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Maxwell Pension Scheme
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guarantees the Maxwell pension scheme has given to him that there will be no pension holidays before the repayment of the state scheme premiums owed to the Exchequer. [12527]
Mr. Heald:
All Maxwell pension schemes which owe state scheme premiums have commenced winding up and have no active members. The question of pension holidays for these schemes does not therefore arise.
30 Jan 1996 : Column: 744
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the annual cost to his Department, his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies of their empty and under-utilised properties for (a) 1979-80, (b) 1989-90, (c) 1991-92, (d) 1993-94, (e) 1994-95, (f) 1995-96 and (g) 1996-97. [11528]
Mr. Burt:
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
30 Jan 1996 : Column: 745
| Year | Vacant or under-utilised properties | Cost £000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | Minimal | Minimal |
| 1989-90 | Minimal | Minimal |
| 1991-92 | Minimal | Minimal |
| 1993-94 | Minimal | Minimal |
| 1994-95 | 8,830m(37) | 420 |
| 1995-96 | 8,830m(37) | 1,682 |
| 1996-97 | 131,593m(37) | 15,500 |
(37)Providing the information for each executive agency and non-departmental public body could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
In response to the information required regarding the current and past financial years in respect of properties on the common user (office) estate, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.
Child Rearing Costs
Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 23 January, Official Report, column 213, if he will cite the evidence which is available on the relative costs of bringing up children by lone parents and by couples; and if he will place copies of the evidence in the Library. [12457]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: Extensive research has been carried out on the costs of children. A list of the published research findings includes:
Bayley, R. et al (Ed), (1995), Policies for families: work, poverty and resources, London, Family Policy Studies Centre.
Bradshaw J., (1993) Household Budgets and Living Standards, York; Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Bradshaw, J., and Morgan, J., (1987), Budgeting on Benefit: The consumption of families on Social Security, London, Family Policy Studies Centre.
Buck, N. et al, (1994), Changing Households: The British Household Panel Study 1990-1992, ESRC, Colchester.
Dickens, R. et al, (1995), The cost of children and the welfare state, Social Policy Research Findings, December 1995, York, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Family Policy Studies Centre, (1995), Children in Britain, Family Report 2, London, Family Policy Studies Centre.
Field, F., (1985), What price a child? A historical review of the relative cost of dependants, London, Policy Studies Institute.
Ford, R., Marsh, A. and McKay, S., (1995), Changes in Lone Parenthood 1989 to 1993, DSS Research Series, Report no. 40, London, HMSO.
Marsh, A. and McKay, S., (1993), Families, Work and the Use of Childcare, Employment Gazette, August.
Middleton, S. et al, (1994), Family Fortunes, London, Child Poverty Action Group.
Oldfield, N., and Yu, A., (1993) The Cost of a Child, London, Child Poverty Action Group.
Oppenheim, C., (1990), The Cost of Child, London, Child Poverty Action Group.
30 Jan 1996 : Column: 746
Oppenheim C., (1993), Poverty: The Facts, London, Child Poverty Action Group.
Piachaud, D., (1979), The Cost of a Child: A modern minimum, London, Child Poverty Action Group.
Roll, J., (1986), Babies and money: birth trends and costs, London, Family Policy Studies Centre.
Walker, R. et al, (1993), Mostly on the children, Working Paper 218, Centre for Research in Social Policy, University of Loughborough.
Child Care Disregard
Mr. Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants who have benefited from the child care disregard have child care costs of (a) between £40 and £60 per week and (b) over £60 per week. [12528]
Mr. Roger Evans: As at 30 September 1995, approximately 5,000 families receiving family credit had child care charges of between £40 and £60 a week, and a further 2,000 had child care charges of over £60 per week. Source: 5 per cent. sample of family credit awards as at 30 September 1995.
Mr. Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants have benefited from the child care disregard in family credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit. [12530]
Mr. Evans: As at 30 September 1995, approximately 21,000 families were benefiting from help with child care charges in family credit. Information on families receiving help through housing benefit and council tax benefit will not be available until later this year. Source: 5 per cent. sample of family credit awards as at 30 September 1995.
Housing Benefit Fraud Review
Mr. Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the statistical basis on which Cardiff was placed in a list of declining industrial towns and cities in the recent housing benefit fraud review. [12571]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The classification of local authorities used in the report of the housing benefit review was defined in terms of a comprehensive set of 37 social and economic variables drawn from the 1991 census to make the places in each of six types similar to each other while making each type clearly distinct from the others. Unfortunately, the description of the group including Cardiff was so abbreviated as to be inappropriate and misleading. The report has been amended to describe that group as "Ex-mining and industrial towns and other cities" and an apology has been sent to Cardiff and the other places affected.
Executive Agencies (Overseas Travel)
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each of his executive agencies
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for the last financial year in respect of overseas travel by staff of the agency (a) the cost, (b) the countries visited and (c) the posts held by the staff involved. [2357]
Mr. Burt
[pursuant to his reply, 7 December 1995, c. 378]: The information that I gave regarding the cost of overseas travel within the Department's executive agencies was incorrect. The correct information is as follows:
| Agency | Cost |
|---|---|
| £ | |
| Benefits Agency | 113,266 |
| Child Support Agency | 9,584 |
| Resettlement Agency | nil |
| Contributions Agency | 15,040 |
| War Pensions Agency | 3,975 |
| Information Technology Services Agency | 56,364 |
The principal countries visited were:
Republic of Ireland
Belgium
France
Germany
USA
The Netherlands
Luxembourg
Italy
Australia
Switzerland.
30 Jan 1996 : Column: 748
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Delegated Legislation
Mr. Hanson: To ask the Lord President of the Council if he will list the number of statutory instruments considered by the House in each parliamentary Session from 1974 to date. [10768]
Mr. Newton: The figures for the numbers of statutory instruments considered by the House, in Standing Committee and on the Floor of the House, for each Session since 1974 are as follows:
| Standing Committee | Floor of the House | |
|---|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 126 | 81 |
| 1993-94 | 69 | 88 |
| 1992-93 | 199 | 82 |
| 1991-92 | 60 | 42 |
| 1990-91 | 139 | 48 |
| 1989-90 | 114 | 56 |
| 1988-89 | 117 | 68 |
| 1987-88 | 156 | 99 |
| 1986-87 | 69 | 68 |
| 1985-86 | 97 | 83 |
| 1984-85 | 100 | 106 |
| 1983-84 | 96 | 147 |
| 1982-83 | 70 | 53 |
| 1981-82 | 80 | 99 |
| 1980-81 | 62 | 109 |
| 1979-80 | 131 | 126 |
| 1978-79 | 70 | 48 |
| 1977-78 | 138 | 65 |
| 1976-77 | 126 | 72 |
| 1975-76 | 96 | 92 |
| 1974-75 | 101 | 67 |
| 1974 | 38 | 33 |