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Ethnic Minorities
Mr. Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of employees in her private office are (a) of Asian origin and (b) of Afro-Caribbean origin. [9583]
Mr. Denham: The total percentage of staff working in the Department of Social Security private office who are of Asian or Afro-Caribbean origin is 13.3 per cent.
Our code of practice on ethnic origin surveys prevents our giving information which will identify individuals; I am therefore unable to provide a further breakdown.
Income Support
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many (i) single men, (ii) single women and (iii) married couples aged (a) 65 to 69, (b) 70 to 74, (c) 75 to 79 and (d) 80 years or over are failing to take up their entitlement to income support; and what amount is unclaimed by each group. [9319]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The position under the previous Administration when up to 1 million pensioners did not claim the income support to which they are entitled cannot be allowed to continue. We are commissioning research to find out whey they did not claim income support.
The number of benefit units with a head over 60 not claiming the income support to which they are entitled is estimated to be between 810,000 and 1,100,000. The total amount unclaimed is estimated to be between £590 million and £800 million.
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 252
Estimates for the age groups specified for 1994-95 are in the table.
| Age | Single men | Single women | Couples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 to 69 | 10,000 | 70,000 | 30,000 |
| 70 to 74 | 20,000 | 150,000 | 40,000 |
| 75 to 79 | 20,000 | 170,000 | 40,000 |
| 80 and over | 40,000 | 310,000 | 40,000 |
| Age | Single men | Single women | Couples |
|---|---|---|---|
| 65 to 69 | Less than £10 million | £30 million | £40 million |
| 70 to 74 | Less than £10 million | £80 million | £30 million |
| 75 to 79 | Less than £10 million | £90 million | £30 million |
| 80 and over | £30 million | £240 million | £40 million |
1. It should be noted that the true figures may be higher or lower. 2. Estimation methods are described in "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 1994-95", a copy of which is in the Library.
3. The estimates for single men and for couples should be treated with particular caution as they are based on small samples.
4. All estimates relate to 1994-95.
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the value of income support for a single pensioner aged 80 years or over as a percentage of average earnings; and what it will be in (a) 2000, (b) 2010, (c) 2020, (d) 2030 and (e) 2040, assuming real earnings growth of (i) 1.5 per cent., (ii) 2 per cent. and (iii) 2.5 per cent. and upratings in line with the retail prices index. [10115]
Mr. Keith Bradley [holding answer 24 July 1997]: The policies of the previous Administration have created real poverty, growing inequality and widespread insecurity for pensioners. We believe that pensioners should share fairly in the increasing prosperity of the nation. Our review of pensions is looking at the central areas of pensions insecurity for elderly people. Pensions are of key importance to people's lives and it is vital to build a sustainable consensus on the way forward so that everyone can look forward to a secure and dignified retirement.
The information requested is in the table:
| Real growth of average earnings per year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 1.5 per cent. | 2.0 per cent. | 2.5 per cent. |
| April 1997 | 20.6 | 20.6 | 20.6 |
| April 2000 | 19.7 | 19.4 | 19.2 |
| April 2010 | 17.0 | 15.9 | 15.0 |
| April 2020 | 14.6 | 13.1 | 11.7 |
| April 2030 | 12.6 | 10.7 | 9.1 |
| April 2040 | 10.9 | 8.8 | 7.1 |
1. April 1997 data based on current benefit rates and the estimated gross weekly earnings of full-time employees from the Office for National Statistics.
2. The estimates for the future are based on the assumption of no growth in real terms in the value of income support for a pensioner over 80.
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 253
Incapacity Benefit
Ms Kelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are currently in receipt of incapacity benefit in the Bolton, West constituency. [9685]
Mr. Denham: The Government strongly believe that for people of working age, work is the best form of welfare. We are committed to giving opportunities to sick and disabled who have some capacity for work to do so. Some £200 million from the windfall levy has been set aside to fund this important programme of work and other measures.
The information is not available in the format requested.
As at 28 February 1997, the number of people in receipt of incapacity benefit in the Benefits Agency Bolton, West district was 13,760 1 .
Mr. Denham:
The Government are committed to increasing opportunities to work for people who are disabled or who have long-term health problems. Some £200 million from the windfall levy has been set aside to fund this important programme and other measures. The University for Industry will receive £5 million as start-up funding from the "other measures" element of the package. We are currently considering how to help most effectively those sick and disabled people who want training or work, and will make announcements in due course.
Ms Squire:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many registered days of certified incapacity due to sickness and invalidity caused by asthma there were in 1995; and what estimate she has made of the cost in terms of benefits. [10230]
Mr. Denham:
I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the right hon. Member for East Devon (Sir P. Emery) on 22 July, Official Report, columns 576-77.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress has been made on the code of practice for the purposes of identifying fraudulent claims for benefit; and if she will make a statement. [10394]
Mr. Denham:
We have, in consultation with other Government Departments been developing a draft departmental code of practice on datamatching. We have undertaken to publish this voluntary code of practice before using new sources of data allowed by the Fraud Act. In line with a previous commitment, we will be offering the draft code to the Data Protection Registrar for discussion before publishing a final code.
29 Jul 1997 : Column: 254
Mr. Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is her estimate of total departmental expenditure on computer-related current and capital work for (a) 1995-96, (b) 1996-97, (c) 1997-98, (d) 1998-99 and (e) 1999-00; and if she will make a statement. [11391]
Mr. Keith Bradley:
The bulk of the Department of Social Security's information technology-related expenditure is accounted for by the Information Technology Services Agency which exists to provide IT services both to DSS and to certain other Government Departments. ITSA's total actual and estimated expenditure on the provision of such IT services is set out in the table.
Notes:
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to her answer of 9 July, Official Report, column 519, on incapacity benefit, if the sum of £200 million will cover measures unrelated to helping sick and disabled people enter the work force. [11166]
1. This figure is based on the 5 per cent. sample of the pensions strategy computer system--INCAP--and does not include some clerical cases which are not held on the system.
| 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current expenditure | 354.126 | 359.251 | 356.463 |
| Capital expenditure | 81.370 | 24.100 | 23.384 |
Of this expenditure, the Department recovers the following sums mainly in respect of services provided to other Government Departments.
Additional departmental IT expenditure, not accounted for by ITSA, is as follows:
1995-96: £94.573 million
1996-97: £50.532 million
1997-98 (estimated): £35.192 million
| £ million | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 | |
| Current expenditure | 8.655 | 6.846 | 7.751 |
| Capital expenditure | 18.529 | 19.612 | 18.084 |
Detailed spending plans for 1998-99 and 1999-00 have not yet been finalised.
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