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Income Support

Mr. Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 21 January, Official Report, column 566, how many of the income support for mortgage interest payments were made in error; how many of these were underpayments; and how many underpayments exceeded (a) £5,000, (b) £2,500, (c) £1,000, (d) £500 and (e) £250. [13295]

Mr. Roger Evans: The administration of income support is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.

31 Jan 1997 : Column: 430

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. John Denham, dated 30 January 1996:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking pursuant to his Answer of 21st January, Official Report, column 566, how many of the Income Support for mortgage interest payments made in error, how many of these were underpayments and how many underpayments exceeded (a) £5,000, (b) £2,500, (c) £1,000, (d) £500 and (e) £250.
Of the 308,590 cases in error, 54,635 were underpayments. We do not collect centrally a breakdown of these underpayments and the information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
I hope you find this reply helpful.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will introduce amendments to the jobseeker's allowance regulations to protect the position of share fishermen; and if he will make a statement. [13428]

Mr. Roger Evans: The jobseeker's allowance regulations already contain a number of special provisions for share fishermen. They are specifically designed to ensure that share fishermen claiming contribution-based jobseeker's allowance are in a broadly similar financial position to that which they enjoyed under unemployment benefit.

We are closely monitoring the effects of the introduction of jobseeker's allowance on share fishermen. This monitoring has not identified any difficulties which would require the regulations to be amended.

Mortgage Interest Payments

Sir Peter Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects the standard interest rate upon which help with interest payments for mortgages are made to those on income support will be increased. [13833]

Mr. Roger Evans: The standard rate of interest used to calculate payments of income support mortgage interest--currently 6.89 per cent.--is based on the weighted average rate provided by the top building societies. It is calculated and published monthly by the Office for National Statistics. Any movement in the rate of ±0.25 per cent. will trigger a change in the standard interest rate. We expect recent rises in interest rates to be reflected in the weighted average rate shortly but cannot predict exactly when this will trigger an increase in the standard interest rate.

Cash Limits

Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on changes in the (a) cash limits and (b) running costs limit of his Department for 1996-97. [14128]

Mr. Burt: The cash limit for class XII, vote 2--housing benefit subsidies, council tax benefit subsidies and administration, payments into the national insurance fund and the social fund and other grants--will be increased by £394,000 from £437,479,000 to £437,873,000. The cash limit of class XII, vote 3--Department of Social Security, administration--will be increased by £62,373,000 from £2,263,983,000 to £2,326,356,000.

31 Jan 1997 : Column: 431

The revision for vote 2 takes account of funding for the London organised fraud investigation team of £1,000,000, a pilot project to investigate organised housing benefit fraud, an increase in the grant in aid to Motability of £346,000 towards its administrative expenses, offset by a corresponding decrease in Department of Social Security, Administration, class XII, vote 3, and a reduction of £952,000 in challenge funding, offset by a corresponding increase in Department of Social Security, Administration, class XII, vote 3.

Vote 3 revisions take account of increased requirements arising from the re-instatement of withheld administration provision following comparable additional benefit savings of £19,000,000 running costs, an increase of £4,000,000 running costs under the end-year flexibility scheme as announced by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 12 July 1996, Official Report, columns 326-31 for the security and control package, the reinstatement of a £5,000,000 running costs shortfall resulting from the untying of the repayment service with the Department for Education and Employment for the administration of the unemployment benefit service and £2,000,000 running costs for the parent plus project. Other changes result from a net increase of £31,423,000 towards the administrative cost of the jobseeker's allowance, offset by a corresponding reduction in Department for Education and Employment, Employment Service class IX, vote 3, an increase of £600,000 running costs offset by a corresponding reduction on the Lord Chancellor's and Law Officers' Departments, Lord Chancellor's Department, class VIII vote 1, a reduction of £45,000 running costs offset by a corresponding increase on Department of Health administration and miscellaneous health services and personal social services, England class XI, vote, a reduction of £8,000 running costs, offset by a corresponding increase on Department of Health and Social Services Northern Ireland, vote 3, an increase of £30,000 running costs for repayment to the Security Facilities Executive, a reduction of £40,000 running costs for fallow period compensation payments, a net increase of £606,000 running costs from a transfer of provision from Department of Social Security, housing benefit subsidies, council tax benefit subsidies and administration, payments into the national insurance fund and the social fund and other grants, class XII, vote 2, and an increase in running cost cover of £960,000 for services provided by and to the Department of Health on a repayment basis. Further running cost changes arise from a transfer of £20,486,000 to a net section of the vote, a re-allocation of £8,429,000 from capital expenditure and a shortfall of £11,008,000 is offset by a corresponding reduction in running costs.

Cash limit changes arise from a transfer of £37,000 from Department of Health, administration and miscellaneous health services and personal social services, England, class XI, vote 2, a transfer of £500,000 to Inland Revenue administration class XVI, vote 4, and a transfer of £690,000 to Department for Education and Employment, employment services, class IX, vote 3.

As a result of these changes, the running cost limit of the Department of Social Security will be increased by £40,461,000 from £3,161,911,000 to £3,202,372,000.

The increases will be charged to the reserve and will not, therefore, add to the planned total of public expenditure.

31 Jan 1997 : Column: 432

DEFENCE

Cash Limits

Mr. Wilkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on changes to the class 1 cash limits and defence operating costs limit for 1996-97. [14205]

Mr. Portillo: A spring supplementary estimate is to be presented to the House to take up additional provision of £244 million which, subject to parliamentary approval, the Government have agreed will be provided from the reserve in 1996-97 to meet the additional costs of the military operation in the former Yugoslavia, as I announced on 25 November 1996, Official Report, columns 28-29.

The additional funding to be drawn on to class 1, vote 1 will, in accordance with supply procedure, be funded through a further partial appropriation of receipts from the sale of the married quarters estate in England and Wales. Parliamentary supply procedures dictate that any increase in provision on a vote must, in the first instance, be funded by an additional appropriations in aid that are available to the vote.

This appropriation is in addition to the receipts appropriated in aid to fund the entitlement to end year flexibility on class 1, vote 1 in the winter supplementary estimates, which my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces announced to the House on 1 November 1996, Official Report, columns 269-70.

The balance of the married quarters sale receipt, some £641 million, will be surrendered to the consolidated fund as extra receipts.

The class 1 cash limits will change as follows:

			£000s
Class 1 vote	Current cash limit	Change	Revised cash limit
1	10,994,897	-99	10,994,798
2	4,687,170	42,112	4,729,282
3	6,049,870	26,056	6,075,926

The reduction in the cash limit for class 1, vote 1 reflects the net effect of the transfer of responsibilities to another Government Department.

The impact of these changes on the Ministry of Defence operating costs limit is as follows:

Class 1 vote	Current cash limit	Change	Revised cash limit
1	10,989,352	-99	10,989,253
2	4,687,170	42,112	4,729,282
3	806,347	--	806,347

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