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Benefit Payment Card
16. Mr. Mans: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to introduce a benefit payment card. [8805]
Mr. Heald: We intend to start phasing in the replacement of order books and girocheques with benefit payment cards in the autumn.
Benefit System Reform
17. Mr. Simon Coombs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received from political parties over the past three months concerning reforms of the benefit system. [8806]
23 Jan 1996 : Column: 215
Mr. Lilley:
Opposition parties have criticised all the reforms of the social security system which I have announced over the last three months, as they have opposed all my previous reforms, which will save more than £5 billion by the end of the century and more than £15 billion in the longer term.
Mr. Harry Greenway:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what effect he estimates his social security reforms will have had on public spending by the year 2050 in 1994-95 prices. [9472]
Mr. Burt:
The major reforms announced in the last three years are expected to reduce public spending by about £15 billion per year in the longer term. It is estimated that this long-run figure will be reached by around 2030.
18. Dr. Goodson-Wickes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what measures he is assessing to combat fraud; and if he will make a statement. [8807]
Mr. Heald:
I refer the hon. Member to the oral answer that I gave earlier today to my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Lady Olga Maitland).
19. Mr. Win Griffiths :
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases are being dealt with by the CSA. [8808]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The Child Support Agency is currently working on 833,000 cases.
21. Mr. William O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals he has to review the current operation of the Child Support Agency; and if he will make a statement. [8811]
Mr. Mitchell:
The performance of the Child Support Agency is continually reviewed against agreed targets.
Mr. O'Brien:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the co-operation of the Child Support Agency with the parliamentary commissioner in his investigation into the working of the agency. [9541]
Mr. Mitchell:
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Mr. William O'Brien, dated 22 January 1996:
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Mr. Mitchell:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 11 January 1995, Official Report, column 324.
Service availability of the Child Support Agency's operational accounting system is recorded and reported on a weekly basis.
Information was given for the whole of the period since the system went live. The answer states that there has been 100 per cent. availability except for the 17 weeks tabulated. The table shows the availability in those 17 weeks.
Before 7 June 1994, the CSA obtained management information either clerically, or by special scans of the child support computer system database.
20. Mr. Spring:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the aggregate level of funded pension schemes in the United Kingdom; and what is the level in other EU countries. [8809]
Mr. Heald:
In 1993, the total value of funds in funded pension schemes in the United Kingdom was nearly £600 billion. This is substantially more than the latest estimate of £480 billion for all the other countries in the European Union.
23. Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the current cost of income support. [8813]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The estimated cost of income support is £16 billion for the current year.
24. Mr. Roy Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consideration he has given to relating the state pension to the inflation rate and average earnings. [8814]
Mr. Heald:
I have no plans to change the current legislation, which provides for the annual uprating of the state pension in line with the rise in prices.
23 Jan 1996 : Column: 217
26. Mr. McAllion:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the percentage of people who bought appropriate pensions in 1987-88 who have made full rebate contributions in each subsequent year. [8817]
Mr. Heald:
Nearly half the people who started an appropriate personal pension with effect from 1987-88 have received a rebate of contributions in each year up to 1992-93, the latest year for which figures are available. Approximately 80 per cent. of those people who took out an appropriate personal pension with effect from 1987-88 and who still held it in 1992-93 received rebates for at least four of the six years involved.
27. Sir Sydney Chapman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost of all social security benefits paid out in 1978-79; what is the estimated outturn this financial year; and what is the relationship between these figures after allowing for inflation. [8818]
Mr. Lilley:
Spending this year is estimated to be £87.1 billion compared to £49.2 billion in 1978-79, in today's prices. This represents average real growth of 3 per cent. a year over the period.
Mr. Wicks:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list, for each week since 1 December 1995, for each Benefits Agency area, (a) the average minimum daily temperature, (b) if cold weather payments were triggered and (c) how many people received payments. [9623]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The administration of the social fund is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency co-operation with the Parliamentary Commissioner.
All Agencies of the Department of Social Security (DSS) liaise with the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA) through the Department's DSS PCA Focal Point. The Child Support Agency has a dedicated PCA Unit which deals with all complaints and correspondence with the PCA. This PCA Unit works closely with colleagues at the DSS PCA Focal Point.
In addition to the PCA Select Committee's strict and short deadlines for Departments to respond to new complaints referred by the PCA, the DSS is the only Department to have additional agreed
deadlines with the PCA for the other stages of his investigation process. Since its inception the Child Support Agency has met all the deadlines on all the cases referred to it.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 11 January, Official Report, column 324, on computer services, on what basis the Child Support Agency's operational accounting system records the amount of down time; what factors led him to give information for only 17 weeks; what has been the amount of down time up to the present for each week since 7 June 1994; and what procedures were in place to carry out the tasks carried out by the operational accounting system before 7 June 1994. [10357]
The Agency (and the Department) has a very clear policy in its dealings with the PCA: if mistakes have been made, this is explained clearly and objectively to the PCA and appropriate apologies given.
The PCA has previously commented to the PCA Select Committee that he has very good liaison with the DSS and singled out the work of the Department, through the offices of the Focal Point, for their excellent work.
I hope this is helpful.
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