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SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits Statistics
Mr. Chris Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals are currently in receipt of payments from the Benefits Agency. [15432]
Mr. Roger Evans: This administration of benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Chris Davies, dated 26 February 1996:
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Notes:
1. Figures are provisional and subject to change.
2. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Some people receive more than one benefit and the extent of the overlap cannot easily be quantified.
4. The information has been provided for the year 1994-95, with the exception of Industrial Disablement Benefit, Reduced Earnings Allowance/RA which is 1993-94.
5. Information in this table has been collected in March each year, with the following exceptions: Income Support in February; Sickness Benefit, Invalidity Benefit, Severe Disability Allowance, Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and Reduced Earnings Allowance/RA in March/April and Industrial Death Benefit in December.
6. Invalidity Benefit and Sickness Benefit were replaced by Incapacity Benefit from 13 April 1995.
Source
Analytical Services Division of DSS.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many individuals are currently in receipt of payments from the Benefits Agency.
The information is not available in the form requested as a customer may be in receipt of more than one benefit at any time.
Annex A gives details of the number of recipients of the different benefits, administered by the BA. This information which is updated annually is available in the Library.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Benefit Number of recipients (thousands)
Attendance Allowance 1,050
Child Benefit 7,000
Disability Living Allowance 1,512
Disability Working Allowance 5
Family Credit 602
Income Support 5,751
Invalidity Benefit 1,857
Invalid Care Allowance 285
Industrial Death Benefit 21
Industrial Disablement Benefit 223
Maternity Allowance 15
Non-Contributory Retirement Pension 27
One Parent Benefit 949
Reduced Earnings Allowance/RA 151
Retirement Pension 10,149
Severe Disability Allowance 342
Sickness Benefit 141
Widows Benefit 290
Benefits Agency (Costs)
Mr. Chris Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what amount is spent annually by the Benefits Agency on (a) postage, (b) stationery and (c) printing. [15433]
Mr. Roger Evans: This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Chris Davies, dated 26 February 1996:
27 Feb 1996 : Column: 522
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what amount is spent annually by the Benefits Agency on (a) postage, (b) stationery and (c) printing.
The information requested is not available in the form requested. The Agency accounting systems do not separate the individual costs of stationery from printing. The figure for stationery and printing also includes the cost of the small local office requisites.
The Figures below are for the financial year 1994/95, the last full year for which figures are available:-
Postage:
For despatch of payments: £43.019 million
Other postage costs: £20.230 million
Stationery and Printing £51.034 million
These figures are provisional and subject to change.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department which are subject to (a) investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner, (b) scrutiny by the Audit Commission, (c) scrutiny by the National Audit Office, (d) statutory provisions for open government, (e) performance indicators and (f) provisions under the citizens charter. [16022]
Mr. Heald: The Occupational Pensions Board is the only executive non-departmental public body sponsored by this Department. It is:
(a) subject to the investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (PCA);
(b) not subject to scrutiny by the Audit Commission;
(c) subject to scrutiny by the National Audit Office, under the National Audit Act 1983;
(d) subject to the statutory provisions for open government;
(e) not subject to published performance indicators;
(f) committed to the principles of the citizens charter.
Dr. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which of the executive non-departmental public bodies sponsored by his Department publish (a) annual reports, (b) annual accounts, (c) the minutes of meetings, (d) the agendas of meetings and (e) a register of members' interests, indicating in each case if this is (i) under a statutory requirement or (ii) voluntary. [16818]
Mr. Heald: The Occupational Pensions Board is the only executive non-departmental public body sponsored by this Department. It does not publish: annual reports; annual accounts; minutes, or agendas, of meetings. It has voluntarily compiled a register of members' interests which is available for public inspection.
Earnings
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he has taken legal advice as to whether the different benefits available to those earning above or below the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions contravene European law on sex discrimination; and if he will make a statement; [16621]
- (2) if he will list the benefits available only to those earning above the lower earnings limit for national insurance contributions. [16620]
Mr. Heald:
The benefits available to people who have paid sufficient class 1 national insurance contributions are set out in section 21(2) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992. Statutory sick pay and statutory maternity pay are also available to employees who have earnings at or above the lower earnings limit and meet the other qualifying conditions. Employees with earnings below that limit are not liable
27 Feb 1996 : Column: 523
to pay class 1 contributions, but they can pay voluntary class 3 contributions which count towards retirement pension and widow's benefits. In the light of the recent judgment by the European Court of Justice in the case of Inge Nolte v. Landesversicherungsansstalt Hannover (C317/93)), we consider that a lower earnings limit for payment of class 1 contributions is not incompatible with the principle of equal treatment between men and women in matters of social security.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances a deduction from earnings order is imposed by the Child Support Agency. [16388]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
Deductions from earnings orders are used only as a last resort. They are an important method for securing compliance where it has not proved possible to get absent parents to pay maintenance fully and regularly. Nearly 38,000 deductions from earnings orders have been issued since April 1995. This is a significant increase on the 1994-95 total of 32,027.
Mr. Hanson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what was the total amount paid in each year since 1991 in respect of cold weather payments in each Welsh county; [17047]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is contained in the social fund statistical series--cold weather payments by district offices--held in the statistical section of the Library.
Mr. Hanson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will undertake a review of weather stations used to monitor payments for cold weather payments for Wales. [17060]
Mr. Evans:
The operation of the cold weather payments scheme is reviewed with the Meteorological Office after the end of March each year. In particular, links between weather stations and postcode areas are reviewed and where appropriate, changes are made.
(2) what was the total amount paid in each parliamentary constituency in Clwyd in respect of cold weather payments in each year since 1991. [17045]
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