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Independent Tribunal Service
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what steps are taken to ensure access for
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disabled people to buildings used to hold Disability Living Allowance Independent Tribunal Service hearings; [65261]
Angela Eagle:
The Council on Tribunals (CoT) produce a code of practice entitled "Access for Disabled People Using Tribunals" to which the Independent Tribunal Service (ITS) fully adheres in relation to its own tribunal premises. Appeals involving Disability Living Allowance are heard by Disability Appeal Tribunals (DATs), and these tribunals sit only in premises containing appropriate facilities for disabled people. Such facilities include car-parking spaces, access ramps, internal lifts and furnishings and fittings suitable for disabled people whilst both sitting in and moving around the premises.
ITS operates an equal opportunities policy of which an essential element is an awareness of the needs of people with disabilities. This policy is explained to all new members of the administrative staff early in their induction training and reinforced at regular intervals thereafter, whilst tribunal clerks, who deal face-to-face with disabled appellants, are given more detailed supplementary training. An Equal Opportunities Officer is based in Nottingham, whose role is to monitor changes in policy and practice and to provide regular updates to all staff.
Judicial Officers of ITS--that is, tribunal chairmen and members--whilst not direct employees, also receive training in various aspects of human awareness and interpersonal skills, including the needs of people with disabilities. This, too, is delivered initially as part of the induction training for new appointees and subsequently incorporated into regular "refresher" training programmes at both local and national level.
Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects take-up of stakeholder pensions to reach (a) 500,000, (b) 1 million, (c) 1.5 million and (d) 2 million; and what estimate he has made of the eventual level of take-up of stakeholder pensions. [65420]
Mr. Timms:
The take-up of Stakeholder Pensions will depend on a number of factors and cannot be reliably predicted. There are estimated to be in the region of 5 million potential beneficiaries earning between £9,000 and £20,000 per annum: over 2 million people currently in SERPS, 2 million who currently have Appropriate Personal Pensions, and 1 million self employed people (some with personal pensions).
Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security on what basis the figure of £9,000 per year was chosen as the value below which individuals would not be encouraged to take out stakeholder pensions. [65576]
Mr. Timms:
The figure of £9,000 was judged to be broadly the annual earnings level where, at current levels of compulsion, pension contributions would be sufficient to make funded pensions cost-effective. This was based on a range of information, including minimum contribution levels used for the sale of personal pensions.
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Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update his estimates based on the Family Resources Survey 1996-97 of (a) median pensioner incomes, excluding means-tested benefits, by age, sex and marital status, consistent with his answer of 12 November 1998, Official Report, columns 295-98, and (b) the size of each group. [65581]
(2) what training employees of the Independent Tribunal Service receive to ensure that they are aware of the special needs of people with a disability. [65271]
| £ per week | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Age | ||||
| 60-64 | 65-69 | 70-74 | 75-79 | 80 and over | |
| Single male pensioners | n/a | 122 | 121 | 104 | 95 |
| Single female pensioners | 116 | 99 | 94 | 85 | 85 |
| Pensioner couples | n/a | 239 | 206 | 181 | 167 |
Notes:
1. All amounts are in £s per week at July 1996 prices. They are rounded to the nearest £1, although estimates are not necessarily accurate to this level.
2. Estimates are for pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single (non-cohabiting) person over State Pension Age (65 years or above for men and 60 years or above for women), or a couple (married or cohabiting) where the man, defined as the head, is over State Pension Age. Estimates for pensioner couples are broken down by the age of the man.
3. Estimates marked 'n/a' are not applicable. Single men and couples are defined as Pensioner Units only if the man is aged 65 years or above.
4. Means-tested benefits are defined as Income Support, Family Credit, Council Tax Benefit and Housing Benefit.
5. Levels of means-tested benefit may be particularly affected by mis-reporting as receipt of State Retirement Pension and receipt of Income Support are often confused in the FRS.
Source:
The Pensioners' Incomes Series dataset, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
| Thousand | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | Age | ||||
| 60-64 | 65-69 | 70-74 | 75-79 | 80 and over | |
| Single male pensioners | n/a | 250 | 210 | 210 | 260 |
| Single female pensioners | 320 | 550 | 710 | 670 | 980 |
| Pensioner couples | n/a | 960 | 810 | 500 | 360 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 Pensioner Units.
2. Estimates are for pensioner units. A pensioner unit is defined as a single (non-cohabiting) person over State Pension Age (65 years or above for men and 60 years or above for women), or a couple (married or cohabiting) where the man, defined as the head, is over State Pension Age. Estimates for pensioner couples are broken down by the age of the man.
3. Estimates marked 'n/a' are not applicable. Single men and couples are defined as Pensioner Units only if the man is aged 65 years or above.
4. Estimates are not controlled to independent population estimates by the age bands used.
Source:
The Pensioners' Incomes Series dataset, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
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Mr. Ashton: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many old age pensioners who have become eligible for their benefit since 1 October have not received their pension, and for what reason; and what explanation, or notification, has been given to them as to when they may expect to be paid. [66467]
Mr. Timms: People entitled to Retirement Pension since 1 October 1998 will have received their pension provided they have made a claim. If the contribution record to determine their claims could not be obtained because of the difficulties with the NIRS2, they will have been offered emergency payments and told the reason. I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security gave the hon. Member for Newbury (Mr. Rendel) on 4 November 1998, Official Report, columns 603-06. It is estimated that 3 per cent. of claims fall into this category; this relates to about 1,500 claims a month (or 4,500 between October and December 1998).
Income Support
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the cost in each of the next 10 financial years of linking the rate of income support for pensioners to earnings rather than prices. [65424]
Angela Eagle: The information is not available in the form requested.
In April 1999 the Income Support rate for pensioners will be increased by more than if they had been uprated by earnings.
On this basis the estimated cost to the Income Related benefits of increasing the rate of Income Support (IS) for pensioners by earnings rather than prices would be approximately £250 million in 2000-01 and £520 million in 2001-02. These figures are based on departmental forecasts of the future number of pensioners on Income Related Benefits. Estimated forecasts beyond 2001-02 are not routinely provided on an annual basis, and to do so would incur disproportionate costs.
However, long-term figures on the costs to income related benefits have been estimated using PENSIM, a dynamic simulation model that projects pensioners' incomes into the next century. For illustrative purposes the estimated cost of uprating IS for pensioners in line with earnings by 2010, based on PENSIM, would be around £3.5 billion in today's prices. PENSIM estimates, however, are based on a number of economic and behavioural assumptions. Due to the reliance on assumptions and the time period covered, estimates should be treated with caution, and have been heavily rounded.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to publish the findings on the pilot studies on income support take-up. [66128]
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Angela Eagle:
The evaluation of the Income Support take-up pilots is currently underway. Results are expected before the Spring and publication will follow as soon as possible after that.
Notes:
1. Estimates for 2000-01 and 2001-02 are in cash terms. The estimated cost in 2010 is for illustrative purposes and shown in constant prices. This is consistent with other PENSIM figures in the public domain.
2. Short-term estimates have been rounded to the nearest £10, and the estimate for 2010 is rounded to the nearest half a billion to reflect the uncertainty of the estimate.
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