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Reduced Earnings Allowance
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is Her Majesty's Government's policy in respect of the decision of the tribunal in Cardiff on 22 October in the Brunker case, with particular reference to the implications for other cases of withdrawal of reduced earnings allowance; and if he will make a statement. [5383]
Mr. Roger Evans: I am unable to comment on individual cases. Claims to social security benefits are decided by independent adjudication authorities who are bound by the provisions of the Acts and Regulations as approved by Parliament.
I understand that the commissioner has granted the adjudication officer leave to appeal on a point of law against similar tribunal decisions involving transfer from reduced earnings allowance to retirement allowance.
Benefits Agency (Wales)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will instruct the Benefits Agency not to pursue the proposals recently published for the restructuring of the agency's offices in Wales until after the next general election. [5331]
Mr. Roger Evans: The proposals for restructuring Benefits Agency operations in Wales are subject to full public consultation. No decision on implementation will be taken until after the consultation period has ended on 28 February 1997.
Mr. Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much has been spent in modernising the (a) Morriston, (b) Port Talbot, (c) Pembroke Dock, (d) Carmarthen, (e) Holyhead, (f) Llangefri, (g) Caernarfon (h) Rhyl, (i) Deeside, (j) Dolgellau, (k) Cwmbran, (l) Tonypandy, (m) Porth,
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(n) Caerphilly and (o) Barry Benefits Agency offices (i) in total and (ii) per office since the inception of the Benefits Agency. [5113]
Mr. Evans: This is an operational matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Donald Anderson, dated 27 November 1996:
Figures are provisional and subject to change.
These amounts exclude general maintenance.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much has been spent in modernising the (a) Morriston, (b) Port Talbot, (c) Pembroke Dock, (d) Carmarthen, (e) Holyhead, (f) Llangefri, (g) Caernarfon, (h) Rhyl, (i) Deeside, (j) Dolgellau, (k) Cwmbran, (l) Tonypandy, (m) Porth, (n) Caerphilly and (o) Barry benefit agency offices (i) in total and (ii) per office.
The total amount spent, in the last four financial years, on modernising the following buildings is £5,495,872, excluding general maintenance. This is broken down as follows:
£ (a) Morriston 543,630
(b) Port Talbot 495,427
(c) Pembroke Dock 80,577
(d) Carmarthen 252,184
(e) Holyhead 81,525
(f) Llangefri 465,517
(g) Caernarfon 175,402
(h) Rhyl 385,246
(i) Deeside 0
(j) Dollgellau 0
(k) Cwmbran 903,239
(l) Tonypandy 489,094
(m) Porth 561,179
(n) Caerphilly 892,483
(o) Barry 170,369
Income Support
Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what factors account for the fall in the take-up of income support amongst eligible pensioners between the years 1993-94 and 1994-95; and what policies are being adopted by his Department to address this matter.[5667]
Mr. Roger Evans: It is not possible to identify separately all contributory factors. Pensioner take-up may be expected to change up or down from year to year in response to small changes in the relative sizes of income support and retirement pension at each annual uprating. Between 1993-94 and 1994-95 income support was uprated by slightly more than retirement pensions. This meant that some pensioners became entitled to small amounts of income support, which may have been left unclaimed. Research has shown that people are more likely to leave unclaimed small amounts of benefit; in 1994-95, 30 per cent. of pensioners appearing as entitled non-recipients in the survey were leaving unclaimed amounts less than £5.
The Benefits Agency provides information which is comprehensive, accurate, accessible and easily understood which enables people to establish their eligibility. The DSS, including its agencies, is spending nearly £9 million
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on publicity in the current financial year. The claiming of benefit is a matter of personal choice and there will always be those who choose not to make a claim. The important point is that a wide range of benefits are available for those who do wish to do so.
Mr. Betts:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many Child Support Agency cases are being investigated for overpayment which have been outstanding for (a) one month, (b) two months, (c) three months and (d) six months; and what are the total sums of money involved in each of these categories. [6089]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The information is not available.
Each time a maintenance assessment is reviewed, liability will change and an over or under payment of maintenance may occur.
Sir Dudley Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cases the Child Support Agency is considering at the present time, where a man owes more than £3,000 of maintenance and arrears and has paid less than £50 in four years. [4124]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Miss Ann Chant. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Ann Chant to Sir Dudley Smith, dated 27 November 1996:
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency maintenance and arrears.
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Mr. Donohoe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library a copy of the detailed ruling by the High Court in respect of the case between his Department and Paul Sutherland in London on 7 November. [6390]
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library a copy of the comments he received from the president of the Independent Tribunal Service on the draft Social Security (Adjudication) and Child Support Amendment (Number 2) Regulations 1996. [6429]
Mrs. Roche:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women are currently employed by his Department at each civil service grade. [6431]
The information you have asked for is not available in precisely the format that you have requested, so I have provided as much as I can. The Agency does not differentiate between the cases it deals with on a gender basis, and I am therefore unable to provide the figures for men who owe more than £3,000 in maintenance. At 31 October 1996, the total number of cases with more than £3,000 of maintenance and arrears outstanding was 101,818.
In a large number of these cases the arrears recorded as outstanding will be the result of an interim maintenance assessment. This measure, which sets maintenance at a punitive rate for absent parents (AP) who refuse to co-operate, was frequently used in the first two years of the Agency, but it is now only used as a last resort. It takes no account of an AP's actual financial circumstances. Since April 1995, an interim maintenance assessment is amended to a full maintenance assessment from the date liability starts once the AP co-operates: this almost always produces a much-reduced amount of arrears actually owed.
Where maintenance is not paid, the Agency has become increasingly successful in establishing payment by means of deduction from earnings orders and liability orders. I am unable to provide information on the number of cases where less than £50 has been paid in the last four years. Such a specific statistic has not been routinely collected; it could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
However, I can tell you that the latest available analysis of the Agency's work indicated that in 75% of cases where a full maintenance assessment has been completed, payment is being made in full or in part. This is based on the assumption that direct payments not via the Agency collection service are payed in full--otherwise parents with care can (and do) raise the matter with the Agency.
I hope this is helpful.
| Grade | Number of women |
|---|---|
| Senior civil service | 30 |
| Grade 6 | 123 |
| Grade 7 | 163 |
| Senior executive officer | 383 |
| Higher executive officer | 2,232 |
| Executive officer | 15,248 |
| Administration officer | 33,295 |
| Administration assistant | 7,222 |
| Typing grades | 1,013 |
| Support grades | 518 |
| Others | 125 |
| Total | 60,352 |
Mrs. Roche: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of those employed by his Department in 1992-93 were women. [6477]
Mr. Burt: The proportion of women employed by this department in 1992-93 was 67.7 per cent. out of a total of 84,750 staff.
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