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Christmas Expenditure
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department will spend on Christmas trees and decorations this year; how many Christmas trees will be bought for his Department's headquarters; and what are the type and country of origin of the trees. [7568]
6 Dec 1996 : Column: 820
Mr. Horam: No central record is kept of the annual expenditure on Christmas trees and decorations throughout the Department. Three trees will be bought for the Department's London headquarters offices this year, at a total cost of £1,546. Where natural trees are purchased they will be of Nordmaniana variety from sustainable forests in Norway.
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department plans to spend on celebrating Christmas and the new year. [7582]
Mr. Horam: The headquarters of the Department of Health plans to spend an estimated sum of £1,120 on the purchasing and postage of charity Christmas cards for 1996. Any other costs which may arise are covered by the hospitality expenditure of the Department which is included in the running costs sum published in the annual report, copies of which are available in the Library.
Organophosphates
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent communications he has had from his advisers on possible links between organophosphates and human ailments. [7996]
Mr. Horam: The Department receives advice and information on a regular basis about organophosphates and their possible effects on human health from a number of sources both external and internal. OP compounds have been reviewed several times by the independent expert committee which advise the Government on pesticides and veterinary products, which found that there was no evidence to support a ban or suspension on their use when used properly.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many calls have been made to the benefit cheats hotline; and of those, how many were later found to be (a) confirmed fraud, (b) suspected fraud, and (c) no fraud suspected. [6054]
Mr. Heald: The information is not available in the format requested because of the time taken to conclude investigations and to collate the data.
However, the national benefit fraud hotline has answered over 100,000 calls since the launch on 5 August 1996.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland Security what percentage of Coventry's target of £927,234 to be uncovered from benefit fraud has so far been received. [5863]
Mr. Heald
[holding answer 27 November 1996]: Each local authority is set a threshold of weekly benefit savings to be made through the detection of housing benefit and council tax benefit fraud. Authorities can earn additional subsidy through performance in relation to their WBS thresholds, and can have subsidy withheld for poor performance.
6 Dec 1996 : Column: 821
As at 30 September 1996 WBS recorded for the city of Coventry were £647,341--70 per cent. of its threshold for 1996-97.
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the yield of national insurance contributions at current rates, gross and net of rebates, in (a) 2000-01, (b) 2010-11, (c) 2020-21 and (d) 2030-31, if from 1998 the lower earnings limit were increased in line with prices and upper earnings limit were (i) increased in line with prices and (ii) earnings or (iii) abolished; and what would be the yield if, in each case, the lower earnings limit were increased in line with earnings. [5897]
Mr. Heald:
The information is not available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Such information as is available is in the table.
| Class 1 employee and employer | 2000-01 | 2010-11 | 2020-21 | 2030-31 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower and upper earnings limits both increased in line with prices | ||||
| Gross | 57.45 | 68.25 | 77.05 | 83.20 |
| C/O rebate | 5.95 | 5.85 | 5.55 | 5.60 |
| Net | 51.50 | 62.40 | 71.50 | 77.60 |
| Lower earnings limits increased in line with prices and no upper earnings limit for employees and employers(15) (16) | ||||
| Gross | 62.55 | 76.25 | 88.95 | 99.50 |
| C/O rebate | 5.95 | 5.85 | 5.55 | 5.60 |
| Net | 56.60 | 70.40 | 83.40 | 93.90 |
Source:
Government Actuary's Department.
Notes:
1. Calculations are based on assumptions adopted for the Report by the Government Actuary on the Third Quinquennial Review under Section 137 of the Social Security Act 1975 HC 160.
(15) Assumes an upper earnings limit remains in place for the calculation of contracted-out rebates.
(16) Assumes that the current 10 per cent. contribution rate for employees would apply to earnings above the upper earnings limit.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he intends to take in the case of David Holmes, details of which have been forwarded to him; and if he will make a statement on the implementation of incapacity benefit. [6249]
Mr. Burt: The administration of incapacity benefit is a matter for Peter Mathison, chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member. Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Llew Smith, dated 5 December 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what action he intends to take in the case of David Holmes, details of which have been forwarded to him; and if he will make a statement on the implementation of incapacity benefit.
I was very sorry to hear of the death of Mr. David Holmes and for reasons of confidentiality I will write to you separately to provide the relevant facts.
6 Dec 1996 : Column: 822
It may be useful if I briefly outline the All Work Test (AWT) which was applied to Mr. Holmes' Incapacity Benefit (IB) claim.
The AWT, which is an integral part of IB, looks at the effect of a client's illness of their ability to carry out a range of work related activities, rather than the condition itself. The test identifies various functional areas, such as walking or standing, which are relevant when assessing capacity for work. The medical test for IB is different from the more usual General Practitioner's (GP) examination in which the aim is to make a diagnosis and arrange appropriate treatment.
The information gathered for the AWT involves the views of the client, his GP and a Benefits Agency Medical Services (BAMS) doctor in an assessment of the effect of the medical condition on the client's ability to carry out the work related activities. The independent Adjudication Officer takes all these views into account and decides whether a person is capable of work. Neither the examining doctor nor the GP have a role to play in deciding the claim.
IB was successfully implemented on 13 April 1995, involving the training of 1,400 doctors and 40,600 administrative staff in the new procedures. New information Technology systems were developed to support BAMS and Benefits Agency staff. Performance has been maintained consistently and has not suffered as a result of implementation. IB is being constantly reviewed to ensure its continued efficiency.
Wrexham Benefits Agency Office
Dr. Marek: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of claimants who tried, but were unable, to contact the Wrexham Benefits Agency office by telephone during the periods of telephone service interruption between 27 and 29 November. [7457]
Mr. Roger Evans: This is an operational matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Dr. John Marek, dated 5 December 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what estimate he has made of the number of claimants who tried, but were unable to contact the Wrexham Benefit Agency by telephone during the periods of telephone service interruption between the 27th and 29th of November.
On 27 and 28 November there was an interruption to the telephone service of 45 minutes and 2 minutes respectively. Wrexham office received 657 and 717 calls on those days against an average for November of 663. This would indicate that there was not a significant loss of calls.
On 29 November there was a prolonged interruption of 3 hours 45 minutes. Our information shows that 250 fewer calls were received than on average.
These interruptions are due to technical problems which are currently being investigated by engineers. Every effort is being made to identify and rectify this intermittent fault.
I apologise for this interruption to the telephone service.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Christmas Expenditure
Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how much his Department plans to spend on celebrating Christmas and the new year; [7583]
- (2) how much his Department will spend on Christmas trees and decorations this year; how many Christmas trees will be bought for his Department's headquarters; and what are the type and country of origin of the trees. [7567]
6 Dec 1996 : Column: 823
Mr. Burt: The only departmental expenditure on Christmas and new year is for official Christmas cards, at an estimated cost this year of £3,240.
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