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Disabled People (Single Gateway)
Miss McIntosh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received on the interview and single gateway for disabled people; and if he will make a statement. [71712]
16 Feb 1999 : Column: 679
Angela Eagle:
Following publication of "A New Contract for Welfare: The Gateway to Work" (Cm 4102), this Department has received a total of 342 responses, 150 of which made representations on the Single Work-Focused Gateway in relation to disabled people. In addition, officials from the Department have met with representatives of national organisations representing disabled people. They have expressed general support for the principles which underpin the Single Work-Focused Gateway and officials are currently working to ensure that any concerns expressed by the organisations are recognised in the ongoing development of the gateway.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the average number of hours that lone parents in receipt of income related benefits work per week in Portsmouth. [69852]
Angela Eagle:
The administration of income related benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 15 February 1999:
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) for how many hours on average the main earners in couples receiving family credit work per week in Portsmouth; [69682]
Angela Eagle:
The administration of Family Credit is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 15 February 1999:
16 Feb 1999 : Column: 680
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many disability claimants have had their benefits withdrawn by the Benefits Agency because they have been found to be smuggling or bootlegging tobacco and alcohol; and how much money was saved in 1997-98. [70014]
Mr. Timms:
The administration of benefits is the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Peter Mathison. I have asked him to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mrs. Jacqui Lait, dated 15 February 1999:
Audrey Wise:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the extra child care provisions put in place since the launch of the plan for Parents at Work by the Benefits Agency in May 1998. [70171]
Angela Eagle:
The administration of the Benefits Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Peter Mathison. I will ask him to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Audrey Wise, dated 15 February 1999:
16 Feb 1999 : Column: 681
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what the average number of hours is that lone parents in receipt of income related benefits work per week in Portsmouth.
The information requested is only partially available. The main income related benefits for working families are Family Credit (FamC) and Disability Working Allowance (DWA). Details are available from a 5 per cent. sample of claims in payment for FamC and a 100 per cent. scan of the DWA claims in payment. The latest information available is for August 1998 and shows that the average number of hours worked are 24 for FamC and 25 for DWA.
There are other income related benefits which families may receive, notably Income Support, Housing Benefit, and Council Tax Benefit. Unfortunately details of the number of hours worked cannot be obtained.
I am also able to inform you that the scan of FamC and DWA cases indicated that there were approximately 1,400 lone parents receiving FamC (rounded to the nearest 100) and 29 receiving DWA in the Portsmouth Local Authority District.
I hope that you find the above information useful.
(2) how many families receive the maximum family credit benefits in Portsmouth. [70275]
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking, how many hours the main earners in couples receiving Family Credit work per week, and how many families receive the maximum family credit benefits, in Portsmouth.
The information is not available in the format requested. Family Credit is a national benefit and is administered centrally by the Family Credit Unit and statistics are produced on a national basis.
However, a periodic scan of the computer system is conducted which obtains details from a 5% sample of the claims in payment. As at August 1998, this indicated that the main earners, in couples receiving Family Credit, worked on average 31.3 hours per week, and that there were 1,100 families (rounded to the nearest 100) in receipt of the maximum amount of Family Credit, in the Portsmouth Local Authority District.
I hope you find this reply useful.
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many disability benefits claimants have had their benefits withdrawn by the Benefits Agency (BA) because they have been found to be smuggling or bootlegging tobacco and alcohol; and how much money was saved in 1997-98.
The information is not available in the format requested because it is not possible to identify how many claimants of any particular benefit have had their benefit or benefits stopped or withdrawn specifically because of bootlegging or smuggling activities, and how much money was saved in such cases.
However I can tell you that we have specific activity going on in the Channel area. David Riggs wrote to you on my behalf on 25 March 1998, following an earlier Parliamentary Question you tabled, and let you know about the BA Ports project. The Ports Project achieved savings of £1.24m in the year 1997/98 and its success led to our decision in April 1998 to create a separate unit to carry on with the work. In the current year to date, this team known as Port Fraud Investigation Team, has achieved savings of £1.49m.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
I am replying to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if I will list the extra childcare provisions put in place since the launch of the plan for Parents at Work by the Benefits Agency (BA) in May 1998.
I am pleased to have the opportunity to give you an update on progress with our Nine Point Plan for Parents at Work. It may be helpful if I briefly outline the actions we have taken so far.
Our main objective has been to set up a comprehensive network of Childcare Champion posts that have now been filled, with the last Champion taking up post in December last year. We know from the major review of childcare provision which we undertook in the BA in 1997 that there is a significant demand from staff for childcare but not enough holiday playschemes in operation.
The first task of the Childcare Champions is to establish the areas of greatest need for playschemes. Approximately thirty possible schemes have already been identified and we expect ten of these to be up and running by Summer 1999. East new scheme will receive initial funding of up to £3000. We aim to have a further forty schemes established by March 2001. The Childcare Champions will also consider whether any of the holiday playschemes can be extended to provide after-school clubs but we expect the scope for this to be fairly limited.
Participation on management committees for the Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships has been secured by some of the Childcare Champions. This will help the Agency play an active part in local childcare planning alongside Local Education Authorities and Training Enterprise Councils etc. We will also be looking to encourage other employers from the public, private and voluntary sector, to join us in partnership with the aim of improving childcare provision for all working parents in the community.
As you will be aware, the Nine Point Plan also highlighted areas for improvement of the BA's Family Friendly policies. There has been considerable progress in this area with provision made to allow staff paid leave to sit on local Out of School Development Committees. A "Family Friendly" booklet has been produced and distributed to staff setting out the range of family friendly and childcare policies available.
To ensure that managers and staff fully understand the real business benefits of effective family friendly policies, a further booklet "The Business Benefits of Family Friendly Policies" with examples of good practice for all line managers has also been produced and distributed. Also an article entitled "Parents at Work" has been published in the Agencies "BA Newsletter" and seminars have been held country wide to launch the initiative positively and gain the understanding and support of managers at all levels.
The Agency already has family friendly policies, providing 325 nursery and 1,350 holiday playscheme places for staff, which compares favourably with external organisations. Our commitment to full implementation of our Nine Point Plan will go even further towards helping all our staff balance more effectively their work and family lives.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
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