| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
European Business Survey
Mrs. Roche: To ask the President of the Board of Trade when his Department received a copy of Grant Thornton's spring 1996 European Business Survey; and what assessment he has made of the survey. [9281]
Mr. Page: My Department received a copy of Grant Thornton's 1996 "European Business Survey" when it was published in May of this year.
17 Dec 1996 : Column: 528
I welcome the survey and have noted its findings. The Government place great emphasis on listening to and responding to the views of business. Grant Thornton's "European Business Survey" is an important contribution to that process. It provides a comprehensive, comparative analysis of the opinions of small and medium-sized enterprises in 17 European countries, including the United Kingdom, on a wide range of issues relevant to their competitiveness.
Airline Alliance
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if the undertakings and conditions he has proposed in relation to the British Airways/American Airlines alliance are subject to amendment; and if he will consult on them with (a) the public and (b) interested parties. [9420]
Mr. John M. Taylor: My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced on 6 December that the parties to this alliance would have to agree to certain undertakings and conditions if they were to avoid a reference to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. In asking the Director General of Fair Trading to negotiate these undertakings he explicitly invited all interested third parties to make known their views on the proposals. Representations should be made to the Office of Fair Trading by 5 pm on 10 January 1997.
CE Energy
Mr. Cousins: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he proposes to refer the bid for Northern Electric by CE Energy to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission; and if he will make a statement. [9310]
Mr. John M. Taylor [holding answer 16 December 1996]: My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade announced on 13 December that he had decided not to refer CE Electric UK plc's proposed acquisition of Northern Electric plc to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
SOCIAL SECURITY
"New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans"
Mr. Derek Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what costs quoted in the document, "New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans", were prepared in his Department; what detailed assumptions and interpretations were provided to officials in his Department to enable preparation of each cost; and what was the total cost to public funds of preparing each estimate. [6348]
Mr. Lilley: The Department of Social Security, in conjunction with the Treasury, prepared factual material relating to costings published in "New Labour's Public Expenditure Plans" numbered 64 to 80. The detailed assumptions and interpretations that were provided to officials are set out in my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary's reply to the hon. Member today. It is not the normal working practice to keep a record of the time spent in providing factual information to Ministers and it is not therefore possible to offer a reliable estimate of the costs involved.
17 Dec 1996 : Column: 529
Invalidity Benefit
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much per year a claimant on invalidity benefit is allowed to earn under the therapeutic rule without it having any effect on his benefit; and if he will make a statement. [6901]
Mr. Burt: Incapacity benefit recipients are permitted to work for up to 16 hours per week provided that such work has been certified by their general practitioner as being beneficial to their specific medical condition. Such work will not normally affect benefit entitlement unless earnings exceed £45.50 per week.
Retirement Pension
Ms Corston: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of (a) the number of pensioners (i) aged 75 years and over and (ii) aged under 75 years and (b) the cost of the flat-rate basic retirement pension, at 1995-96 prices, for the years (1) 1995-96, (2) 2000-2001, (3) 2010-2011, (4) 2020-2021 and (5) 2030-2031. [8016]
Mr. Heald: There are 4.3 million pensioners aged 75 years and over, and 6.2 million pensioners aged under 75 at 31 March 1996. 1
| Year | Expenditure on basic state retirement pension for pensioners aged under 75 | Expenditure on basic state retirement pension for pensioners aged 75 and over | Total expenditure on basic state retirement pension |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 15.9 | 11.0 | 26.9 |
| 2000-01 | 16.8 | 12.8 | 29.5 |
| 2010-11 | 19.8 | 13.5 | 33.3 |
| 2020-21 | 19.4 | 15.8 | 35.3 |
| 2030-31 | 22.7 | 19.8 | 42.5 |
Notes:
(7) Figures are for all countries and are rounded to the nearest 100,000. State retirement pension includes all contributory and non contributory state pensions.
(8) Figures are rounded to the nearest £100 million.
Source:
Government Actuaries Department.
Contributory basic retirement pension: the Government Actuary's Department. The figure for 1995-96 is based on the draft accounts for the national insurance fund for 1995-96. The figures for 2000-2001 onwards are based on the report by GAD on the "Financial Effects of the Pension Bill 1994 on the National Insurance Fund", Cm 2714, and assume price uprating of benefits and the equalisation of state pension ages at 65 by 2020. The expenditure on basic state retirement pension for pensioners above and below the age of 75 has been calculated using GAD population projects.
Non-contributory retirement pension: departmental estimates based on the departmental report.
Disability Working Allowance
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the future of the disability working allowance. [8210]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The Government are committed to helping sick and disabled people who wish to return to work and disability working allowance is an important element of our approach. This benefit is
17 Dec 1996 : Column: 530
providing valuable help to an increasing number of people: currently there are nearly 11,000 recipients, more than double the number 18 months ago. Similarly, expenditure for 1995-96 has risen to an estimated £15 million, just under three quarters of the total spend for the first three years.
Research conducted by the Policy Studies Institute into the performance of disability working allowance has recently been published and this, along with our own more recent management information, will be used to continue to look at ways of refining and improving the benefit.
Benefit Fraud Hotline
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of reports to the benefits cheat information line have proved unfounded to date; and what redress is available to those wrongly accused. [8073]
Mr. Heald: It is too early to give any indication of the number of unfounded or successful referrals generated by calls from the public to the hotline. Fraud investigations often take some time to process, to ensure that fraud is proven before someone has their benefit stopped.
I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Chancellor's Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton (Mr. Streeter), to the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. Redmond) on 17 October 1996, Official Report, columns 1086-87.
Mr. Kevin Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the annual cost of running the national benefit fraud hotline; [8924]
Mr. Heald:
The annual cost of running the national benefit fraud hotline will be approximately £1.5 million per annum. Information regarding running costs to date is not available.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much has been spent on advertising the national benefit fraud hotline in 1996-97. [8926]
Mr. Heald:
The answer is £500,000.
Mr. Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average number of calls made to the national benefit fraud hotline each month. [8921]
Mr. Heald:
The average number of calls to the national benefit fraud hotline per month is 27,791.
Mr. Kirkwood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the cost of setting up and running the benefit fraud hotline; and if he will make a statement. [9444]
Mr. Heald:
The cost of operating the national benefit fraud hotline is £1.5 million per annum.
(2) what has been the total cost of the national benefit fraud hotline since it was set up. [8923]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |