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Student Loans
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education and Employment regarding the link between student loans and social security payments. [26853]
Mr. Roger Evans: Departmental officials and those from the Department for Education and Employment have regular discussions regarding the interaction of the educational maintenance system and social security benefits.
Mr. Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) under what circumstances student loans are counted as income when applying for social security benefits; [26850]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the link between student loans and social security benefits. [26852]
Mr. Evans: The majority of full-time students are not eligible for income-related social security benefits, although students in vulnerable groups--disabled students and those with dependent children--and partners of students do retain eligibility.
Student loans are taken into account as income for social security benefit purposes, subject to a £10 weekly disregard. Any student loan not taken out, but which would be available to a student if he or she took reasonable steps to acquire it, is treated in the same way.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in receipt of student loans are in receipt also of social security payments; and which social security payments they are in receipt of. [26854]
Mr. Evans:
The information is not available.
Mr. Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security under what circumstances student loans are taken into account when applying for council tax
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rebates; and if he will make a statement on the link between student loans and forms of assistance with housing needs. [26849]
Mr. Evans:
The majority of full-time students are not eligible for income-related social security benefits, including council tax benefit. This applies equally to housing benefit and housing costs met by income support. However, students in vulnerable groups--disabled and those with dependent children--and partners of students retain eligibility for these benefits.
Students loans are taken into account as income for council tax benefit, housing benefit and income support purposes, subject to a £10 weekly disregard. Any student loan not taken out, but which would be available to a student if he or she took reasonable steps to acquire it, is treated in the same way.
Ms Jowell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security for how many women child benefit was the only source of independent income for each year since 1990. [26763]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The figures from 1990 to 1993, the latest year for which information is available, are in the table. Estimates are based on the family expenditure survey. Independent income is interpreted as any income recorded and attributed to the individual on the FES. It is uncertain how individuals will record and attribute between themselves particular types of income--for example, income from benefits or investments--and whether treatment will be consistent over time. Therefore conclusions based on year-on-year comparisons must be drawn with caution.
| Year | Number of women |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 845,000 |
| 1991 | 855,000 |
| 1992 | 930,000 |
| 1993 | 785,000 |
Notes:
1. Independent income excludes benefit paid in respect of local taxes--rate rebates, community charge benefit, council tax benefit.
2. Estimates are based on the family expenditure survey for the United Kingdom and are rounded to the nearest 5,000.
War Pension Disregards
Mr. Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the cost of disregarding the total of war disablement pensions and war widows' pensions for (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit calculations. [27177]
Mr. Heald: A broad estimate of the cost of fully disregarding war disablement pensions and war widows' pensions is (a) £45 million in housing benefit and (b) £15 million in council tax benefit.
Notes. 1. Estimates are based upon the May 1994 income support quarterly statistical inquiry and the 1991, 1992 and 1993 family expenditure survey uprated to 1996-97 levels.
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- 2. In compiling these estimates, expenditure has been rounded, wherever appropriate, to the nearest £5 million.
3. Estimates are broad order estimates only, due to a lack of comprehensive data.
Mr. Heald: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
EU Directives
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the directives which have affected his Department in each of the past three years and (a) the United Kingdom legislation introduced as a result of the directives, (b) the United Kingdom legislation which goes beyond the minimum standards set out in the directives and (c) the clauses within each piece of United Kingdom legislation which amplify the minimum standards set out in the directives. [27082]
Mr. Burt: The only directive that has affected this Department in the past three years is the directive on the protection of pregnant women at work--92/85/EEC. This required changes to the UK's maternity benefits schemes for employed women. The changes were introduced for women expecting babies on or after 16 October 1994.
The Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 introduced the right to 14 weeks' maternity leave. Following a period of consultation, which allowed all sides of industry, interest groups and individuals to comment on the Government's proposals on maternity pay, the following legislation was introduced.
Regulation 2 of SI 1994/1230 increased the rate of maternity allowance for employees for the whole 18-week maternity allowance period rather than the minimum 14-week leave period specified in the directive.
Regulation 4 of SI 1994/1230 extended the higher rate of statutory maternity pay--90 per cent. of earnings for the first six weeks of maternity leave--to all women who have completed 26 weeks' continuous service with their employer at the qualifying week. Previously, women had to complete at least two years' service to get the higher rate. The directive required a qualifying period of no more than 37 weeks. The regulation also has the effect of increasing the lower rate of statutory maternity pay for the remaining 12 weeks of the maternity period, rather than eight weeks required by the directive.
Restricting the changes to the minimum required by the directive would have complicated the scheme and made it harder to understand. Employers supported simplification
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over the marginal extra cost. As a result, the changes were more beneficial to women and eased the administrative burden for business.
Mr. Timms:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security with reference to his answer of 21 April 1995, Official Report, column 314, if he will continue to publish on a monthly basis the numbers of people refused income support because of the habitual residence requirement, in the same form as before, for the year 1996-97. [27179]
Mr. Timms:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were refused income support due to the habitual residence requirement (a) in March 1996, (b) in February 1996 and (c) since its inception; and how many of these were (i) British nationals, (ii) European Economic Area nationals and (iii) others. [27157]
There were two clauses which amplified the minimum standards set out in the directive.
SI 1994/1230: The Maternity Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay Regulations 1994 made on 3 May 1994 amending primary legislation to enable changes to be made.
SI 1994/1367: The Social Security Maternity Benefits and Statutory Sick Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1994 made on 11 June 1994 covering the detail of the changes.
| February 1996 | March 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| EEA national--pass | 685 | 622 |
| EEA national--fail | 650 | 542 |
| British citizen--pass | 4,883 | 4,506 |
| British citizen--fail | 646 | 546 |
| Other--pass | 678 | 656 |
| Other--fail | 551 | 647 |
| Numbers | |
|---|---|
| EEA national--pass | 14,000 |
| EEA national--fail | 14,032 |
| British citizen--pass | 95,973 |
| British citizen--fail | 9,738 |
| Other--pass | 15,616 |
| Other--fail | 15,948 |
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