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Inflation
Mrs. Beckett: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the United Kingdom's position relative to OECD countries in respect of inflation. [7024]
Mr. Lang [holding answer 19 December 1995]: The information is published by the OECD in "Main Economic Indicators," which is available in the Library of the House.
NATIONAL HERITAGE
Millennium Exhibition
Mr. Spearing: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage (1) if the Millennium Commission will take into account in deliberating on the content and siting of any millennium exhibition, the ability of the United Kingdom to provide suitable venues for sporting events and festivals of (a) international and (b) worldwide significance; [4614]
(2) what guidelines (a) her Department and (b) the Millennium Commission, have issued for the inclusion of (1) covered and (2) open (i) arenas and (ii) stadiums to be provided in submitted plans of prospective operators of millennium exhibitions sites. [4615]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley [holding answer 11 December 1995]: This is a matter for the Millennium
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Commission. I shall write to the hon. Member in my capacity as chairman of the Millennium Commission and place copies of my reply in the Libraries of the House.
National Lottery
Mr. Alan Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage when the Director General of the National Lottery visited Australia; who paid for the visit; how long was the visit; and what assessment he made as to the conformity of the visit with guidelines. [6684]
Mrs. Virginia Bottomley: The Office of the National Lottery is a non-ministerial Department and therefore responsible for implementing its own hospitality and travel arrangements, taking into account the principles and rules set out in the civil service management code. Oflot is under no obligation to clear with, or inform my department about, detailed arrangements. This is therefore a matter for the director general and I have asked him to write to the hon. Member, placing copies of his response in the Libraries of the House.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Data Protection
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what occasions for each certificate under section 27 of the Data Protection Act 1984 was signed by a member of his Department what was the length of time for which the certificate was valid; and in what circumstances benefit records can be used for the purpose of safeguarding national security. [5304]
Mr. Burt: No such certificates have been issued by the Department of Social Security. It seems unlikely that benefit records would have any relevance to national security.
We cannot deal in advance with the circumstances that might apply in the event of an application for a section 27 certificate being made.
War Pension
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will now end the policy of counting the first £10 of a war pension received as a result of an injury sustained while fighting as income; and if he will make a statement. [4942]
Mr. Heald: The first £10 of a war disablement pension is disregarded in all income-related benefits. We have no plans to end this arrangement.
Housing Benefit
Mr. George Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many discretionary payments under regulation 69(8) have been made; for what amounts; and what percentage this was of total housing benefit expenditure, in each year since 1991-92. [5055]
Mr. Roger Evans: The available information is set out in the table.
| Year | Discretionary payment expenditure | Percentage of total housing benefit expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| £ | ||
| 1992-93 | 740,000 | 0.01 |
| 1993-94 | 960,000 | 0.01 |
1. Expenditure figures are final audited returns rounded to the nearest £10,000. 2. Percentages have been rounded to the nearest hundredth of a per cent. 3. Reliable data is not available for 1991-92. 4. Detail of the numbers of discretionary payments made is not collected.
Motability
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the extent to which Motability Finance Ltd., Motability Car Leasing, Motability Hire Purchase and Motability Quarter End Partnerships have used their tax capacity status for the sole and full benefit of disabled people in the scheme. [5137]
Mr. Burt: The Motability scheme has been structured to take advantage, whenever possible, of capital allowances against corporation tax to reduce the size of loans needed to finance the scheme. This is normal business practice and disabled people receive the benefit in the form of lower charges for obtaining personal transport.
Mr. Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the special privileges and protection from competition in respect of car leasing and hire purchase agreements enjoyed by Motability. [5089]
Mr. Burt: In general, the reliefs and benefits which underpin the Motability scheme apply equally to any suppliers whose predominant business is the supply of vehicles on lease or hire purchase to disabled people. There is one exception. Regulations provide for direct payment of a beneficiaries' qualifying benefit, in whole or in part, in support of an agreement through the Motability scheme. The Motability scheme has to compete for business in the normal way.
National Insurance Fund
Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost to the national insurance fund of all current holders of an appropriate personal pension with an annual income of (a) £2,000 or below, (b) up to £3,000, (c) up to £4,000, (d) up to £5,000, (e) up to £6,000, (f) up to £7,000, (g) up to £8,000, (h) up to £9,000 and (i) up to £10,000, opting back in to SERPS in 1995-96 basing this estimate on the assumptions that (i) those contracting into SERPS continue within SERPS up to the year 2050 instead of being in an APP and (ii) future earnings remain the same in real terms. [5523]
Mr. Heald: Information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is readily available is in the table, and is based on the following assumptions: (i) the year in which opting into SEEPS is assumed to take place is 1997-98;
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(ii) earnings have been assumed to increase with age and, in addition, by 1.5 per cent. above prices for each age level; (iii) not all earners have been assumed to work until they reach State pension age.
| Earnings band for opting back into SERPS | 2010-11 | 2020-21 | 2030-31 | 2040-41 | 2050-51 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <2,000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| <3,000 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| <4,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| <5,000 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 50 | 50 |
| <6,000 | 0 | 10 | 40 | 130 | 120 |
| <7,000 | 1 | 10 | 80 | 250 | 240 |
| <8,000 | 1 | 20 | 130 | 420 | 400 |
| <9,000 | 2 | 30 | 200 | 650 | 610 |
| <10,000 | 3 | 50 | 300 | 920 | 860 |
1. Little extra cost until 2010 as most APP holders are under age 45. 2. Estimates of numbers affected based on data for 1993-94, the most recently available, used to estimate proportions of APP holders in respect of people in the earnings bands quoted. 3. Earnings under £3,000 would not accrue SERPS so no financial effect in respect of that year. 4. Earnings have been used, as a breakdown by income is not available. 5. All expenditure of £10 million and above has been rounded to the nearest £10 million.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Chris Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the cost to local authorities of the software and other administrative changes that will be necessitated by the provisions of the Housing Benefit (General) Amendment Regulations 1996 in respect of payments four-weekly in arrears. [6131]
Mr. Roger Evans: The estimated total gross administrative cost to local authorities arising from the introduction of new payment rules for housing and council tax benefit is some £3 million. However, there are offsetting savings for local authorities because we estimate that there will be a reduction in overpayments of benefit as a result of the changes. On-going costs after introduction are expected to be negligible although authorities will continue to benefit from savings arising from overpayments avoided.
Mr. Wicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the annual cost of reducing the housing benefit taper for those in work to (i) 60 per cent., (ii) 55 per cent., (iii) 50 per cent., (iv) 45 per cent., (v) 40 per cent., (vi) 35 per cent. and (vii) 30 per cent., and how many people would be entitled to housing benefit in each of these cases. [7185]
Mr. Evans: The information is set out in the table.
| Taper | Net cost £ million | Housing benefit caseload |
|---|---|---|
| 65 per cent. | -- | 4,875,000 |
| 60 per cent. | 70 | 4,895,000 |
| 55 per cent. | 160 | 4,925,000 |
| 50 per cent. | 265 | 4,975,000 |
| 45 per cent. | 390 | 5,030,000 |
| 40 per cent. | 545 | 5,105,000 |
| 35 per cent. | 740 | 5,195,000 |
| 30 per cent. | 980 | 5,295,000 |
Notes: Estimates based on the Family Expenditure Surveys of 1991, 1992 and 1993, uprated to 1996-97 prices and benefit levels. Estimates of costs are rounded to the nearest £5 million. Estimates of caseloads are rounded to the nearest 5,000. Figures may not sum exactly due to rounding.
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