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Select Committee Report
Mr. Duncan Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 19 March 1999, Official Report, columns 839-40, on Select Committee reports, if he or his ministerial colleagues have discussed
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with other hon. Members the contents of Social Security Committee (a) draft reports, (b) reports prior to their issue and (c) embargoed copies of reports. [79017]
Mr. Darling
[holding answer 29 March 1999]: Ministers have discussions with hon. Members on a variety of topics, some of which may become subjects of Social Security Committee reports.
Mr. Kidney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he intends to inform all DSS and Benefits Agency staff of the developing policies towards carers outlined in the national strategy for carers. [78551]
Mr. Bayley:
The report of the National Carers' Strategy is an important document for all Government Departments. As an employer we recognise the importance of personnel policies which meet the needs of our staff, a number of whom have caring responsibilities for elderly, sick or disabled relatives. Without such policies, it would be difficult to recruit and retain the best people and significant numbers of our staff would be unable to achieve their full potential. It is clearly in our business interests to ensure that our workforce is committed and contented and this means that we must take account of caring commitments. Our policies have developed and are still developing in line with the changing requirements of staff whilst taking account of the National Carers Strategy.
All of the Department's business units have recently been involved in reviews of their childcare and family friendly policies. One of the outcomes of this assessment is that there is a need to communicate our strategy for staff with caring responsibilities more effectively. Consequently the Benefits Agency issued a booklet, "Work and Family" to all its staff in November and DSS HQ are intending to do the same.
Where staff are involved in designing and implementing policy initiatives and commitments, such as the Single Work Focused Gateway and the State Second Pension, we are already taking steps to ensure that they will receive the appropriate information and training to support the Strategy's main objectives.
Mr. Wood:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what steps he is taking to deal with delays in pension payments due to computer breakdown at the Contributions Agency in Newcastle. [78050]
Mr. Timms:
A statement on the steps taken to minimise disruption in pension payments and other benefits due to delays in implementing facilities on the Contributions Agency computer, the National Insurance Recording System (NIRS2) was set out by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security in his written answer on 15 March 1999, Official Report, columns 486-88.
Mr. Steinberg:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the estimated costs to the Exchequer in
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the current financial year of (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax relief to those pensioners who qualify as a result of being on income support. [78937]
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1998-99 estimated outturn, cash | |
| Housing benefit | 2,256 |
| Council tax benefit | 659 |
Source:
The figures underlie the 1999 Departmental Report
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated total cost of Income Support paid to those pensioners who qualify in the current financial year. [78936]
Mr. Timms: The total programme cost of Income Support paid to pensioners in 1998-99 is estimated to be £3,641 million.
- Note:
- "Pensioners" for Income Support purposes, means a single person aged 60 or over, or a couple (counted as one benefit unit) where one or both members is aged 60 or over.
- Source:
- Social Security Departmental Report 1999-2000.
Mr. Steinberg: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners (a) receive and (b) do not receive Income Support. [78938]
Mr. Timms: As at August 1998, there were estimated to be 1,637,000 pensioners who were either in receipt of Income Support, or the partner of a person in receipt of Income Support. The estimated number of pensioners not dependent on Income Support in 1998 is 8,816,000.
- Notes:
- 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
- 2. Pensioners are defined as men aged 65 or over, and women aged 60 or over.
- 3. In the case of a couple, for Income Support purposes the claim by one partner includes both members.
- 4. The estimates of Income Support recipients are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of error.
- 5. The total pension age population of Great Britain for 1998 is estimated to be 10,453,000 based on a population projection for 1998 provided by the Government Actuary's Department.
- Sources:
- 1. Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry August 1998.
- 2. Official Population Projections of Government Actuaries Department, 1998.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the proportion of pensioners aged 65 to 69 years who are receiving income support in 1998-99; and if he will estimate the corresponding percentage for this cohort in (a) 2000, (b) 2010 and (c) 2020, assuming that the minimum income guarantee is linked to earnings. [78864]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
The proportion of pensioners aged 65 to 69 who are in private households and receiving Income Support is estimated to be 8 per cent. for 1998-99 and 9 per cent. for 2000-01.
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The information is not available for the years 2010 and 2020. Previous estimates of the number of pensioners receiving Income Support in these years have been made using the Department's PENSIM model. These estimates can only give a broad indication of the likely order of magnitude of figures so far into the future, and are heavily rounded. Reliable estimates of sub-groups of this caseload and therefore of the proportion of pensioners aged 65 to 69 who are receiving Income Support are not available.
Mr. Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 10 March 1999, Official Report, column 252-53, on pensioner incomes, if he will provide the same information excluding couples where neither partner is over state pension age. [78884]
Notes:
1. Estimates are consistent with the forecasts for Income Support included in the Departmental Report.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest percentage point.
3. Estimates exclude pensioners in residential care and nursing homes.
| Single male pensioners | Single female pensioners | Pensioner couples | All pensioner benefit units | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60-64 | 90 | 100 | 70 | 270 |
| 65-69 | 70 | 220 | 200 | 490 |
| 70-74 | 70 | 300 | 150 | 520 |
| 75-79 | 80 | 330 | 140 | 550 |
| 80+ | 100 | 550 | 130 | 770 |
| Total | 400 | 1,500 | 690 | 2,600 |
| Single male pensioners | Single female pensioners | Pensioner couples | All pensioner benefit units | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60-64 | 20 | 20 | 50 | 90 |
| 65-69 | 40 | 70 | 190 | 290 |
| 70-74 | 30 | 130 | 250 | 400 |
| 75-79 | 40 | 130 | 190 | 360 |
| 80+ | 50 | 190 | 150 | 390 |
| Total | 170 | 540 | 820 | 1,540 |
| Single male pensioners | Single female pensioners | Pensioner couples | All pensioner benefit units | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60-64 | 110 | 160 | 450 | 720 |
| 65-69 | 120 | 220 | 590 | 930 |
| 70-74 | 100 | 240 | 420 | 760 |
| 75-79 | 80 | 190 | 190 | 450 |
| 80+ | 90 | 190 | 130 | 400 |
| Total | 490 | 990 | 1,780 | 3,260 |
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| Single male pensioners | Single female pensioners | Pensioner couples | All pensioner benefit units | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60-64 | 20 | 40 | 30 | 80 |
| 65-69 | 20 | 30 | 20 | 80 |
| 70-74 | 20 | 50 | 10 | 80 |
| 75-79 | 20 | 30 | * | 50 |
| 80+ | 20 | 50 | 10 | 70 |
| Total | 90 | 200 | 70 | 360 |
Notes:
1. Figures are given to the nearest 10,000 pensioner benefit units, although they are not necessarily accurate to that degree. Figures of less than 5,000 pensioners are denoted by '*'.
2. Figures may not sum to row or column totals due to rounding.
3. Figures should be treated with caution since taxpaying status is not directly measured by the Family Resources Survey, but has been imputed using a model based on policies announced up to and including the 1998 Budget statement.
4. Pensioner benefit units are defined as single people aged 60 and over and couples (married or cohabiting) where at least one partner is aged over State pension age (65 and over, for men, 60 and over for women). Couples are allocated to age bands according to the age of the older partner.
5. Tax paying pensioner benefit units are defined as those where at least one individual in the benefit unit is modelled as liable to income tax.
Source:
Family Resources Survey 1996-97
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