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Employees (Data-matching Exercise)
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many employees (a) were discovered to be involved in breaches of confidence and illegal benefit claims and (b) have subsequently faced (i) dismissal and (ii) disciplinary action in the data-matching exercise on employees in his Department in November 1995; and what evaluation his Department will undertake of the exercise. [10834]
Mr. Burt: No such data-matching exercise has taken place. The Department has in place effective security measures to reduce the risk of internal fraud, and to identify and deal with it if it occurs.
Housing Benefit Fraud
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate his Department has made of the level of housing benefit fraud which is organised internally within local authorities; and what guidance, instructions and financial incentives his Department provided to local authorities to minimise organised housing benefit fraud. [10831]
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Mr. Roger Evans:
Local authorities, as employers and the bodies responsible for housing benefit administration, must take action against benefit fraud by their own employees. The information requested about such fraud is not collected centrally.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps his Department are taking to monitor the precision with which the all-work tests for incapacity benefit are conducted. [11187]
Mr. Burt:
We continue to monitor closely all stages of the all-work test to ensure that it is operating as intended.
Medical examinations conducted as part of the all-work test for incapacity benefit are undertaken by fully qualified medical practitioners, recruited and trained by the Benefits Agency to an approved standard. The standard is maintained through continuous quality monitoring supported by sampling exercises, annual review of individual performance and careful monitoring of any complaints and appropriate remedial action where necessary.
The standard of adjudication decisions on incapacity benefit is monitored routinely by the chief adjudication officer and his staff, and a special sampling exercise has been conducted to examine a higher proportion of cases following introduction of the benefit.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals against the all-work medical test for incapacity benefit have resulted in a tribunal decision; and in how many cases the original decision was upheld. [11186]
Mr. Burt:
Up to 30 November 1995, 993 appeals against the all-work test for incapacity benefit resulted in a tribunal decision. The original decision was upheld in 525 cases.
Mr. Denham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to give couples considering (a) divorce and (b) judicial separation
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information about their state earnings-related pension scheme rights. [11633]
Mr. Heald:
Currently, anyone who thinks that he or she may have SERPS entitlement rights can apply to the Benefit Agency's retirement pension forecasting and advice unit--RPFA--for a forecast of his or her retirement pension position. This will include details of his or her potential SERPS entitlement.
In order to facilitate the operation of the measures in section 166 and section 167 of the Pensions Act 1995, the Department is currently considering the feasibility of the RPFA providing a valuation of SERPS entitlement for the purposes of divorce and judicial separation.
Dr. Twinn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have applied for disability living allowance due to the loss of a finger or thumb or the loss of the use of a finger or thumb; and how many have been awarded disability living allowance with this condition. [11724]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The information requested is not available.
Mr. McMaster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what powers local authorities that operate contents insurance schemes for the tenants of their housing stock have to make deductions from housing benefit to cover the premiums of claimants who (a) participate and (b) are eligible to participate in such schemes; what guidelines he issues to local authorities on such matters; and if he will make a statement. [12221]
Mr. Roger Evans:
Local authorities are required to adjust the rent eligible for housing benefit to reflect the cost of any ineligible services, such as contents insurance, included in the rent. This Department's guidance makes it clear that this duty applies even where the charge is not specified or separately identified. There is no need to adjust housing benefit where people who are eligible to participate in such schemes choose not to do so.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of his Department's expenditure on newspapers and magazines in (a) 1993-94, (b) 1994-95 and (c) 1995-96 to date; and if he will list the publications purchased for the latest year for which information is available. [11530]
Mr. Burt:
The available information on expenditure is in the table. In addition, local offices of the Department's agencies may subscribe to local or specialist publications, details of which are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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| Year | Amount £ |
|---|---|
| 1993-94 | 25,707 |
| 1994-95 | 29,041 |
| 1995-96 (up to end of December 1995) | 23,451 |
Publications currently purchased include:
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Accountancy Age
Benchmarking
Blesmag
Campaign
Caterer and Hotel Keeper
Certified Accounting
Community Care
Computer Weekly
Consult
Customer Service Manager
Daily Mail
Daily Telegraph
Daily Express
Daily Mirror
Daily Record
Daily Star
Economist
Euromoney
European
Evening Chronicle
Evening Standard
Financial Times
Gee's Pay Monthly
Guardian
Handelblatt
Health Service Journal
Independent
Internet
Investors Chronicle
IR Tax Bulletin
Le Monde
Mail on Sunday
Management Accounting
Managing Service Quality
Money Marketing
Morning Star
Nature
New Scientist
New Statesman
New of the World
Northern Echo
Nursing Times
Observer
Pay Advice
Mr. Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the expenditure of his Department, his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies on all forms of overseas travel, overseas accommodation and other associated expenses for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95, (f) 1995-96 and (g) 1996-97. [11529]
Payroll Managers Review
Payroll News
Pensions Management
PR Weekly
Private Eye
Scotland on Sunday
Spectator
Sun
Sunday People
Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Express
Sunday Sun
Sunday Mirror
Tax Journal
Taxation Practitioner
The Journal
The Bullet Point
The Big Issue
The Herald
Times
Wall Street Journal
Watsons
Weekly Guardian
West Lancashire Evening Gazette
Word Processing
Word Perfect
Mr. Burt:
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
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| Year | Cost |
|---|---|
| £ | |
| 1989-90 | 224,884 |
| 1991-92 | 429,013 |
| 1993-94 | 348,152 |
| 1994-95 | 389,610 |
| 1995-96 | 316,617 |
1. Figures for 1979-80 are not available.
2. Figures for 1995-96 are estimated.
3. Detailed spending plans for 1996-97 are yet to be finalised.
Mr. Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of his Department's expenditure on administration for (a) 1979--80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95, (f) 1995-96 and (g) 1996-97. [11527]
Mr. Burt: The information is in the table:
| Year | Cost |
|---|---|
| £ million | |
| 1979-80 | 837 |
| 1989-90 | 2,765 |
| 1991-92 | 3,470 |
| 1993-94 | 4,176 |
| 1994-95 | 4,223 |
| 1995-96 | 4,225 |
| 1996-97 | 4,207 |
Source:
Government's Expenditure Plans 1985-86--1987-88.
Social Security Departmental Report, 1995-96--1997-98.
Mr. Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of expenditure on all forms of hospitality and entertainment by (a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies, for (i) 1979-80, (ii) 1989-90, (iii) 1991-92, (iv) 1993-94, (v) 1994-95, (vi) 1995-96 and (vii) 1996-97. [11526]
Mr. Burt:
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table:
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| 1989-90 £ | 1991-92 £ | 1993-94 £ | 1994-95 £ | (34)1995-96 £ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department | 25,477 | 54,036 | 38,525 | 40,492 | 19,313 |
| Agencies | 163 | 37,898 | 125,944 | 86,647 | 86,925 |
| Non-departmental public bodies(35) | -- | -- | -- | -- | 400 |
(34) Estimated outturn.
(35) Prior to 1995-96 NDPB figures are subsumed within category (a).
No information is available for 1979-80 and NDPB expenditure is not separately identifiable before 1995-96. However, because DSS NDPBs are on-Vote NDPBs, their expenditure is subsumed within the Departmental figures provided.
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