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SOCIAL SECURITY
Pensions
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the reduction in the cost of state earnings-related pensions arising from (a) the changes contained in legislation basing pension entitlement on lifetime earnings, and related changes and (b) the changes contained in the Pensions Act 1995 in (i) 2000, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2030 and (iv) 2040. [61440]
Mr. Denham: The information is in the table.
| 2001-02 | 2010-11 | 2030-31 | 2040-41 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 Pensions Act(1) | 0.0 | -3.1 | -25.0 | -33.1 |
| 1995 Pensions Act(2) | 0.0 | -0.9 | -7.5 | -10.6 |
Notes:
(1) The figures are approximations based on figures from the Social Security Bill 1986, Report by the Government Actuary on the Financial Effects of the Bill on the National Insurance Fund (Cmnd 9711) assuming an extra 5 million contract out, and the Report by the Government Actuary on the Financial Effects of the Pensions Bill 1994 on the National Insurance Fund (Cmnd 2714).
(2) The figures are based on the Report by the Government Actuary on the Financial Effects of the Pensions Bill 1994 on the National Insurance Fund (Cmnd 2714).
(3) Estimates do not take account of means-tested benefit offsets.
(4) Estimates are in respect of retirement pensioners only.
(5) Figures are 1998-99 benefit rates and are rounded to the nearest £0.1 billion.
Source:
The Government Actuary's Department.
Gulf War Veterans
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the policy is of the War Pensions Agency on the seven year rule towards Gulf War veteran claimants. [62959]
Mr. Timms: War Pension legislation applies to Gulf War veterans in the same way as to all ex-service personnel claiming a War Pension. Anyone who considers that disablement may be due to service in the Gulf may claim a War Pension at any time after leaving H.M. Forces.
Where a claim is made within seven years of termination of service there is no onus on the claimant to show that disablement is due to service. Even where a claim is made more than seven years after termination of
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service, it is only necessary for there to be reliable evidence to create a reasonable doubt that disablement might be due to, or aggravated by, service. The benefit of that reasonable doubt is always given to the claimant.
The Secretary of State may review a decision to reject a claim at any time and on any grounds. Where a claim made within seven years of termination of service is later reviewed, the same conditions of proof which applied at the time the claim was made apply to the review.
Scottish Enterprise
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the current limits are on the borrowing powers of Scottish Enterprise. [62954]
Mr. Dewar: There is no specified limit on the borrowing powers of Scottish Enterprise. However, Section 25(2) of the Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990 limits the aggregate amount of central government funding that Scottish Enterprise can receive including its general external borrowings. The limit is defined as the aggregate amount outstanding (AAO) and was set by the Scottish Enterprise (Aggregate Amount Outstanding) Order 1997 at £3,000 million. The AAO is made up of the following elements (with the level of funding at 31 March 1998 given in parenthesis): sums issued by the Secretary of State or the Treasury, in fulfilment of guarantees (nil); loans guaranteed by Scottish Enterprise or its subsidiaries (£0.3 million); payments from the Secretary of State consisting of grant-in-aid less administrative expenses plus voted loan payments (£2,470 million); and the general external borrowings of Scottish Enterprise and its subsidiaries (£3 million).
Roads
Dr. David Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many classified roads cross from Scotland to England. [62955]
Mr. Macdonald: My right hon. Friend is responsible for the four trunk roads (the A1, A68, A7 and A74 (M)) which cross from Scotland to England. Information on other classified roads is not held centrally.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how the sustainable development indicators announced by the Deputy Prime Minister on 23 November 1998 will be applied to Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [62786]
Mr. Macdonald:
The Government published "Sustainability Counts", a consultation paper on a set of headline indicators of sustainable development, as part of the revision of the Strategy for sustainable development for the United Kingdom. A definitive set of indicators will be published with the Strategy. In the longer term, it will be for the Scottish Parliament to decide its own approach to sustainable development, which may include the adoption of an appropriate set of indicators.
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Mr. Wallace:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many applications were received by his Department for grants for use in 1999 under the Countryside Premium Scheme; and how many of these applications were successful. [62785]
Mr. Macdonald:
A total of 953 Countryside Premium Scheme applications were received this year, of which just over 500 are expected to be successful.
Duty Free
Mr. Gale: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions relating to the future of duty-free shopping were instigated by the Government at the Anglo-French Summit in St. Malo on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 December; and if he will make a statement. [62851]
The Prime Minister [holding answer 7 December 1998]: At the Franco-British Summit in St. Malo the United Kingdom and France both saw a clear case for looking again at the 1991 decision to abolish duty-free sales within the European Union at the end of June 1999; but noted that unanimity would be required to amend the 1991 decision.
TREASURY
Age Discrimination
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Inland Revenue staff were required to retire before their contractual retirement age in each of the last three years. [62495]
Dawn Primarolo: The Inland Revenue has a contractual retirement age of 60, regardless of gender or grade, and this has been in place for many years. There are a number of retirement schemes, the majority of which are voluntary. If a member of staff was required to retire, it would be under the compulsory retirement or severance schemes, or if medical grounds were involved, under the ill health retirement scheme.
| Year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 396 |
| 1996-97 | 373 |
| 1997-98 | 376 |
| 1998-99 | 149 |
As is the case for all Civil Service ill health retirements, these must be approved by BMI Health Services. It is not possible to distinguish between people who requested to retire on ill health grounds and those who were required to do so. It is probable that those who requested to retire would be in the majority.
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Dog Collars (Customs and Excise)
Mr. Rendel: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which sections of HM Customs and Excise are currently using dog collars that administer electric shocks to the animals. [63080]
Dawn Primarolo: HM Customs and Excise does not use collars which administer electric shocks on any of its dogs.
Art Collections (Access)
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to improve the advertising of access to private works of art for which the owner receives tax relief for providing such access; and if he will make a statement. [62381]
Dawn Primarolo: In return for conditional tax exemption, owners of heritage assets have to provide reasonable public access to those assets and to publicise the agreed access arrangements. Most conditionally exempt works of art are displayed in houses, museums and galleries open to the public. Others which are not on public display are listed on the Inland Revenue's Register of conditionally exempt works of art, which is available on the Internet.
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