the agencies which form the Department have not been in existence for three
years.
<1> In the year 1991-92 the DSS-HQ-was not responsible for payment of energy costs,
therefore details are not held by the Department.
<2> The Contributions Agency was not responsible for energy costs in the years 1991-92 and
1992-93.
Jobseekers Bill
Mr. Dewar: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the elements of the Jobseekers Bill which promote the assistance of persons without a settled way of life.
Mr. Roger Evans: Clause 25 in the Bill allows the Resettlement Agency to complete its task of disengaging the Government from the running of resettlement units by funding more appropriate provision provided by voluntary organisations, local authorities or private organisations.
Mr. Dewar: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his policy in respect of people who make themselves voluntarily unemployed or who refuse job vacancies continuing to receive automatic hardship payments under the allowance.
Mr. Roger Evans: Sanctioned claimants will not receive automatic benefit payments under the jobseeker's allowance. Claimants who are not in vulnerable groups will receive no benefit for the first two weeks of a sanction; thereafter, they may receive hardship payments at a reduced rate if they can demonstrate that they or their partner would otherwise suffer hardship. Claimants in vulnerable groups--those with children, who are sick or pregnant or have a sick or pregnant partner, or who have caring responsibilities--may have access to hardship payments throughout the period of the sanction.
Mr. Dewar: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much of the expected reduction in expenditure on benefits of around £140 million in 1996 97 and £270 million in 1997 98 as a result of the introduction of the jobseekers allowance will arise from each clause of the Jobseekers Bill
Mr. Roger Evans: The information is set out in the table. Estimates do not take account of tax or behavioural effects.
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Policy measure |Benefit expenditure |Benefit expenditure |Relevant clause(s)
|in
|effect in 1996-97 |effect in 1997-98 |Jobseekers Bill
|£ million |£ million
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contributory entitlement six months |-70 |-180 |Clause 5(1)
No Adult Dependency Increases in contributory benefit |-10 |-20 |Clause 4(1) and Schedule 2(20)
Unified rates of benefit: effect on 18-24 year old claimants |-20 |-30 |Clause 4(1)
Treatment of income from occupational and personal pensions |-10 |-10 |Clause 4(1) and Schedule 1(7)
Waiting days in income-based JSA |-40 |-40 |Schedule 1(4)
Anti-fraud measures |-10 |-10 |Clause 27 and 28
Benefit sanctions |-10 |-10 |Clauses 15 and 16
Treatment of earnings: disregard £10 per week per couple; partners may work up to 24 hours |+20 |+20 |Clauses 3(1), 4, 9 and 10
Net effect |+140 |-270
Notes:
1. Assumes 2.4 million unemployed; 500,000 unemployment benefit cases; inflow into claimant unemployment of 3.8 million.
2. All estimates rounded to nearest £10 million.
3. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
4. Estimates in cash prices.
5. Excludes measures related to back to work bonus and national insurance contribution rebate.
6. Benefit sanction estimates are net of hardship payments.
7. Estimates are net of any effects in other benefits.
8. Based on 1993 annual statistical inquiry, 1993 and 1994 unemployment benefit statistics, 1993-94 adjudication officer statistics and the policy simulation model using 1990-91-92 family expenditure data.
9. The estimated effects relating to adult dependency increases unified rates assume contributory entitlement lasts six months.
Benefit savings are also likely to arise from aligning the treatment of earnings for contributory claimants with that for income-based claimants. Further information is currently being collected to allow this to be assessed.
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Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his assessment of the number of people who will give up work as a result of their unemployed partners being eligible for
non-means-tested benefit for only six months instead of 12 months under the jobseekers allowance.
Mr. Roger Evans: Of the 165,000 people estimated to lose entitlement to contribution-based jobseekers allowance as a result of the length of contributory entitlement being reduced to six months, 55,000 are estimated to have partners with earnings. It is not possible to provide an estimate of the number of these partners who may decide to give up work once contributory benefit is lost. However, any such effect is likely to be small as most couples in this position will be substantially better off with one partner in work than with neither.
We will also be introducing measures which are designed to encourage the partners of jobseekers allowance and income support claimants to remain in work, including increasing the partner's hours threshold from 16 to 24 hours, and introducing the back to work bonus.
Notes:
Estimated using the policy simulation model with 1990 91 92 family expenditure survey data and the 1993 and 1994 unemployment benefit statistics.
All estimates rounded to the nearest 5,000.
Youth Aid and Barnardo's Report
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what response he has made to the Youth Aid and Barnardo's report of 1993, a copy of which has been sent to him.
Mr. Roger Evans: Since publication of the report, we have substantially improved access to youth training; the number of young people awaiting a youth training place for eight weeks or more has dropped significantly to around 2,400. Our policy remains one of encouraging young people to take up education, work or training, not dependency on benefits, although income support remains available to young people at risk of severe hardship.
National Insurance
Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women in the United Kingdom were still paying the reduced married women's national insurance contributions in 1993 94 at the latest available date.
Mr. Arbuthnot: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Broadgreen (Mrs. Kennedy) on 21 October, Official Report, column 381 . Information regarding 1993 94 is not yet complete.
Habitual Residency Test
Mr. Madden: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what additional resources or training has been given to local Benefits Agency staff to implement decisions under the habitual residency test; and what safeguards exist to ensure the test is not applied in a racially discriminatory way.
Mr. Roger Evans: The administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
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Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Max Madden, dated 9 December 1994:The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the introduction of the habitual residence test.
An allocation of £800,000 has been distributed among Benefits Agency (BA) District offices and the need for any additional resources is being kept under review as management information is collected about the impact of the new procedures.
Prior to the introduction of the test, self instruction training material was produced by the BA in conjunction with staff from the office of the Chief Adjudication Officer. This material set out the requirements imposed by the test and was issued to Managers of all local BA offices. Managers are responsible for deciding who amongst their staff should receive the training.
The BA is committed to equal opportunities and has published an equal opportunities policy statement which makes it clear that no form of discrimination, whether against customers or staff by customers or staff, will be tolerated. This policy statement has been implemented through local action plans that are regularly monitored. Any complaints or suggestions of discrimination will always be treated seriously and immediately investigated by management. In addition, the Chief Adjudication Officer's staff are currently conducting a monitoring exercise to confirm uniformity in the application of the test and decision making throughout the country and as a part of this exercise will this month hold seminars with local Adjudication Officers.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Information Technology
Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the bid by Computer Sciences Corporation to take over the day-to-day running of the information technology operations and support services of the Information Technology Services Agency.
Mr. Arbuthnot: The deadline for initial bids for this procurement was 12pm on 2 December 1994. No bid had been received from Computer Sciences Corporation by this deadline.
Divorce Settlements
Mr. Bowden: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to be able to make a statement to the House regarding clean- break divorce financial settlements for wives and children.
Mr. Burt: The Government are aware of the concerns about the treatment of clean-break settlements in the child support arrangements. We have been conducting our own review of the child support system and are now considering carefully the recent report of the Social Security Select Committee. We will respond with proposals for policy changes in due course.
Disabled People
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will now summarise in a report to the House the responses to his consultation paper on the Government's proposals in regard to discrimination against disabled people, or place a summarised version of the responses in the Library.
Mr. Hague: I intend to publish an analysis of the responses when it is available. Copies will be placed in the Library.
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Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will make it his policy to draft his proposed Bill on discrimination against disabled people in such a way that its scope will not prevent any attempt to substitute a disability rights commission, with the powers provided for by the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill, for the proposed National Disability Council;
(2) if he will make it his policy to draft the money resolution for his proposed Bill on discrimination against disabled people in such a way as not to preclude amendments to substitute a Disability Rights Commission, with the powers provided for by the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill, for the proposed National Disability Council.
Mr. Hague: We are in the process of drafting the Bill. The Bill's scope and the money resolution will depend on the final contents. It is not our intention to draft the Bill in such a way as to rule out full discussion of this issue.
Pensions
Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out the amount of the normal uprating in April 1995 for (a) a single pensioner not on income support, (b) a pensioner couple not on income support, (c) a single pensioner on income support, (d) a pensioner couple on income support and alongside set out the money over and above that uprating for VAT home heating compensation.
Mr. Roger Evans: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given on 8 December to my hon. Friend the Member for Thanet, North (Mr Gale), Official Report, column 376.
Market Testing
Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list those services that have been market-tested by his Department and won by the private sector, indicating the organisation that won the tender and its value.
Mr. Arbuthnot: The information requested by the hon. Member is published in the "Market Testing Bulletin", copies of which are held in the Library.
Project |Value |Successful tenderer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ITSA Audit |1.2 |CSL Ltd HQ A and OS Facilities Management |0.68 |TFM (Granada) CA Cleaning |0.73 |ISS Contract Cleaning Ltd BA Storage Archives |0.46 |Britannia Data Management ITSA ACC1 Livingston |6.1 |ISSC BA Publishing |4.08 |Management Employee Buyout BA A and OS Wales & Central AD3 |1.39 |Group 4 BA Storage Printed Materials |2.56 |HMSO BA A and OS Longbenton |0.86 |Manpower plc BA A and OS Wales & Central AD2 |1.28 |Procord Ltd BA A and OS Wales & Central AD3 |0.59 |Turner & Townsend FM BA A and OS Southern AD7 |2.25 |BET Facilities Management BA A and OS SAD1 |2.07 |Group 4 ITSA Security Guarding |0.42 |Wakenhut UK BA A and OS Southern AD4 |5.13 |Haden Facilities Management BA A and OS Wales & Central AD2 |1.26 |BET Facilities Management BA A and OS Southern AD2 |5.07 |BET Facilities Management BA A and OS Wales & Central AD5 |2.63 |Procord Ltd BA A and OS Southern AD5 |4.82 |Serco Ltd BA A and OS Wales & Central AD7 |3.88 |BET Facilities Management BA A and OS Wales & Central AD2 |1.32 |BET Facilities Management BA A and OS Southern AD7 |1.51 |BET Facilities Management BA A and OS Southern AD1 |1.09 |Group 4 BA A and OS Scotland & Northern AD1 |0.83 |Mowlem Facilities Management BA A and OS Wales & Central AD1 |0.72 |Mowlem Facilities Management BA A and OS Wales & Central AD1 |0.18 |Reliance Security Services BA A and OS Scotland & Northern AD2 |3.6 |BET Facilities Management BA A and OS Wales & Central AD6 |0.77 |Turner & Townsend FM BA A and OS Quarry House Facilities Management |TFM Granada BA A and OS Quarry House Word Processing |Manpower BA A and OS Quarry House Office Support |<1>0.84 |Manpower BA A and OS Quarry House Security |Centuryan BA A and OS Quarry House maintenance |Crown House AMT BA Training Wales & Central AD1 |Group 4 BA Training Wales & Central AD2 |Group 4 BA Training Wales & Central AD3 |<2>12.48 |Group 4 BA Training Wales & Central AD5 |City College Manchester BA Training Wales & Central AD6 |City College Manchester BA Training Southern AD4 |Plymouth College <1> The cost of the service that went out to tender for the Quarry house contracts cannot be broken down into individual contracts as this is a notional figure. <2> Due to the nature of the market test BA Training was submitted to, much of the information cannot be obtained at contract level, having been calculated on a national level at the time. The value of £12.48 million therefore includes the 16 in-house wins.
VAT (Fuel)
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much compensation towards the
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extra cost of value added tax on domestic fuel there will be within the benefit rates from next April for pensioners and disabled people.Mr. Lilley: Average amounts of compensation are shown in the table. Fuel prices have fallen in real terms over the last two years inclusive of VAT. Pensioners and disabled people should therefore have experienced gains in addition to those due to VAT compensation next year exceeding the impact of eight per cent. VAT on average fuel bills.
|VAT: 8 per cent. of |Compensation in
|group of recipients,|added into benefit
|£ |£
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pensioners<1> |0.85 |0.90
Disabled people<2> |0.90 |1.00
<1> The average of VAT and compensation for all single people over pension age, and
all couples where the head of the couple is over pension age.
<2> The average of VAT and compensation for all single disabled people, and all
couples where at least one person in the couple is disabled.
Note: Modelled using the 1990-91-92 family expenditure surveys, uprated to 1995-96
levels. Amounts of VAT and compensations are calculated at benefit unit level.
Estimates of VAT for pensioners are similar - within 5p- to those produced by Age
Concern from the 1993 family expenditure survey.
Mr. Harry Greenway: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the changes to his proposals, consequent upon the decision not to proceed with the second phase of value added tax on domestic fuel following his annual review of national insurance contributions.
Mr. Lilley: The revised contribution rates and thresholds are in the table.
CLASS 1
Lower Earnings Limit £58 a week
Upper Earnings Limit £440 a week
Employees contributions
Initial rate 2 per cent.--on earnings up to the LEL
Main rate 10 per cent.--on earnings between the LEL and UEL
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Employer contributionsWeekly earnings Contribution rate
£58-£104.99 3 per cent.
£105-£149.99 5 per cent.
£150-£204.99 7 per cent.
£205 and over 10.2 per cent.
CLASS 2
Self employed rate £5.75 a week
Limit of net earnings for exception from
Class 2 liability £3,260 a year
CLASS 3
Voluntary contributions rate £5.75 a week
CLASS 4
Lower Profits Limit £6,640
Upper Profits Limit £22,880
Contribution rate 7.3 per cent.
Note:
Revised in light of the decision not to proceed with the second phase of VAT. Not contracted-out rates shown. A contracted-out rebate of 3 per cent. for employers and 1.8 per cent. for employees applies to earnings between the lower earnings limit and the upper earnings limit.
Benefit Upratings
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost, in a full year, of full uprating of child dependency additions of all categories using their year of introduction as a base.
Mr. Roger Evans [holding answer 5 December 1994]: The estimated net cost would be £90 million in 1994 95:
Notes:
1. The estimate has been calculated by:
(i) taking the child dependency increase rate--CDI--for the eldest child payable in 1948, the year of introduction; then
(ii) inflating that figure to take account of upratings from 1948 up to and including April 1994. The percentage rate of increase used is the same as that of personal retirement pension; then
(iii) deducting the rates of child benefit payable from April 1994 to arrive at the rates that would apply for both the eldest child and subsequent children; then
(iv) following conversion to an annual gross figure, applying an offsetting reduction on expenditure on income-related benefits. 2. The estimate excludes the cost of restoring sickness benefit, maternity allowance and unemployment benefit CDIs, which were discounted with effect from November 1984.
3. The estimate has been rounded to the nearest £5 million and should be treated with caution owing to small sample sizes.
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