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Royal Residences
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage, pursuant to her answer of 17 January, Official Report, column 626, which members of the royal family occupy each of the royal residences listed. [14891]
Mr. Sproat [holding answer 12 February 1996]: Members of the royal family have apartments or residences at each palace as follows:
Buckingham Palace
Her Majesty the Queen
Kensington Palace
The Princess of Wales
The Princess Margaret
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester
The Prince and Princess Michael of Kent
St James's Palace
The Prince of Wales
The Duke and Duchess of Kent
Princess Alexandra
Clarence House
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Windsor Castle
Her Majesty the Queen.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Earnings Statistics
Mr. Frank Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Preston (Mrs. Wise) of 22 January, Official Report, column 105, if he will list the latest new earnings survey figure for the number of people working up to 29 hours a week earning less than each of the family
13 Feb 1996 : Column: 548
credit ceilings for households of different composition working between 16 and 29 hours per week; and if he will present similar data for those people working about 30 hours per week using the eligibility level for family credit which were applicable for the year during which the earnings survey was carried out. [12735]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.
| Working 19-29 hours | Working 30 hours or more | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family type | Family credit ceiling (£s per week gross) | Percentage with earnings below threshold | Family credit ceiling (£s per week gross) | Percentage with earnings below threshold |
| Family with one child under 5 | 190.00 | 79.4 | 212.00 | 27.7 |
| Family with two children under 11 | 215.00 | 82.4 | 237.00 | 36.1 |
| Family with two children 11-15 | 248.00 | 84.5 | 270.00 | 43.9 |
| Family with three children under 11 | 240.00 | 85.0 | 262.00 | 46.2 |
| Family with three children | ||||
| 11-15 | 289.50 | 87.6 | 311.00 | 57.5 |
| Family with two children under 11 and two 11-15 | 298.00 | 87.9 | 320.00 | 59.6 |
Notes:
1. Family credit ceilings are 1995-96 and are based on the highest amount of net earnings a family can have and still qualify for family credit at the minimum payment of 50p.
2. Net family credit ceilings have been converted to gross earnings to allow comparison with New Earnings Survey data. In this conversion it has been assumed that tax allowances are equal to those of a married person.
3. Percentages relate to all employees in the categories concerned, irrespective of household composition, whose pay for the survey period was unaffected by absence.
Source:
New Earnings Survey 1995 (GB).
13 Feb 1996 : Column: 549
Tribunals (Merthyr Tydfil)
Mr. Rowlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what estimate he has made of the number of cases dealt with by local tribunals sitting in Merthyr Tydfil in 1995; [13370]
(2) what estimate his Department has made of the travelling costs of staff and appellants to local tribunal hearings at Merthyr Tydfil in 1995; [13372]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of cases heard at local tribunals in Merthyr Tydfil in 1995 which required the presence of a member of staff from the local social security office; and in how many cases appellants were represented by the Merthyr citizens advice bureau. [13371]
Mr. Roger Evans: The information required is set out in the table.
| Cases heard 1995 | Average travelling costs for staff per session(18) | Average travelling costs paid to appellants per session(18) | Hearings attended by DSS staff | Appellants represented by Merthyr CAB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |||
| 293 | 31.00--ITS 6.02--DSS | 14.48 | 293 | 49 |
Abbreviations:
ITS--Independent Tribunal Service.
DSS--Department of Social Security.
CAB--Citizens Advice Bureau.
Notes:
(18) An average of five appeals are heard at each session.
War Widows
Sir Dudley Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many war widows, widowed for a second time, divorced or legally separated (a) have had and (b) are waiting to have the pension restored to them; and what action he is taking to ensure that the restoration programme is being expeditiously implemented. [13578]
Mr. Heald: These are matters for Mr. Kevin Caldwell, the chief executive of the War Pensions Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from K. C. Caldwell to Sir Dudley Smith, dated 13 February 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about restored War Widows Pensions.
As at 2 February 1996, 12,430 claims have been received of which 7,394 have been notified and had payment arranged. To date 85 have been rejected and 4,951 remain to be decided.
We have created a special section, and have recently allocated and trained an additional 12 staff (making a total of 57) to ensure that by the end of March we will have notified all those from whom we now have claims of the results of their claims and, where appropriate, made arrangements for payment.
I hope this is helpful.
Laryngectomy Patients
Ms Walley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for disability living and mobility allowance there have been from patients who have had laryngectomies; and what percentage of these applications have been successful. [14049]
13 Feb 1996 : Column: 550
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The precise information requested is not available. Successful claims for disability living allowance are recorded by type of disability. Between March 1993 and November 1995, some 63,000 awards were recorded under the category of malignant diseases, some of which may have involved laryngectomies.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 31 January, Official Report, column 835, on benefit savings due to parents with care ceasing to claim income support prior to 1993-94 what was the precise number of weeks used for the multiplier based on the average anticipated duration for benefit claims. [14268]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
Twenty-one.
Mr. Steinberg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants of income support are currently having money deducted from their benefit to pay back loans from the social fund; and what is the average weekly repayment per borrower. [14516]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The latest available information is set out in the table.
| Date | Number of income support claimants who have Social Fund repayments deducted | Average weekly payment £ |
|---|---|---|
| February 1995 | (19)675,000 | 6.43 |
Note:
(19) The figure provided has been rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry February 1995.
Disability (Access Groups)
Mr. Alfred Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when the Minister for Disabled People or his predecessor last met (a) the Access Committee for England and (b) any of the 400 local access groups; what replies have been given to concerns raised at those meetings; and if he will make a statement on the committee's achievements. [14138]
Mr. Burt: My predecessor, now the Secretary of State for Wales, met the Access Committee for England on 14 June 1995.
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