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Terminally Ill People (Special Benefit Rules)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will amend the advice given to doctors on when to make a report on form DS1500 so that they can take the initiative in informing patients or their representatives of the special benefit rules for the terminally ill. [64305]
Mr. Timms: Each pad of DS1500 forms already contains a set of guidance notes for the doctors who will complete the forms. This sets out the purpose of the form and the circumstances in which it should be used. In addition, a Bulletin was issued by the Department's Chief Medical Adviser in March 1997 to all general practitioners which explained the special rules for Disability Living Allowance for those people suffering from a terminal illness. This also explained the purpose of this form and the general practitioner's role in the process.
Consequently, we believe that sufficient guidance is already available to enable doctors to fulfil their part in this important benefit for a particularly vulnerable group of claimants. We have no reason to believe that the system is not working in the way in which it was intended.
Carers
Mrs. Fyfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many carers would benefit and at what cost if the rules of invalid care allowance were changed to include carers who were providing a total of at least 35 hours care per week to one or more individuals who were in receipt of the relevant levels and types of benefit. [64410]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available. Invalid Care Allowance has no regard to the number of people being cared for save that at least one severely disabled person must benefit from a minimum of 35 hours care per week.
Council Tax Benefit
Mr. Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) when he plans to make a statement on how many council tax benefit claimants have been affected by the introduction of the Council Tax Benefit Regulations; [64692]
- (2) when he will publish his review of the introduction of the new Council Tax Benefit Regulations. [64693]
Angela Eagle:
Council Tax Benefit was restricted to band E levels from 1 April 1998 for properties in bands F, G or H. The Government are committed to monitoring the effects of the restriction in partnership with local authorities. We are examining the most efficient way of collecting information as the rule beds in: all existing
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 718
claimants at the point of change were unaffected by it. We are seeking to minimise the administrative burden on local authorities. To this end officials have discussed options with local authority staff. Subject to the co-operation of local authorities, we propose to commission research in 1999. This research will be published in due course.
Mr. MacShane:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate (a) how many children are living in households which have below half average income and (b) how many children live in households headed by (i) a married couple, (ii) a cohabiting couple and (iii) a lone parent; and if he will break down the figures between (A) two working parents, (B) one working parent and (C) no working parent families. [64673]
| Number of children | |
|---|---|
| Before housing costs (BHC) measure of income | 3.3 |
| After housing costs (AHC) measure of income | 4.5 |
| Couples | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Married | Co-habiting | Lone parents |
| Before housing costs (BHC) | |||
| 2 working parents | 0.3 | (20)-- | 0.0 |
| 1 working parent | 0.8 | (20)-- | 0.0 |
| 0 working parents | 0.7 | (20)-- | 1.2 |
| Total | 1.8 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
| After housing costs (AHC) | |||
| 2 working parents | 0.4 | (20)-- | 0.0 |
| 1 working parent | 1.0 | (20)-- | 0.0 |
| 0 working parents | 0.8 | (20)-- | 1.9 |
| Total | 2.2 | 0.4 | 1.9 |
(20) The figures for co-habiting couples are not shown because their respective sample sizes are too small to provide robust figures at the required level of detail. However, approximately half of the children belonging to all such couples live in households with at least one working parent
Note:
All figures are estimates taken from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) data set based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS)
Departmental Expenditure
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total expenditure and the breakdown of expenditure in his Department since May 1997 on (a) public opinion research, (b) television, radio and newspaper advertising and (c) direct mail. [63918]
Mr. Timms:
The information is in the table.
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 719
| Business unit | Public opinion research | TV, radio and newspaper advertising | Direct mail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits Agency | 12,587 | 151,539 | 76,603 |
| Contributions Agency | -- | 360,734 | 735,217 |
| Child Support Agency | -- | -- | 10,000 |
| War Pensions Agency | 2,747 | 1,857 | 900 |
| HQ | 518,735 | 1,146,806 | 74,911 |
| Business unit | Public opinion research | TV, radio and newspaper advertising | Direct mail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benefits Agency | (21)83,703 | 276,757 | 44,321 |
| Contributions Agency | 25,442 | 1,000 | 164,200 |
| Child Support Agency | -- | -- | 21,000 |
| War Pensions Agency | -- | 1,400 | 2,300 |
| HQ | 620,060 | 2,806,660 | 322,691 |
(21) The substantial increase in Research costs over 1997-98 can be attributed to Project Access (a review of Benefits Agency information, which included consultation and research exercises) and the costs of commissioning research prior to the launch of the new style leaflets and claim forms.
Married Woman's Pension
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in respect of each financial year since 1990 (a) the level of the married woman's retirement pension, (b) the level of that pension if upratings had been rounded to the nearest one pence and (c) his estimate of the net effect on public funds in each financial year if upratings had been carried out as in (b). [64140]
Mr. Denham: Information is not available in form requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
| Year | Actual rate (£) | Rate if rounded to nearest 1p since 1990-1991 (£) | Gross RP cost of change in rounding convention (£ million) in 1998-1999 benefit rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 28.20 | 28.20 | 0 |
| 1991-92 | 31.25 | 31.27 | 3 |
| 1992-93 | 32.55 | 32.55 | 0 |
| 1993-94 | 33.70 | 33.72 | 2 |
| 1994-95 | 34.50 | 34.53 | 4 |
| 1995-96 | 35.25 | 35.29 | 5 |
| 1996-97 | 36.60 | 36.67 | 8 |
| 1997-98 | 37.35 | 37.44 | 11 |
Notes:
1. Contributory benefits effects have been estimated by the Government Actuary's Department. Individuals who receive a combination of Category A and B pension are included in this estimate.
2. The above costings do not take into account any corresponding effects on linked benefits.
17 Dec 1998 : Column: 720
Pensions
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in respect of each financial year since 1990 (a) the level of the basic retirement pension, (b) the level of that pension if upratings had been rounded to the nearest one pence and (c) his estimate of the net effect on public funds in each financial year if upratings had been carried out as in (b). [64141]
Mr. Denham: Information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
| Year | Actual rate (£) | Rate if rounded to nearest 1p since 1990-91 (£) | Gross RP cost of change in rounding convention (£ million) in 1998-99 benefit rates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-91 | 46.90 | 46.90 | 0 |
| 1991-92 | 52.00 | 52.01 | 5 |
| 1992-93 | 54.15 | 54.14 | -5 |
| 1993-94 | 56.10 | 56.09 | -4 |
| 1994-95 | 57.60 | 57.60 | 0 |
| 1995-96 | 58.85 | 58.87 | 8 |
| 1996-97 | 61.15 | 61.17 | 8 |
| 1997-98 | 62.45 | 62.45 | 0 |
Notes:
1. Contributory benefits effects have been estimated by the Government Actuary's Department. Individuals who receive a combination of Category A and B pension are not included in this estimate.
2. Estimates are rounded to the nearest £1m. (+) denotes a cost and (-) denotes a saving.
3. These costings do not take into account any corresponding effects on linked benefits.
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