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SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefits (Parents)
12. Mr. Soley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what liaison he has with the Department of Education and Employment to co-ordinate benefit payments with the needs of parents with children at school. [15750]
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Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
We regularly discuss issues of mutual interest with the Department for Education and Employment.
13. Mr. Robathan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he intends to take to prevent parents making fraudulent submissions to the CSA. [15751]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
The Child Support Agency already requires a high level of verification of information provided by parents. Also the departures system, introduced in December last year, allows the agency to deal with cases where there is an allegation of misrepresentation of circumstances. Nevertheless, we are actively considering whether to make it an offence to give a false statement to the Child Support Agency.
18. Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of staff who have resigned from the Child Support Agency as a result of stress. [15758]
Mr. Mitchell:
Figures are available only for the past two years. During this period 15 members of staff, out of a total of some 6,000 in post, have resigned from the Child Support Agency citing stress of some type as a reason.
20. Mr. Gunnell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average administrative cost of delivering a girocheque to the parent with care with particular reference to the average number of weeks between assessments. [15760]
Mr. Mitchell:
In cases where the Child Support Agency collects maintenance, it is transferred to the parent with care by automated credit transfer wherever possible. When computer-produced girocheques are used, the average cost of production and posting is 50p. The frequency of maintenance assessments has no bearing on this cost.
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will provide a monthly breakdown of the amount of uncollected maintenance owing to the Child Support Agency collection service since 1994 showing the amount attributable to (a) type A interim assessments and (b) other assessments. [15608]
Mr. 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 Ms Liz Lynne, dated 24 February 1997:
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14. Mr. Winnick:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are dependent on income support currently; and how many were dependent on the equivalent benefit in 1978. [15754]
Mr. Roger Evans:
There were 9.8 million people living in families receiving income support in February 1996. In November 1978 there were 4.6 million people living in families receiving supplementary benefit.
24. Mr. Skinner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated number of people receiving income support; and what was the number in equivalent benefit terms, in 1979. [15764]
Mr. Evans:
There were 5.71 million income support recipients in February 1996. In November 1979 there were 2.855 million supplementary benefit recipients.
Sir Andrew Bowden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the value of the £8,000 upper capital limit for income support in 1997-98 if it had been uprated by (i) prices and (ii) earnings since its introduction. [14284]
Mr. Evans:
The £8,000 capital limit for income support would be worth (i) £10,704.40 if uprated by prices, and (ii) £11,410.30 if uprated by average earnings.
Sir Andrew Bowden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the value of the £3,000 capital limit for income support in 1997-98 if it had been uprated by (i) prices and (ii) earnings since its introduction. [14283]
Mr. Evans:
The £3,000 capital limit would be worth (i) £4,421.40 if uprated by prices, and (ii) £5,111.65 if uprated by average earnings.
Sir Andrew Bowden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost in 1997-98 of uprating (a) the £3,000 capital limit and (b) the £8,000 capital limit for income support for (i) pensioners and
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(ii) all recipients of income support to the level it would have been in 1997-98 if it had been uprated with prices since introduction. [14287]
Mr. Evans:
The estimated costs in 1997-98 if the lower and upper capital limits in income support had been uprated each year since their introduction in line with prices are (i) £50 million if only pensioners are included and (ii) £60 million if it is applied to all income support and jobseeker's allowance recipients.
15. Mr. Luff:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will develop pilot schemes to involve the private sector in helping lone parents into work. [15755]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
Up to 100,000 lone parents on income support will be offered help to get back into work under the parent plus scheme, which will be piloted in 12 areas over three years starting in April. Parent plus will involve both public and private sector teams in competing to find the best ways of helping lone parents to reduce their dependency on benefits.
In Preston, Wiltshire, Northamptonshire and Manchester the private sector have been invited to tender to provide innovative services to help get lone parents into work. Contracts will be issued to successful tenderers by the beginning of April and will stipulate that payment will be dependent on how many lone parents are helped into jobs. This will be the first time that private enterprise has been harnessed in this way to help people into work.
16. Mr. Nigel Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the procedures for the payment of child benefit in respect of children over 16 years of age in full-time education. [15756]
Mr. Andrew Mitchell:
If a child chooses to stay on in full-time education after 16, parents can continue to receive child benefit worth £560 per year towards the cost of maintaining him until education finishes or his 19th birthday, whichever is sooner.
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about uncollected maintenance.
I am unable to provide you with the exact information you have requested. An enhancement to our systems provided information on interim maintenance assessments outstanding and full maintenance assessment debt from January 1997. This showed £585,514,053 outstanding related to interim maintenance assessments; of this amount it is estimated that £193 million is as a result of interim maintenance assessments imposed prior to April 1995. £448,903,181 related to full maintenance assessment debt; approximately £271 million of this amount is currently the subject of agreement for repayment by instalments, which are closely monitored by the Agency. This leaves approximately £178 million of full maintenance assessment debt to be pursued.
A further system enhancement is currently being developed which will provide monthly information on category A interim maintenance assessments and other assessments for the financial year 1997/98.
I hope this is helpful.
Notes:
1. Numbers include claimants, their partners and dependants.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Sample size 1978 supplementary pension cases one in 200.
4. 1978 supplementary allowance cases one in 50.
5. 1996 income support cases 5 per cent.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry February 1996.
Supplementary Benefit Statistics Annual Enquiry 1978.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. Sample size 1979 supplementary pension cases one in 200.
3. 1979 supplementary allowance cases one in 50.
4. 1996 income support cases 5 per cent.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry February 1996.
Supplementary Benefit Statistics Annual Enquiry 1979.
Notes:
1. This is estimated using the 1994-95 family resources survey, uprated to 1997-98 case loads and benefit levels.
2. Estimates exclude cases in residential care and nursing homes.
3. Estimates include consequential costs in housing benefit and council tax benefit from new income support claimants being passported or to these benefits.
4. Estimates for all claimants include the costs of introducing the same capital limits in jobseeker's allowance.
5. Adjustments to these estimates are made using the May 1995 income support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry and the May 1995 housing benefit/council tax benefit management information system.
6. Estimates are rounded to the nearest £10 million.
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