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Food Retailing
Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made by the OFT in its investigation into competition in food retailing; and if he will make a statement. [65074]
Dr. Howells: I understand that the Director General of Fair Trading hopes to complete preliminary investigations into supermarket profitability within the next couple of months. It is a matter for him how and when he makes his findings public.
Export Controls
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make it his policy that arms brokering is made subject to licensed approval under the same criteria as those contained in the EU Code of Conduct. [64536]
Mr. Wills [holding answer 11 January 1999]: The White Paper on Strategic Export Controls, which was published on 1 July 1998, contains proposals to extend controls on trafficking and brokering in a number of areas. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my predecessor, my hon. Friend the Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Mrs. Roche), to my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Ms Jones) on 14 December 1998, Official Report, column 364, in which she set out the Government's proposals.
A variety of views have been expressed on these proposals, with a number of respondents to the White Paper suggesting wider controls in this area than those which the Government have proposed. We are currently reviewing all the proposals contained in the White Paper in the light of the responses received.
Mr. Stinchcombe:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what plans the Government have to legislate to implement the recommendations of the Scott report; [65001]
Mr. Wills:
The White Paper on Strategic Export Controls, which was published on 1 July 1998, contained the Government's proposals in response to the recommendations on strategic export controls made by
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Sir Richard Scott. It also contained a number of proposals for new licensing requirements, including the extension of controls on the trafficking and brokering of goods in certain circumstances, and the introduction of controls on the transfer of technology by intangible means.
We are currently reviewing the White Paper proposals in the light of responses to it. The Government aim to introduce new primary legislation as soon as there is time in the legislative programme.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of pensioners will be dependent on means tests, once the Partnership in Pensions is fully operative. [64682]
Mr. Timms:
The proposals in the Government's Green Paper "Partnership in Pensions" are designed to ensure that someone with a full working life, or years covered by credits, will receive a pension on retirement above the Minimum Income Guarantee.
The proposals in "Partnership in Pensions" will promote behavioural changes through the spread of good value funded second pensions, improved pensions education, and the greater reward in retirement from moving from benefits to work. It is not possible to forecast the impact of complex behavioural changes over 50 years.
With no allowance for behavioural change it is estimated that by 2050 the number of those receiving Minimum Income Guarantee will fall from approximately 1 in 3 pensioner households (rather than individual pensioners) to approximately 1 in 4 and fall further in later years.
As an illustration of the possible impact of behavioural effects, if all those in work saved an additional 5 per cent., the figure would fall to approximately 1 in 5 in 2050.
Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what take up rate for the stakeholder pension the figures of (a) £0.7 billion lost in lower National Insurance contributions through contracting out and (b) the extra state support of an initial £500 million are based. [65235]
Mr. Timms:
As chapter 12 of the Green Paper on pensions "Partnership in Pensions" makes clear, the Department estimate that £0.7 billion would be lost in National Insurance revenue for every million people who contract out of the new State Second Pension scheme. This cost would be recouped in the long term because people would no longer receive the State Second Pension when they retire. The figure of £0.5 billion represents the net National Insurance revenue loss, after allowing for the return of some low earners to State Second Pension.
Mr. Denis Murphy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the number of complaints referred to the Independent Case Examiner for the Child Support Agency indicating the number of complaints
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which have (a) been upheld and (b) resulted in compensation payments being made in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [65036]
Angela Eagle:
The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mrs. Faith Boardman. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Faith Boardman to Mr. Denis Murphy, dated 11 January 1999:
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many review claims have been (a) dealt with
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by the Disability Unit, (b) disallowed and (c) overturned on appeal, (i) since 1 January 1997 and (ii) since the current review has been in operation. [64757]
Mr. Timms:
The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
(2) what plans the Government have to review licensing requirements for strategic arms exports. [65002]
I am replying to your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security about Child Support Agency cases referred to the Independent Case Examiner.
The Office of the Independent Case Examiner commenced work in April 1997. When the Agency responds to a complaint the client is provided with details on the services of the Independent Case Examiner to enable them to contact her directly.
During the twelve month period to 30 November 1998, 1463 clients made applications to the Independent Case Examiner. Only about one third of applications received by the Independent Case Examiner result in a full investigation. There are a number of reasons for this; the required gateways for investigation may not be satisfied; or the case may fall outside the Independent Case Examiner's jurisdiction. Additionally an increasing number of complaints are resolved early following successful mediation, without the need for a full investigation.
In the same period, the Independent Case Examiner issued 217 final reports following her investigation (some of these reports will relate to applications received prior to 1 December 1997 as the target for completion of a full investigation is 19 weeks). In 73 of these reports the complaint was fully upheld and in 132 the complaint was partially upheld. Of these 217 cases, 172 resulted in compensation being paid.
Compensation payments are considered where a clear and unambiguous error by the Agency has resulted in distress or in actual financial loss to the client which is not recoverable through other means.
We are committed to providing good quality customer service and are continuing to develop a close working relationship with the Independent Case Examiner and her staff, meeting regularly to identify ways in which our service to clients can be improved.
This has led to the Agency's Business Units adopting a case study approach to cases handled by the Independent Case Examiner. This involves the Business Unit Manager and staff involved with the case identifying lessons learned, introducing improvements and good working practices and liaising with the office of the Independent Case Examiner.
We have reviewed the way that we handle complaints and we have increased resources for our Client Helplines and the National Enquiry Line, extended our hours of opening to cover 8.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday and 9.00 am to 5.00 pm on Saturdays and completed trials to greatly improve and increase clients' opportunities to secure a face to face service. Through these measures our aim is to deal with clients' problems at an early stage and prevent problems escalating.
I am confident that through closer liaison with the Independent Case Examiner and the action we have already taken we have started to address the problems we have in the way we deal with clients' complaints. Where we discover we have made mistakes or caused delay we will do everything in our power to put things right as quickly as possible and apologise to the clients concerned. I recognise that we have a long way to go to remedy our problems fully, but we expect clients to see continuous ongoing improvements by the end of 1998-99 and beyond.
I hope this is helpful.
| Non BIP cases from 1 January 1997 to 31 October 1998 | |
|---|---|
| Number of reviews decisions made | 646,249 |
| Number of reviews disallowed | 10,607 |
| Number of appeal decisions made | 77,474 |
| Number of appeal decisions overturned in the customer's favour | 24,883 |
Source:
DBD Resource and Assurance Group
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| Total BIP cases to 31 October 1998 | |
|---|---|
| Number of review decisions made | 17,913 |
| Number of reviews totally disallowing benefit | 5,347 |
| Number of reviews resulting in the mobility component only being disallowed | 880 |
| Number of reviews resulting in the care component only being disallowed | 2,108 |
| Number of Appeals decisions made | 1,116 |
| Number of cases overturned resulting in the case being restored to the original award or to a higher rate | 305 |
Note:
Figures are provisional and subject to change
Source:
Statistical databases from BIP database
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the Disability Unit's (a) published targets and (b) current target attainment levels for processing review claims for the disability living allowance. [64759]
Mr. Timms: The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Ronnie Fearn, dated 11 January 1999:
Mr. Denis Murphy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for disability living allowance were received by the Disability Benefits Unit in (a) 1996, (b) 1997 and (c) 1998; and what was the average length of time taken from the Unit receiving the application to the applicant being notified of the decision in each of the three years concerned. [65039]
Mr. Timms:
The administration of Disability Living Allowance is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Denis Murphy, dated 11 January 1999:
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The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the Disability Unit's (a) published targets and (b) current target attainment levels are for processing review claims for the Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
The Disability Benefits Directorate's published targets for 1998-1999 for clearance of DLA Reviews is 60 per cent. in 55 working days and 80 per cent. in 75 working days.
The actual year to date achievement of DLA reviews clearances, as at November 1998, is 70 per cent. in 55 days and 86 per cent. in 75 days.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many applications for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) were received by the Disability Benefits Unit in (a) 1996, (b) 1997 and (c) 1998: and what was the average length of time taken from the Unit receiving the application until the applicant being notified of the decision in each of the three years concerned.
The total number of DLA new claim applications and Special Rules new claim applications received by the Disability Benefits Directorate are shown at Annex A.
The average length of time taken from receipt of the application until the applicant being notified of the decision for 1997 and 1998 is also shown at Annex A. I am unable to provide information for 1996 as system reports that provide the actual average clearance times were not in existence until the following year.
The increase in time taken to clear new claims is the result of revised guidance given to Adjudication Officers on 9 February 1998 which has led them to seek supporting evidence in a higher number of cases. Time taken for evidence to arrive is included in the clearance time figures.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
| DLA claims received | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal Rules (NR) | 482,521 | 491,167 | 437,531 |
| Special Rules (SR) | 28,190 | 26,421 | 23,828 |
| DLA claims average clearance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal rules (NR) | N/A | 32 days | 37 days |
| Special rules (SR) | N/A | 7 days | 8 days |
Source:
DBD Resource and Assurance Group.
Figures are provisional and subject to change.
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