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EU Funding (Wales)
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the National
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Assembly for Wales with regard to the provision of additional funds from the Treasury for the financial year 2000-01 and subsequent years, to enable Wales to take up European Union strategic funds fully in each year from April 2000, without having to reduce spending on other services to provide the necessary Welsh funding; and if he will make a statement. [95769]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
My predecessor discussed these matters with the First Secretary of the National Assembly for Wales. I have also held discussions with the Secretary of State for Wales.
Mr. Wigley:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will ensure that the full sums of money provided by the EU for Objective 1 strategic projects in Wales will be passed to Wales outside the Welsh block and not be subject to the application of the Barnett formula; and if he will make a statement. [95770]
Mr. Andrew Smith:
UK Government Departments, the Scottish Executive and the National Assembly for Wales are required to find full public expenditure cover for EU Structural Funds expenditure.
I will consider on their merits representations from the National Assembly about the public spending implications arising from Objective 1 status as part of next year's spending review.
Mr. Welsh:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for each of the past five years payments to the Consolidated Fund made by the Crown Estate Commissioners. [95271]
| Financial year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1994-95 | 81.9 |
| 1995-96 | 94.3 |
| 1996-97 | 103.1 |
| 1997-98 | 116.6 |
| 1998-99 | 122.0 |
Fuel Duty
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to end the above-inflation rises in fuel duty; and if he will make a statement. [95274]
Mr. Timms: The Government's policy on fuel duty escalators is set out on page 121 of the 1999 Financial Statement and Budget Report.
Mortgage Mis-selling
Mr. Flynn: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what evidence he has received in the past four months on the mis-selling of mortgages. [95158]
Miss Melanie Johnson:
The deadline for submissions to the Treasury's consultation on whether mortgages should be regulated was 22 October. The Treasury has received over 150 responses to date. Analysis is now taking place, with some responses still being received. A decision will be announced by the end of the year.
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Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the median total weekly income of those current recipients of Incapacity Benefit or Invalidity Benefit below state pension age who have private pension income in excess of £50 per week. [94698]
Mr. Bayley: Around 80 per cent. of current recipients of Incapacity Benefit below State pension age either have no private pension or a pension of less than £50 a week.
The median weekly household income before housing costs of current recipients of Incapacity Benefit below State pension age with income from a private pension in excess of £50 a week is £309 a week. The average weekly household income for this group is £343 a week. The average is higher than the median because a significant proportion have high pension incomes.
Notes:
1. Incapacity Benefit replaced Sickness Benefit and Invalidity Benefit in April 1995. All existing recipients at that date became Incapacity Benefit recipients.
2. Weekly income is unequivalised income net of tax and other deductions of the household that the benefit recipient lives in.
3. All figures are in April 1999 prices and are rounded to the nearest £.
4. Figures are estimates from the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset based on the 1997-98 Family Resources Survey (FRS) for Great Britain.
5. Private pensions are defined as occupational and personal pensions.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Maclean: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list his Department's spending on official publications since May 1997. [93682]
Mr. Rooker: The Department has spent £3.216 million on official publications in the period May 1997 to the end of September 1999.
Income Support
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assumption about the indexation arrangements for Income Support underlies his estimate that on unchanged policies one in three pensioners will be in receipt of Income Support by 2050. [94699]
Mr. Rooker: For the above estimate, Income Support is assumed to increase in line with average earnings from the year 2000. The assumed rate of increase in average earnings is 1.5 per cent. per year above the rate of inflation.
- Notes:
- 1. The estimate referred to above was obtained through an approximate extension of the results for 2025 of the Departments' microsimulation model, PENSIM.
- 2. PENSIM provides estimates of pensioners' incomes up to 2025. Using the 2025 income estimates, all sources of private incomes were assumed to increase in line with average earnings (1.5 per cent. per year above inflation) up to 2050. State income (other than Income Support) was assumed to increase only with prices. This provided an estimate of the distribution of pensioners' incomes in 2050. The model's caseload was re-weighted to reflect the projected size and composition of the pensioner population in 2050.
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- 3. The number of pensioners in 2050 with estimated income below Income Support levels in this year was calculated. The same proportion of this group receiving Income Support in 2025 was assumed to receive Income Support in 2050. This resulted in an estimate of around 30 per cent. of the total pensioner population in 2050 receiving the benefit.
- 4. The Department does not currently have a tool to estimate pensioners' incomes in 2050 although a long-term project is underway to develop one.
Fraud
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of benefits claimants receive benefits by (a) cash payment through the Post Office and (b) direct credit transfer; and what amount of benefit fraud arises from (i) cash payments and (ii) direct credit transfer. [95176]
Mr. Rooker: As at August 1999, about 65 per cent. of all benefit recipients were receiving payment in cash by order book or girocheque at the Post Office. Thirty-four per cent. were receiving payment by direct credit transfer and 1 per cent. by other methods of payment into banks (these include payable orders and the small proportion of girocheques paid into bank accounts).
It is estimated that fraudulent losses during 1998-99 from cash payments were £19 million in respect of girocheques and £83 million in respect of order books. No fraud has been detected to date directly arising from payment by direct credit transfer.
Overseas Pensions
Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations have been received from (a) the Canadian Government and (b) other Governments since 1 May, in favour of restoring parity between the state pension available to British citizens resident overseas and that available to United Kingdom residents. [95076]
Mr. Rooker: The issue of frozen rate pensions was raised by Donald Campbell, of Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, during a meeting with my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 6 October 1999 in Canada.
The Australian Government made representations in July 1999 for a limited unfreezing of pensions for some UK pensioners living in Australia. We rejected this proposal. The Australian Government indicated that it would be abrogating the Social Security agreement with the UK. Formal notification of this has not been received.
We have had no other formal approaches from Governments about unfreezing pensions during the period.
Mr. O'Hara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the value of the basic state pension for (a) single pensioners and (b) pensioner couples for each
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year since November 1979 to April 1999; what it would have been if it had been uprated in line with whichever was the higher of average earnings or prices; and what were the average earnings and retail prices index figures
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in the month which determined the level of the state pension each year since 1979. [95678]
Mr. Rooker:
The information is in the tables.
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| Uprating date | Actual rates £'s per week | Increased by higher of earnings or prices £'s per week | Earnings Percentage | Retail Prices Percentage | Period used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 1979 | 23.30 | 23.30 | -- | -- | -- |
| November 1980 | 27.15 | 27.60 | 18.5 | 15.3 | November 1979-80 |
| November 1981 | 29.60 | 30.90 | 11.5 | 12.0 | November 1980-81 |
| November 1982 | 32.85 | 33.50 | 8.4 | 6.3 | November 1981-82 |
| November 1983 | 34.05 | 36.40 | 8.7 | 3.7 | May 1982-83 |
| November 1984 | 35.80 | 38.25 | 5.0 | 5.1 | May 1983-84 |
| November 1985 | 38.30 | 41.60 | 8.7 | 7.0 | May 1984-85 |
| July 1986 | 38.70 | 43.45 | 4.5 | 1.1 | May 1985-January 1986 |
| April 1987 | 39.50 | 45.90 | 5.6 | 2.1 | January 1986-September 1986 |
| April 1988 | 41.15 | 49.50 | 7.8 | 4.2 | September 1986-87 |
| April 1989 | 43.60 | 53.85 | 8.8 | 5.9 | September 1987-88 |
| April 1990 | 46.90 | 59.05 | 9.7 | 7.6 | September 1988-89 |
| April 1991 | 52.00 | 65.50 | 9.5 | 10.9 | September 1989-90 |
| April 1992 | 54.15 | 70.50 | 7.6 | 4.1 | September 1990-91 |
| April 1993 | 56.10 | 73.90 | 4.8 | 3.6 | September 1991-92 |
| April 1994 | 57.60 | 76.25 | 2.5 | 1.8 | September 1992-93 |
| April 1995 | 58.85 | 78.85 | 3.4 | 2.2 | September 1993-94 |
| April 1996 | 61.15 | 81.95 | 2.8 | 3.9 | September 1994-95 |
| April 1997 | 62.45 | 85.40 | 4.2 | 2.1 | September 1995-96 |
| April 1998 | 64.70 | 88.90 | 4.1 | 3.6 | September 1996-97 |
| April 1999 | 66.75 | 93.25 | 4.9 | 3.2 | September 1997-98 |
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Notes:
1. The Retail Prices Index (all items) has been used as published by the Office for National Statistics.
2. Average Earnings Index Whole Economy (Non Seasonally Adjusted) as published by the Office for National Statistics.
3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 pence at each uprating.
4. From April 1994 the basic rate of Retirement Pension has been increased by 50p on a single person and 70p on a pensioner couple to reflect VAT on fuel.
5. The figures for November 1978 to November 1982 have been calculated using actual increases in Retail Prices Index rather than forecast increases.
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