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Benefit Claimants
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of benefit claimants who do not have a bank account. [73015]
Mr. Timms: Estimates of the number of benefit claimants who do not have a bank account vary widely. The various sources of information available suggest the figure to be in the region of 10-20 per cent.
Benefit Payments
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of (a) the transaction costs of benefit payment and (b) the costs of paying benefit using the current method if paid through automatic credit transfer. [73029]
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Angela Eagle:
The transaction fees payable by this Department, to the various agents who supply benefit payment services, are commercial in confidence and cannot be disclosed.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what proportion of housing benefit claims are processed within 14 days; and what were the proportions in each year since 1992; [73034]
Angela Eagle:
The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.
(2) what proportion of housing benefit claims were processed within 14 days (a) in each year since 1992 and (b) at the latest available date. [73261]
| Year | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 1992-93 | not available |
| 1993-94 | not available |
| 1994-95 | 80 |
| 1995-96 | 82 |
| 1996-97 | 78 |
| 1997-98 | 79 (most recent year) |
Note:
The data will include estimates for non responding authorities.
Source:
Local Authority Administrative Returns.
Means-tested Benefits
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumption about the value in real terms of means-tested benefits in 2025 has been made in the forecast in paragraph 17, chapter 1, of Cmd 4179. [73016]
Angela Eagle: Our aim, over the long-term and as resources allow, is to increase the Minimum Income Guarantee in line with average earnings. The forecast in paragraph 17, chapter 1, of Cm 4179 assumes that the level of income-related benefits is increased in line with average earnings (assumed to be 1.5 per cent. per year above the growth in prices) from April 1999 onwards.
Benefit Payments (Post Offices)
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the expected completion date of the installation of the Benefits Agency/POCL project; [73018]
- (2) what assessment he has made of how Benefits Agency staff judge the new Benefits Agency/POCL system; [73030]
(3) if he will list the savings which have resulted directly from the Benefits Agency/POCL project; and if he will indicate how these savings are measured; [73032]
(4) how many transactions using the new Benefits Agency/POCL system have been (a) single benefit claims, (b) two benefit claims, (c) three benefit claims and (d) four or more benefit claims; [73017]
(5) what is the average amount paid to date to the ICL-led consortium for each transaction using the new Benefits Agency/POCL system. [73033]
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Angela Eagle:
The working plans assume that all post offices will be automated by the end of 2000.
An approach has been developed to assess the impact of the payment card and the supporting customer accounting and payment systems on the operation of DSS benefits and Benefits Agency offices. This will capture data on staff awareness, perception and satisfaction, which will begin to become available from the middle of this year.
The trial of the payment card is estimated to have resulted in savings in benefit fraud of £68,000 during the period September 1996 to December 1998. The parallel introduction of the order book control service has separately resulted in savings in fraud of £1.4 million during the period May 1997 to December 1998.
Savings are measured using system-produced data on volumes of payment card transactions and volumes of order books recovered as a result of barcoding.
To date 750,000 payments of child benefit have been made via the payment card as part of a limited trial. No other benefits are presently involved in the trial.
Commercial information such as the value of transaction charges is confidential.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Chairman of the Administration Committee if the Committee will investigate whether the Chamber of the House could be made available to members of the European Youth Parliament for use when the House is not in session. [72549]
Mrs. Roe:
I have to advise my hon. Friend that the Chamber of the House cannot be made available for this purpose. The Parliamentary Education Unit have recently started a programme of "Pupil Parliaments" for schools on six or seven Fridays each year in Committee Room 10, and any proposals from the European Youth Parliament for similar facilities would be considered by my Committee in the context of this programme.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the training provided by TECs; and if he will make a statement. [72037]
Mr. Hain:
TECs contract with a variety of training providers for the delivery of youth and adult training programmes. In so doing, they must ensure that the training delivered meets the specifications for the various programmes that are set out in the TEC Contract and Operating Manual and the related planning guidance. They must also ensure that it complies with their contractual obligations in respect of accuracy of payments claimed for programme delivery, quality assurance and Health and Safety provisions. TEC performance in all of these respects is closely monitored by the Welsh Office
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and subject to the annual performance review; and, when cases of non-compliance with contract have arisen, appropriate remedial action has been taken.
The content of the training provided is specified by the various industry lead bodies and the qualifications awarded on the completion of training are routinely subject to audit by ACCAC, the qualifications assessment body for Wales.
The effectiveness of the training programmes in achieving their objectives is also subject to evaluation. Such evaluations are usually undertaken by the Department for Education and Employment on an England and Wales basis and the reports are routinely published. They influence both the subsequent design of programmes and the way in which they are delivered locally via the TECs through the identification of best practice.
However, whilst these arrangements have provided reasonable assurance that the training delivered has accorded with its intentions, they have not provided any clear indication of the relative standards of training offered by different training providers. Evidence of compliance with training course requirements does not necessarily represent evidence of a good learning experience for the trainee. The quality assurance arrangements provide a limited assurance in this respect, but they are insufficiently independent of the parties involved in training delivery to provide an objective assessment of the standard of training achieved.
It is for this reason that the Government have enacted legislation to enable the Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector to inspect the quality of training provision in Wales. The Office of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector will use a framework for inspection which is similar to that used by the Training Standards Council in England and which has been subject to consultation with TECs, training providers and ACCAC in Wales. Inspections will begin in the next financial year and it is intended to cover all providers of Government-sponsored training within a five year cycle. The Inspectorate's reports will provide the first independent assessment of training standards in Wales; and I will expect both the TECs and the training providers concerned to use these reports constructively in the interests of continuous improvement.
Following the transfer of functions this issue will be a matter for the National Assembly.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of (i) higher and (ii) further education students in Wales; and if he will make a statement. [72035]
Mr. Hain:
Provisional figures, as at 1 December 1997, indicate that the numbers of students studying at Welsh institutions were 95,546 for higher education and 137,660 for further education.
Following the transfer of functions, this issue will be a matter for the National Assembly.
Mr. Barry Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many New Deal graduates have found permanent jobs; and if he will make a statement. [72036]
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Mr. Hain:
Although there can be no guarantee of permanency, all jobs accessed through the New Deal are real jobs.
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