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WALES
Hospital Waiting Lists
Mr. Barry Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what action he has taken to reduce hospital waiting lists; and if he will make a statement. [89854]
Mr. Jon Owen Jones: Since April 1997, the Government have invested £58 million to help NHS Wales reduce waiting lists and cope with increased pressures from emergency medical admissions during the winter months. An additional £19 million per year has been made available recurrently from 1999-2000.
Between March 1997 and March 1999 in-patient and day case waiting list figures fell from 67,609 to 65,315, following a peak of 76,016 in August 1998.
Since then, in-patient and day case waiting list figures have increased and stood at 67,732 at the end of May 1999.
Bringing waiting lists down remains a priority for the Government.
Following the transfer of functions on 1 July 1999, waiting lists are now a matter for the National Assembly for Wales to address.
Mr. Berry:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state the (a) cost of and (b) numbers affected by amending the law to ensure entitlement to Incapacity Benefit is reliant on a requisite record of past National Insurance contributions in (i) one of the last three complete tax years, (ii) one of the last four complete tax years, (iii) one of the last five complete tax years, (iv) one of the last six complete tax years and (v) one of the last seven complete tax years. [89714]
Mr. Bayley:
Under current legislation entitlement to Incapacity Benefit depends on a minimum number of National Insurance contributions having been paid in only one tax year. The table shows the benefit savings and numbers affected in the first, third and tenth years of requiring the same amount of contributions to have been paid in one of the last three, four, five, six and seven years. Only about 30 per cent. of those affected would have a cash loss. In 70 per cent. of cases Income Support would fully compensate for loss of entitlement to Incapacity Benefit.
Notes:
1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
2. All figures are in April 1998 benefit rates. Savings figures quoted are net benefit expenditure savings.
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 613
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 613
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the net saving to public expenditure of raising the state pension age to (a) 66 and (b) 67 years from 2039. [90188]
Mr. Timms:
The information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of pensioner benefit units claiming Income Support, where the head of household is over 80 years, receive (a) at least one full basic state pension and (b) some payment of basic state pension. [90189]
Mr. Timms:
The information is not available in the form requested. Such information as is available is in the table.
| Pensioners | Number |
|---|---|
| Total Income Support claimants over 80 | 593,000 |
| Percentage receiving a full basic State pension | 87.7 |
| Percentage receiving an element of the basic State pension | 8.8 |
| Percentage not in receipt of any basic State pension | 3.6 |
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 614
Primary Benefit Recipients
Mr. Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for the most recent available date the number of primary benefit recipients who are (a) married men with dependent children, (b) married women with dependent children, (c) single men with dependent children, (d) single women with dependent children, (e) single men under pension age, (f) single women under pension age, (g) married male pensioners, (h) married female pensioners, (i) single male pensioners and (j) single female pensioners, broken down for each benefit. [90323]
Angela Eagle:
The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 613
| Income Support (February 1999) | Jobseeker's Allowance (November 1998) (11) | Family Credit (February 1999) | Disability Working Allowance (January 1999) (12) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Married men with children(13) | 163,000 | 138,000 | 298,000 | 3,743 |
| Married women with children(13) | 36,000 | 8,000 | 90,000 | 582 |
| Single men with children(13) | 59,000 | 4,000 | 16,000 | 217 |
| Single women with children(13) | 977,000 | 10,000 | 385,000 | 1,991 |
| Single men less than 65 | 626,000 | 683,000 | 16,000 | 4,776 |
| Single women less than 60 | 1,367,000 | 227,000 | 385,000 | 5,558 |
| Married male pensioners(14) | 126,000 | n/a | n/a | 15 |
| Married female pensioners(14) | 19,000 | n/a | n/a | 15 |
| Single male pensioners(14) | 205,000 | n/a | n/a | 7 |
| Single female pensioners(14) | 1,083,000 | n/a | n/a | 26 |
(11) All Jobseeker's Allowance cases are shown and may therefore include some cases where nil benefit is in payment but the claimant signs for National Insurance Contributions only.
(12) Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand except Disability Working Allowance where exact figures have been provided.
(13) Dependent children are defined as aged 0-18 years.
(14) Pensioners are defined as men aged 65 and over, and women aged 60 and over.
Notes:
1. Primary benefit recipients have been interpreted as being the benefit claimant.
2. Family Credit figures reflects the gender of the main earner when in practice the primary recipient is normally the female.
Sources:
1. Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, February 1999
2. Jobseeker's Allowance Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, November 1998
3. Family Credit 5 per cent. sample of all awards as at February 1999
4. Disability Working Allowance 100 per cent. count of claims as at January 1999
(15) Figures as at 31 March 1999 based on a 5 per cent. sample from the Pension Strategy Computer System, including people resident overseas.
(16) Figures as at 30 November 1998 based on a 5 per cent. sample of the PSCS Incapacity system, and may exclude a small number of cases held clerically.
(17) Figures as at 28 February 1999 based on a 5 per cent. sample.
8 Jul 1999 : Column: 615
| With dependent children (18), | Non-pensioners (19) | Pensioners (19) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recipients with partner | 473,000 | 657,000 | 681,000 |
| Single recipients | 1,033,000 | 2,057,000 | 1,930,000 |
| Total recipients | 1,506,000 | 2,714,000 | 2,611,000 |
(18) Recipients with dependent children could be pensioners or non-pensioners, similarly, pensioners or non-pensioners may have dependent children.
(19) 'Pensioner' status has been determined by those in receipt of any of the pensioner premiums, and therefore non-pensioners or are those not in receipt of a pensioner premium.
Note:
The data is provisional and has been rounded to the nearest thousand.
Source:
Management Information System 1 per cent. sample taken in May 1998
| With dependent children (20) | Non-pensioners (21) | Pensioners (21) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recipients with partner | 398,000 | 536,000 | 394,000 |
| Single recipients | 1,015,000 | 2,114,000 | 1,431,000 |
| Total recipients | 1,413,000 | 2,650,000 | 1,825,000 |
(20) Recipients with dependent children could be pensioners or non-pensioners, similarly, pensioners or non-pensioners may have dependent children.
(21) 'Pensioner' status has been determined by those in receipt of any of the pensioner premiums, and therefore non-pensioners or are those not in receipt of a pensioner premium.
Note:
The data is provisional and has been rounded to the nearest thousand.
Source:
Management Information System 1 per cent. sample taken in May 1998
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