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War Pensions
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which local authorities disregard war pensions but not war widows' pensions when assessing entitlement to housing benefit or council tax rebates. [111580]
Angela Eagle: The information is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
We do not routinely collect this sort of information on discretionary local schemes for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit as such schemes are funded from an authority's own resources.
Lone Parents
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the percentage of lone parents out of work for each year since 1992 for (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire; and if he will make a statement. [111066]
Angela Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
| Shrewsbury and Atcham | Shropshire | Great Britain | |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 1992 | (68)-- | (68)-- | 964,000 |
| November 1993 | (68)-- | (68)-- | 1,010,000 |
| November 1994 | (68)-- | (68)-- | 1,025,000 |
| November 1995 | (68)-- | 2,500 | 1,046,000 |
| November 1996 | (68)-- | 2,600 | 1,022,000 |
| November 1997 | (68)-- | 2,400 | 982,000 |
| November 1998 | 900 | 2,400 | 938,000 |
| August 1999(69) | 900 | 2,400 | 940,000 |
(68) Data not available
(69) August 1999 are the latest figures available
Notes:
1. Sample size 5 per cent., therefore subject to sampling error
2. Lone parents are defined as single claimants with dependants who are not in receipt of the disability or pensioner premium
3. Shropshire County changed boundaries between 1998 and 1999. The Wrekin has been removed from figures prior to 1999 as this became a new unitary authority in 1999.
4. Figures for Shrewsbury and Atcham and Shropshire have been rounded to the nearest hundred; figures for GB are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries, November 1992 to August 1999.
To help lone parents who are out of work and in receipt of Income Support the New Deal for Lone Parents offers advice and support with jobsearch, training, childcare and benefits. Since October 1998 over 100,000 lone parents have joined NDLP and one in three of these have obtained jobs. In addition, initiatives such as the National Childcare Strategy, the Lone Parent's Benefit Run-On and the Working Families Tax Credit are for the first time making work a viable option for many lone parents.
Average Incomes
Mr. Paul Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the average income per week per household for each year since 1992, for (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire; and if he will make a statement. [111071]
28 Feb 2000 : Column: 181W
Angela Eagle:
The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for household income by county are for 1995 and were published in Table 9 of Regional Accounts 1996: Part 2, Economic Trends No. 535, June 1998. Estimates for household income by region, up to 1997, were published in Regional Accounts 1997: Part 2, Economic Trends No.551, October 1999. Both of these publications are available in the House of Commons Library. No figures are available at constituency level.
The published figures are normally presented in terms of total gross annual household income per head of population. These converted to weekly averages, give for Shropshire from 1992 to 1995 of £166, £173, £184 and £197. These figures on incomes of the household sector are defined on a national accounts basis, which includes persons living in private households and in institutions. These figures have not been adjusted for inflation.
Dr. Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information he has collected on the number of people who are members of occupational pension schemes that include provision for early retirement on grounds of ill health; and if he will make a statement on the impact of the introduction of stakeholder pensions on that number. [111454]
Mr. Rooker:
The vast majority of occupational pension scheme members are part of schemes that include provision for early retirement on grounds of ill-health. Only around 1 per cent. of occupational pension scheme members have no such provision. This means that around 10 million people are covered by arrangements for early retirement on grounds of ill-health. We do not expect the introduction of stakeholder pensions to affect that number.
Source:
The forthcoming Tenth Survey of Occupational Pension Schemes by the Government Actuary.
Pensioners
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate, on the basis of his Department's Family Resources Survey, the number of male married pensioners under the age of 85 years who are receiving amounts of state retirement pension in excess of the rate of full basic state pension applicable to a pensioner of that age. [111239]
Mr. Rooker: In 1997-98 the number of male married pensioners aged under 85 in Great Britain receiving State Retirement Pension in excess of the full basic State pension was 2.27 million. This total includes 0.22 million pensioners between the ages of 80 and 85 who were in receipt of the 25p age addition.
28 Feb 2000 : Column: 182W
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many staff were working in the office of the Independent Tribunal Service at Sutton on 4 January; [110756]
(3) if the Independent Tribunal Service at Sutton, Surrey (a) collected and (b) had delivered its incoming recorded delivery mail on 4 January. [110758]
Angela Eagle:
Administration of the Appeals Service (formally the Independent Tribunal Service) is the responsibility of the Chief Executive, Neil Ward. I have asked him to write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from N. D. Ward to Andrew Mackinlay, dated 9 March 2000:
Dr. Harris:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 1 February 2000, Official Report, column 552-53W, what conditions have been placed on the publication of research findings under the premise of clause 12.2 of his standard research contract; what was the subject of each such case; and what were the reasons for the conditions being imposed. [111702]
Mr. Rooker:
No conditions have been placed on the publication of research findings under clause 12.2 of the standard Departmental research contract. All consent to publish has been given unconditionally.
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on recruitment and promotion of Benefits Agency staff in Somerset. [110831]
28 Feb 2000 : Column: 183W
Angela Eagle:
This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Jackie Ballard, dated 22 February 2000:
Jackie Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the impact which the projected Benefits Agency overspend will have on staff in Somerset. [110461]
28 Feb 2000 : Column: 184W
Angela Eagle:
This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Notes:
1. The numbers above have been extracted from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) 1997-98. The FRS is a survey of private households in Great Britain.
2. In this year, the full basic State pension was £62.45 and £62.70 for pensioners aged 80 years and over (includes the 25p age addition).
(2) how many faxes were received by the Independent Tribunal Service at Sutton, Surrey over the Christmas and New Year period; and on what dates each was processed; [110757]
I am writing in reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about the service at our Sutton office over the Christmas and New Year period.
We are committed to improving the quality of service we provide to all who use or rely upon our Service. We deal with many thousands of appeals every year without incident, but I recognise that each appeal is of great importance to the individual who makes it. We strive, therefore, to provide the best service possible to every appellant in their given circumstances, whatever the period of the year. Over holiday periods we maintain sufficient--if inevitably lower--levels of staffing at all our offices.
There were 39 staff working our Sutton office on 4 January 2000. The Sutton office is situated next door to the local Post Office and it is our practice to collect mail from them every working day morning. Staff did collect incoming recorded delivery main on 4 January 2000 and the letters were distributed to the appropriate staff during the course of that morning.
I am unable to say how many faxes were received at the Sutton office over the Christmas and New Year period. There are three fax machines in the Sutton office and because of the volume of activity, a log of incoming faxes is not kept. Faxes received are regularly taken from the machines and distributed to the relevant processing teams. It is not possible to say when each of the faxes was processed.
I hope that this reply is helpful. Please contact me should you require any further information.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about recruitment and promotion of Benefits Agency (BA) staff in Somerset.
The number of staff recruited by the BA in Somerset over the last 3 years is:
1997: 36 staff (this includes 8 existing BA staff who transferred to Somerset)
1998: 80 staff (this includes 3 existing BA staff who transferred to Somerset)
1999: 162 staff (this includes 27 existing BA staff who transferred to Somerset)
The number of BA staff from Somerset that have been promoted over the same period is:
1997: 1 member of staff
1998: 14 staff
1999: 12 staff (of which 1 is still unposted)
The high numbers recruited in 1999 are partially the result of Somerset District being a pilot for the ONE Project, and cover staff employed in the District together with other BA Units which are based in the Country of Somerset.
It is anticipated that there will be further promotion and recruitment exercises in Somerset later this year.
I hope this is helpful.