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Disability Benefits
28. Mr. Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what discussions he has had with disability organisations on his plans for disability benefit reform. [63217]
Mr. Bayley: Ministers have met disability organisations at the Disability Benefits Forum set up following the Welfare Reform Green Paper, "New Ambitions for our Country: A New Contract for Welfare", to discuss how disability benefits can be reformed. The Forum has met on seven occasions since June and has discussed the proposals for Disability Benefits reform contained in the discussion document "A New Contract for Welfare: Support for Disabled People" on two occasions.
The Government have also discussed disability benefits more generally with a wide range of organisations representing disabled people and their carers.
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29. Mr. Evans:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received on ways to tackle fraud. [63218]
Mr. Darling:
Consultation on the Green Paper, "Beating Fraud is Everyone's Business: securing the future", ended on 30 September 1998, and 165 responses were received. Around two thirds of the responses came from public and private organisations (including around 50 from local authorities) and the remaining third came from individuals.
The Green Paper set out details of the Government's strategy for tackling fraud and the principles behind it. The great majority of responses supported the strategy and its governing principles.
I am placing in the Library a list of the organisations and academics who responded. Copies of the list and specific responses are available on request from the Department of Social Security, by contacting the Fraud Strategy Directorate, 6th Floor, The Adelphi, 1-11 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6HT.
30. Helen Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to ensure that Benefits Agency staff are trained in dealing with clients with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement. [63219]
Angela Eagle:
The programme of training, available to all BA staff, includes a range of customer service and interpersonal skills courses. They all include training on the needs of special groups within the community, including people with mental health problems.
We are currently working in partnership with groups representing people with mental health problems. They hold workshops specifically geared to meet the needs of staff who have contact with the mentally ill. From April 1999 we intend to extend this partnership by jointly developing and delivering courses where this can add value to our training products.
32. Mr. Fabian Hamilton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he has taken to harmonise the arrangements for tax and national insurance contributions. [63221]
Mr. Timms:
The Government are committed to modernising the National Insurance contributions system so that it is simpler and easier for employers to understand and operate, and to promoting greater alignment with the tax system in the longer term.
From April 1999, the point at which employers start to pay secondary Class 1 contributions will be raised to a new "earnings threshold" set at the level of the personal tax allowance. The tax and contributions treatment of payments and benefits to employees included in PAYE settlement agreements will be aligned by the introduction of new Class 1B contributions for employers. Also from that date, under the provisions of the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions, etc.) Bill the Contributions Agency will transfer from the Department
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of Social Security to the Inland Revenue. This will reduce the burdens on businesses and individuals by enabling tax and National Insurance contributions to be processed through one organisation.
Mr. Denis Murphy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many individuals and organisations have responded to the consultation exercise on the Green Paper, "Children First: a New Approach to Child Support." [65037]
Angela Eagle:
Written responses to the Green Paper have so far been received from 105 organisations and 1,435 individuals, including over 50 from hon. Members. In addition, my noble Friend Baroness Hollis of Heigham has held meetings with more than 40 organisations, academics and other groups.
Mr. Love:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what consultations are taking place regarding the replacement for the all work test for incapacity benefit; when the changes are planned to be introduced; and if he will make a statement. [65068]
Mr. Timms:
Our proposals on benefits for those with a long-term illness or disability were published in the consultation document "A new contract for welfare: Support for Disabled People". We will give full consideration to the responses when the consultation period ends on Friday 8 January 1999. In addition a subgroup of the Disability Benefits Forum has been set up to consider proposals for reform of the All Work Test and in particular to examine ways in which the test may be used to provide information to help people claiming incapacity benefits who want to plan a return to work. One meeting has taken place and a further 2 or 3 meetings are planned before the subgroup report back to the Disability Benefits Forum at the end of March.
We are aiming to introduce changes to the test from April 2000.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumptions he has made on the size of the rebates of those contracting out of SERPS for (a) a personal pension and (b) a stakeholder pension over the next five decades. [65171]
Mr. Timms:
The assumptions used are those set out in the Government Actuary's report "Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes, Review of Certain Contracting-out Terms" (Cm 3888), presented to Parliament in March 1998.
As explained in the Green Paper on pensions, "Partnership in Pensions", the structure of the contracting out rebates will be reviewed in the light of Stakeholder Pension schemes. For the purposes of the estimates in the Green Paper the level of contracting out rebates for Stakeholder Pension schemes and Personal Pensions were assumed to be the same.
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Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many members of the second state pension scheme will gain more in retirement than they earned in work. [64945]
Mr. Timms:
Information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
An individual who earned £4,250 per year throughout a full working life of 49 years would receive State Pension payments (basic Retirement Pension and the State Second Pension combined, assuming they do not contract-out) approximately equal to their gross earnings in the year before they reach state pension age. Any individual earning below this level in every year (but above the Lower Earnings Limit--£3,328 in 1998-99) would receive State Pension payments higher than their earnings in the year before reaching State pension age.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the choice of the single nominated stakeholder pension scheme for whom employers will be compelled to pass employee contributions will be determined by a vote of all employees in the firm wishing to join a stakeholder pension scheme. [64819]
Mr. Timms:
We proposed in the Green Paper on pensions, "A new contract for welfare: Partnership in Pensions", that employers should be required to consult their workforce or any organisations representing them before nominating a stakeholder pension scheme. The form this consultation takes will, however, be a matter for individual employers to decide.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of personal pension holders who will transfer to stakeholder pensions; and if he will present this figure as a proportion of all personal pension holders. [64951]
Mr. Timms:
The Green Paper on pensions, "A new contract for welfare: Partnership in Pensions", makes clear that the decision to transfer from a personal pension to a stakeholder pension scheme will depend on individual circumstances, including the terms on which a transfer is offered. It is not possible to predict how many personal pension holders will in practice choose to transfer.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to bring forward proposals to help pensioners with incomes just above the income support level; and how many pensioners will be helped by such measures. [64947]
Mr. Timms:
We said in the pensions Green Paper that we would welcome views on the most cost effective ways of reforming the rules governing the minimum income guarantee so as to better reward those who have saved for their retirement. We hope to bring forward proposals later in this Parliament. Any changes will depend upon the resources available. The numbers of pensioners affected will depend on the measures proposed.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the minimum payment under the state's second pension once the scheme becomes fully operative. [64944]
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Mr. Timms:
An individual who worked for a full working life of 49 years from April 2002, earning above the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL) in every year (£3,328 in 1998/99), would receive a State Second Pension as described on page 45 of "A new contract for welfare: Partnership in Pensions" of approximately £51 per week, in today's earnings.
This is the minimum amount payable to any individual who spends a full working life in employment (earning above the LEL), or who qualifies for caring or disability credits, under the State Second Pension scheme.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate for each of the next five decades the numbers of pensioners who will have incomes above the minimum income guarantee and still remain eligible for income-related benefits. [64950]
Mr. Timms:
The information requested is not available.
Projections forward to the year 2050 are subject to a high degree of uncertainty, given the number of assumptions that need to be made in making these estimates. Some of those who will be pensioners in 2050 have yet to begin work, and most are today in their 20s and 30s.
Estimates of the number of pensioners receiving the minimum income guarantee have been made by extrapolating estimates from the PENSIM model, but these can give only a broad indication of the likely order of magnitude of figures so far into the future. The PENSIM projections can be applied only to estimates of pensioners on the minimum income guarantee. Estimates for other income related benefits (such as Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit) are not available, as projections for these benefits would require many more assumptions to be made and would be surrounded by an unacceptable level of uncertainty.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what ways, other than its link to earnings rather than prices, the new minimum income guarantee will differ from income support for pensioners. [64938]
Mr. Timms:
We have made it clear that we want to make delivery of the minimum income guarantee more automatic than has been the case with Income Support. To that end, we plan a number of improvements to the way we deliver services to pensioners. In addition we will examine how we might reform the rules to reward better those who have saved for their retirement.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects those people whom he has forecast to benefit from the proposed stakeholder pension scheme to receive those benefits. [64850]
Mr. Timms:
The Green Paper on pensions; "A new contract for welfare: Partnership in Pensions", indicates that our aim is for the first stakeholder pension schemes to operate from April 2001. People joining a stakeholder pension scheme will begin to receive benefits when they retire.
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Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to bring forward the reforms outlined in paragraph 20 of the fifth Chapter of "A new contract for welfare: Partnership in Pensions. [64946]
Mr. Timms:
We have already started to improve services for pensioners and expect to continue to do so during the remainder of this Parliament.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people earning between £9,000 and £20,000 are contributing to a pension above the compulsory minimum; and what is the distribution of these sums measuring the value of pension savings per annum in blocks of £250. [64970]
Mr. Timms:
Information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is as follows: Data drawn from the 1996 General Household Survey and Spring 1998 Labour Force Survey suggests that there are approximately 10.75 million employees and self- employed people earning between £9,000 and £20,000 per year. Of these, around 7 million are estimated to be making pension savings above the compulsory minimum.
Note:
Assumed real earnings growth is 1.5 per cent per year.
Notes:
1. Assumed real earnings growth is 1.5 per cent. per year.
2. The estimate is given in constant earnings terms i.e. the amount received will be comparable to today's level of average earnings.
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