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Invalidity and Incapacity Benefits

Mr. Hinchliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many persons were found fit for work following medicals for (a) invalidity benefit and (b) incapacity benefit between (i) 1 April and 30 September and (ii) 1 October and 31 March in each year since 1990; and what studies he is undertaking in order to compare invalidity benefit take-up and benefit suspension with incapacity benefit. [3272]

Mr. Burt: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available prior to April 1995 is in the table. Between April and September, 18,898 people have been disallowed under the all work test and 293 people because they are capable of their own occupation. Direct comparisons between incapacity benefit and invalidity benefit are not possible because of the different structure, qualifying conditions and administration of the two benefits.

The figures for incapacity benefit reflects activity during a time when the take-on of cases has been carefully controlled to match capacity as experience of the new procedures grows. It is not representative and it is too early to draw firm conclusions about the effectiveness of the new procedures.

A number of studies and research projects are planned to establish the effect of the introduction of incapacity benefit.

Period	Number of medical opinions given-- capable of own occupation	Number of medical opinions given-- capable of alternative work
April 1992-September 1992	19,504	29,502
October 1992-March 1993	18,217	33,118
April 1993-September 1993	12,511	47,370
October 1993-March 1994	9,904	52,996
April 1994-September 1994	8,499	52,217
October 1994-March 1995	8,365	52,684

1. Figures for Great Britain prior to 1992 are not available. The figures relate to the number of medical opinions given by the Medical Reference Service that the claimant was capable of work following examination for Sickness Benefit, Invalidity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance and not the number of disallowances. Excluded are references where the National Insurance contribution conditions for Sickness/Invalidity Benefit were not satisfied and benefit was payable because the person's incapacity was the result of an accident at work or a prescribed industrial disease. 2. The decision whether to disallow benefit following a medical opinion was made by an independent adjudication officer.

Asylum Seekers

Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what benefit provision Her Majesty's Government (a) currently make and (b) intend to make available to disabled applicants for political asylum and those asylum seekers who care for disabled applicants. [3672]

4 Dec 1995 : Column: 96

Mr. Roger Evans: Disabled asylum applicants, and carers who are themselves asylum applicants, are currently entitled to claim social security benefits, including invalid care allowance, subject to the normal conditions of eligibility. Payment of income support is at the urgent cases rate, which limits the claimant's personal allowance to 90 per cent. of the normal rate. Entitlement to income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit ceases on the abandonment or final negative determination of an asylum application.

Under proposed changes to these provisions, benefit entitlement would be limited to income support at the urgent cases rate, housing benefit and council tax benefit for people who applied for asylum on entry to the UK.

Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of his Department's budget is represented by social security benefits made available to refugees and asylum seekers. [3630]

Mr. Evans: Approximately one quarter of 1 per cent. of total benefit expenditure, or £215 million per annum.

Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what benefit provision Her Majesty's Government intend to make for pregnant women who apply for political asylum during the course of the application with regard to housing, maternal and foetal health and food. [3673]

Mr. Evans: The two maternity benefits, statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance, are specifically aimed at pregnant working women and both have qualifying conditions closely related to the woman's recent employment and earnings history. They are therefore not available to women who have newly arrived in this country. This applies whether or not they are asylum seekers and the proposed benefit changes do not affect this position. People from abroad, including pregnant women, who apply for asylum on entry to the UK will remain entitled to claim income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit under currently proposed benefit changes. In addition, an application may be made to the social fund for a maternity payment if the applicant or her partner is in receipt of income support, housing benefit or disability working allowance.

Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions he has had with his European counterparts about the harmonisation of welfare benefits available for asylum seekers and refugees. [3629]

Mr. Evans: My right hon. Friend and his ministerial team have had no such discussions.

Mr. Alton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the maximum amount of disability benefit that may be claimed by an applicant for political asylum; and what amount is then deducted from the amount paid to the applicant in income support; [3671]

(2) what is the maximum weekly amount of benefit which may be claimed by applicants for political asylum who are (a) a single mother with one child, (b) a married couple without dependent children and (c) a married couple with two dependent children. [3670]

4 Dec 1995 : Column: 97

Mr. Evans: Asylum seekers are currently entitled to claim any social security benefit, subject to the normal conditions of eligibility appropriate to each. The weekly amount of benefit paid will depend on which benefits are claimed and on the individual circumstances of the claimant and any partner and dependants.

Income Support

Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the current monetary value of the capital thresholds for eligibility for income support; and where these have been indexed if he will give the date they were set at (a) £3,000 and (b) £8,000. [3623]

Mr. Roger Evans: The income support capital threshold of £3,000 was introduced in April 1988 and the threshold of £8,000 was introduced in April 1990. Had these limits been indexed in line with prices since their respective dates of introduction, the levels that they would be in 1995-96 are set out in the table:

Income support capital thresholds indexed by prices

		Levels if indexed since introduction
Current actual levels in 1995-96 £	by ROSSI £	by RPI £
Lower thresholds @
3,000
	4,172
	4,254
Upper threshold @
8,000
	10,101
	9,955

1. The lower capital limit of £3,000 is indexed from 1988 to 1995- 96 and the upper capital limit of £8,000 is indexed from 1990 to 1995-96. 2. Indexation is based upon the yearly (September) CSO figures for ROSSI and RPI. The September figures are used because annual Social Security benefits uprating in April is based upon the ROSSI and RPI figures of the preceding September. 3. RPI is the CSO Retail Prices Index. ROSSI is the RPI minus adjustments for housing expenditure. ROSSI is the price index used for uprating most of the Income Support allowances and premiums. 4. No rounding has been assumed at each year so the results are presented to the nearest one pound.

LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT

Departmental Targets

Ms Armstrong: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what are the published response times within which his Department is expected to reply to letters from the public. [3007]

Mr. Jonathan Evans: The Lord Chancellor's Department comprises two next steps agencies--the Court Service and the Public Trust Office--the departmental headquarters and associated offices. The two agencies have published target response times to correspondence as part of their charter standards. As this is an operational matter, I have asked the chief executives of the two agencies to reply direct. There is no universal or published recommended response time in the headquarters of the Department or its associated offices, although individual divisions work to local targets. Every effort is made to respond substantively to letters from the public within 20 working days.

4 Dec 1995 : Column: 98

Letter from M. D. Huebner to Ms Hilary Armstrong, dated 4 December 1995:

The Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to reply in respect of the Court Service to your Question about replies to letters from the public.
If a member of the public writes to a court they should receive a written reply or telephone call usually within 5 but no later than 10 working days. If they are not satisfied with the reply they have received and write to the Court Service Customer Service Unit, they should receive an acknowledgement within 2 working days and a reply within 20 working days from the date the Unit receives the letter, unless legal advice is required. If we need to take legal advice, the member of the public will be notified within 20 working days and will be sent a final reply within 40 working days.
These response times are published in the Charter for Court Users.

Letter from Julia C. Lomas to Ms Hilary Armstrong, dated 4 December 1995:

The Parliamentary Secretary has asked me to reply to you as part of the Lord Chancellor's Department's response to your Parliamentary Question, listed on 24 November 1995, regarding the published recommended response times to letters from the public.
The Court Funds Office's standard for correspondence is to respond to all letters of enquiry within 5 working days. The Mental Health Sector and Trust Division standard is to respond to all letters within 10 working days or to acknowledge letters within 3 working days and respond fully within 20 working days.

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