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Figures for the Benefits Agency's Medical Services (BAMS) operations are not available by region, they are however, available for each of the 11 major medical services centres. The BAMS computer system records the number of medical examinations carried out rather than the number of reports. A medical report is produced following each medical examination and reports are normally written on the day the examination is carried out.Figures for the number of medical examinations carried out this year, in the period ending 31 August, are at Annex A.
However, figures are not available for the average delay in producing a report, nor for the number of reports outstanding. I hope you find this reply helpful.
Number of medical examinations carried out in respect of
incapacity benefit
Management |May |June |July |August
unit |1995 |1995 |1995 |1995 |Total
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Birmingham |31 |740 |1,775 |2,816 |5,362
Bootle |37 |1,271 |2,521 |3,352 |7,181
Bristol |15 |465 |1,385 |2,383 |4,248
Cardiff |0 |899 |2,724 |3,921 |7,544
Edinburgh |112 |809 |1,666 |1,819 |4,406
Glasgow |435 |1,909 |2,241 |3,614 |8,199
Leeds |62 |1,670 |2,491 |4,046 |8,269
Manchester |96 |1,338 |2,029 |3,820 |7,283
Newcastle |42 |913 |1,518 |2,724 |5,197
Sutton |32 |1,099 |2,864 |3,487 |7,482
Wembley |43 |741 |2,204 |4,190 |7,178
Total |905 |11,854 |23,418 |36,172 |72,349
This data is provisional and is subject to change.
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if leaflet 1B214 describing the new all work test is available in all DSS/Benefits Agency offices, including those in Birmingham; and from what date. [36616]
Mr. Burt: IB 214 is a detailed leaflet on the incapacity benefit all -work medical test, produced primarily for advisers. The leaflet has been available since May to anyone who rings the freeline number--0800 868868-- and it has been available from DSS local offices since mid-August 1995.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how the new incapacity benefit will affect those suffering from asthma. [38312]
Mr. Burt: The new medical test of incapacity takes account of the effect of all medical conditions. The basis of the test is the effect of a medical condition on the ability to work and not he medical condition itself. The symptoms of conditions such as asthma may vary in intensity across time from mild to severe. The new test is designed to take account of the variability of symptoms and is not a snapshot of the claimant's capacity to work at a point in time.
Bronchitis and Emphysema
Mr. William O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to receive the report from the advisory body on the review of the Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema Regulations; and if he will make a statement. [36740]
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Mr. Roger Evans: I understand that the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council expects to complete its review and submit a report to Ministers in the new year. The Government will consider carefully any recommendations that the council makes.
Lone Parent Premium
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people received the single parent's premium in each since its inception; and what has been the cost of the premium in each of these years. [37159]
Mr. Roger Evans: The information available is set out in the table.
The lone parent premium forms part of the calculation of the total potential amount of benefit in income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit. It is not possible to apportion costs between the various allowances and premiums that make up the total potential benefit in those cases where the amount paid is less than the total.
Income support/housing benefit/council tax benefit cases
with the lone parent premium
|Number of housing
|Number of income |benefit/council tax
Year |support cases |benefit cases
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1988 |690,000 |-
1989 |760,000 |-
1990 |790,000 |110,000
1991 |870,000 |110,000
1992 |960,000 |110,000
1993 |1,010,000 |120,000
1994 |1,040,000 |140,000
Notes:
1. Sample size 1 in 100.
2. Council tax benefit replaced community charge benefit from April 1993. Above
figures include community charge benefit.
3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000.
4. Housing benefit/council tax benefit/community charge benefit figures include
estimates due to the data collection procedure in Scotland.
5. The housing benefit/council tax benefit/community charge benefit analysis
excludes recipients of housing benefit/council tax benefit with income support
and the overlap between housing benefit/council tax benefit/community charge
benefit.
6. Housing benefit/community charge benefit figures are not provided for
1988-89 as it is not possible to accurately estimate the overlap between
housing benefit and community charge benefit, at that time community charge
benefit applied only in Scotland.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly and Annual Enquiries 1988-1994.
Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample
inquiry without Income Support, taken at the end of May in each year shown.
Share Option Schemes
Mr. Rooker: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated current cost to the Exchequer in (a) lost income tax and (b) lost national insurance contributions of companies paying low-paid employees earning below tax and national insurance thresholds via share options. [37074]
Mr. Heald: The Inland Revenue does not hold centrally collated information regarding tax revenue forgone under relieved share option schemes. However, a sample of such schemes available to the Inland Revenue indicates that very
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few employees currently earning below income tax and national insurance thresholds realise gains under share option schemes which would otherwise have brought them into income tax. Information regarding national insurance contribution revenue forgone is not available.Student Benefits
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many full-time higher education students suspended their courses due to sickness or personal circumstances and then claimed for social security benefits, for each year from 1985; and what is the total estimated annual cost of such claims. [38405]
Mr. Roger Evans: The information is not available.
Pay Bargaining
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide in respect of his plan for pay delegation submitted to the Treasury (a) a description of the staff in each bargaining unit covered by the plan, distinguishing staff in headquarters functions, agencies and agency candidates, and in other identifiable business units and (b) proposals for trade union recognition in each bargaining unit and the negotiating machinery to be put in place in each bargaining unit. [38280]
Mr. Burt: In line with the Government's Civil Service White Papers, "Continuity and Change" and "Carrying Forward Continuity and Change", at April 1996 DSS will have six bargaining units; Benefits Agency, Child Support Agency, Contributions Agency, Information Technology Services Agency, War Pensions Agency and DSS headquarters. Each bargaining unit will have responsibility for all staff up to and including unified grade 6, including professional equivalents. DSS headquarters will also have responsibility for the pay of staff in the five non-departmental public bodies related to the Department Central Adjudication Service, Independent Review Service for the Social Fund, Independent Tribunal Service, Pensions Ombudsman's office and the Executive Office of the Occupational Pensions Board. All six units have recognised the Civil and Public Servants Association and the National Union of Civil and Public Servants for collective bargaining purposes. Additionally, BA, ITSA and headquarters have recognised the Association of First Division Civil Servants and BA and headquarters have recognised the Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists. The War Pensions Agency has a small number of staff represented by the Transport and General Workers Union whose pay will follow the settlement reached between the Ministry of Defence and the TGWU.
Those bargaining units which took delegation in 1994--BA, CA and ITSA--and in 1995--CSA and WPA--agreed bargaining mechanisms with unions for past negotiations and these have been either single-table or multi-table. Arrangements for 1996 will be agreed in due course.
Council Tax Benefit
Mr. William Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of recipients and cost
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to the public of council tax benefit; and what are the figures for each of the last five years. [38332]Mr. Roger Evans: The available information is set out in the table.
Number of recipients and benefit expenditure
on council tax benefit
|Number of |Benefit
|recipients |Financial |expenditure
Year<1> |(000s)<2> |year |£ million<3>
-----------------------------------------------------------------
1993<4> |5,290 |1993-94 |1,901
1994 |5,549 |1994-95 |2,005
1995 |5,674 |1995-96 |2,039
Notes:
<1>Number of recipients obtained from quarterly aggregate counts
taken on last working day of May of each given year.
<2>Figures for recipients refer to the number of benefit units.
These may be a single person or a couple.
<3>Figures given for benefit expenditure for 1993-94 are outturn,
those for 1994-95 estimated outturn and 1995-96 planned
outturn.
<4>Council tax benefit was introduced in April 1993.
Housing Benefit
Mr. William Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the total number of people in receipt of housing benefit in (a) local authority, (b) housing association and (c) private rented accommodation; and what were the figures for each of the last five years. [38333]
Mr. Roger Evans: The information is set out in the table.
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Housing benefit recipients by tenancy
in Great Britain
Thousands
Rent Rebate Rent Allowance
|Total housing |Local authority |Total housing |Housing association|Private rented
|associations |excluding
Year |benefit cases |tenants |tenants and private|tenants |housing association
|tenants |tenants
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991 |4,030 |2,945 |1,085 |n/a |n/a
1992 |4,325 |3,034 |1,292 |340 |952
1993 |4,533 |3,053 |1,481 |412 |1,068
1994 |4,650 |3,016 |1,634 |509 |1,125
1995 |4,734 |2,967 |1,766 |610 |1,156
Notes:
1. Number of recipients obtained from quarterly aggregate counts taken on last working day of May for each given year.
2. Figures refer to the number of benefit units. These maybe a single person or a couple.
3. Separate figures for housing association and private rented accommodation tenants excluding housing association tenants are not
available for 1991.
4. Totals may not sum due to rounding of figures to the nearest thousand.
Child Support Agency
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many parents with dependent children claiming income support were receiving maintenance in each year since 1989; and in the case of Child Support Agency assessments, how many of these were minimum assessments of £2.30 or less. [37589]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Maintenance Payments
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average amount of maintenance received by parents with dependent children claiming income support in each year since 1989. [37590]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The information is in the following list: 1989: £18.99
1990: £19.60
1991: £20.73
1992: £22.19
1993: £22.64
1994: £23.71
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Method of Payment Fraud
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what were the savings made by his Department in tackling organised method of payment fraud in 1993 94 and 1994 95; what were the reasons for any change in savings; and what new policies his Department intends to take to substantially increase the savings by tackling organised method of payment fraud. [37591]
Mr. Heald: I will write to the hon. Member shortly.
Social Security Expenditure
Mr. Pawsey: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current cost of the social security budget per working person per day. [38081]
Mr. Burt: The current cost of the social security budget is equivalent to £15.00 per working person per working day.
Employee Fraud
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total number of cases of all forms of fraud committed by employees of his (a) Department, (b) agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies for each year from 1991 92 to 1994 95; and for each of these years, what was the total
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monetary sum (1) misappropriated in such frauds and (2) subsequently recovered. [39131]Mr. Heald: The information is not available in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Government Publications
Mr. William Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which institutions in the USA are designated depositories for United Kingdom Government publications produced through HMSO. [38329]
Mr. Horam: Her Majesty's Stationery Office has no deposit arrangements with designated institutions in the USA or elsewhere overseas.
Pay Bargaining
Mr. McAllion: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will provide, in respect of his plan for pay delegation submitted to the Treasury, (a) a description of the staff in each bargaining unit covered by the plan, distinguishing staff in HQ functions, agencies and agency candidates, and in other identifiable business units and (b) proposals for trade union recognition in each bargaining unit and the negotiating machinery to be put in place in each bargaining unit. [38281]
Mr. Horam: The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster's responsibilities cover several Departments\agencies which are classed as separate bargaining units for the purpose of pay delegation:
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Cabinet Office/Office of Public Service has 1,283 staff covering support, clerical, executive, specialist and open structure grades based in London, Norwich and Basingstoke. Meeting planned with the Association of First Division Civil Servants, the Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists, the National Union of Civil and Public Servants and the Civil and Public Services Association to discuss negotiating machinery.Her Majesty's Stationery Office already has pay delegation for its clerical, executive and managerial staff which now number about 2,000 and for its printing, technical and maintenance staff which now number about 900. These staff are based in Norwich and in outlets nationwide. Single- table bargaining exists for white-collar staff with its trade union side comprising CPSA, NUCPS and IPMS and separately with the Graphical, Paper and Media Union, the General Municipal and Boilermakers Union, the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union and the Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians for its blue-collar staff.
Central Office of Information has 480 staff covering support, clerical, executive, specialist and open structure grades based in London and a number of regions. About to discuss negotiating machinery with IPMS, NUCPS and CPSA.
Civil Service College has 274 staff covering a range of clerical, executive and Open Structure grades based at both Sunningdale and London. About to meet FDA, NUCPS, IPMS and CPSA to discuss negotiating machinery.
Chessington Computer Centre has 417 clerical, executive and Open Structure staff on one site. Negotiating machinery to be discussed with representatives of NUCPS and CPSA.
Recruitment and Assessment Services covers a mix of support, clerical and executive grades together with Open Structure staff and some psychologists based in Basingstoke and London. Discussing negotiating machinery with NUCPS and CPSA.
Occupational Health and Safety Agency covers 95 administrative, executive, specialist and Open Structure staff with HQ functions in Edinburgh and a number of offices in London and the regions. Principal discussions on negotiating machinery are currently with IPMS.
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