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Ex-miners
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to apply the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 to compensation awards made to ex-miners with serious respiratory disease under the handling agreement on compensation principles signed by the DTI on 24 September 1999; and if he will estimate the numbers of likely claimants subject to such recovery in each region and nation of the United Kingdom. [111347]
Mr. Bayley:
The provisions of the Social Security Recovery of Benefits Act 1997 will apply to miners in the same way as they do for other victims of accident, injury or disease. The compensation recovery scheme is intended to ensure that people do not receive double compensation for the same need. Compensation paid in respect of loss of past earnings, cost of past care or loss of past mobility is therefore reduced to take account of all benefits paid
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for the same purpose, but only for a maximum period of five years from the date of claim to benefit in respect of the disease. Whether miners see a reduction in the amount of compensation they actually receive, therefore, will depend on the make-up of their compensation payment. However, compensation awarded to miners in respect of pain and suffering will be paid at the full amount awarded under the terms of the handling agreement.
The information on likely claimants subject to benefit recovery is not available in the form requested. The claims handlers IRISC have estimated a total of 150,000 claims under the handling agreement, distributed as follows:
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much benefit, and for how many cases, has been recovered by the Compensation Recovery Unit for asbestos-related illnesses and diseases in each of the past five years. [111685]
Mr. Bayley:
The administration of the Compensation Recovery Unit is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
England--97,500
Wales--40,500
Scotland--12,000.
Not all of these claims will be subject to benefit recovery.
| Year | Number of cases | Total amount recovered (£) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1994-31 March 1995 | 138 | 1,030,457.77 |
| 1 April 1995-31 March 1996 | 173 | 1,507,320.58 |
| 1 April 1996-31 March 1997 | 240 | 1,860,957.46 |
| 1 April 1997-31 March 1998 | 255 | 2,029,302.49 |
| 1 April 1998-31 March 1999 | 353 | 3,433,959.90 |
| 1 April 1999-31 December 1999 | 235 | 2,338,166.37 |
I hope this is helpful.
Benefit Statistics
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the amount of (a) fraud and (b) error committed by officials from his Department or its agencies in connection with (i) jobseeker's allowance and (ii) income support in the most recent year for which figures are available. [111711]
Mr. Rooker:
This is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my right hon. Friend.
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| (i) Job Seeker's Allowance (JSA) | |
|---|---|
| Number of cases | 2 |
| Loss to public funds | £4,454.85 |
| (ii) Income Support (IS) | |
|---|---|
| Number of cases | 16 |
| Loss to public funds | £426,947.86 |
Of the cases outlined, nineteen BA officials were involved. Of these, eight were prosecuted resulting in seven being jailed and one fined, a further two were reprimanded and three were dismissed, three resigned before further action could be taken and there was insufficient evidence to take action on the remaining three. This demonstrates our commitment to protecting the system and that staff who abuse their position for personal gain will take the consequences of their action. The member of staff who misused the computer system to create four false claims and embezzle over £100,000 was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
b) Official error
(i) Jobseeker's Allowance
Percentage accuracy 88.02
Percentage error 11.98
Monetary value of error:
Underpayment £22.16m
Overpayment £221.68m
Total £243.84m
(ii) Income Support
Percentage accuracy 83.4
Percentage error 16.6
Monetary value of error:
Underpayment £210.91m
Overpayment £425.90m
Total £636.81m
Between April 1998 and March 1999 the BA dealt with 2,827,315 claims to JSA paying out £3.5 billion in benefit and dealt with 1,202,792 claims to IS and paid out £12 billion in benefit.
I hope this is helpful.
Single Room Rent Restrictions
Mr. Matthew Taylor:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Marsden) of 7 February 2000,
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Official Report, column 57W, what changes to single room rent restrictions on young people aged under 25 years he plans in order to address the localised difficulties caused by the present rules; and if he will make a statement. [111723]
Angela Eagle:
We are considering the future of the single room rent as part of our wider review of housing. We will be taking account of all the available research which will include the localised reports we received from a variety of organisations on the effects of the single room rent, and the research we commissioned jointly with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions on Housing Benefit and the private rented sector to gauge the effects of the rent restriction rules which were introduced in 1996.
Mr. Goggins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the future of the Mobility Equipment Fund and Drivers Fund. [112743]
Mr. Bayley:
A review of the Mobility Equipment Fund (MEF) and Drivers Fund was completed last year, and we are grateful to Motability's Tenth Anniversary Trust for their financial support to the Funds while that was ongoing. The purpose of both funds, to provide major adaptations to vehicles to allow severely disabled people to travel as drivers or passengers, is in line with our objective of providing more support for seriously disabled people. We have therefore decided that the pilot status of both funds should be ended, that they should be made substantive, and that they should continue to be administered on our behalf by Motability.
We are aware of the funding problems recently experienced by the funds and have recently agreed revised financing for the Funds with Motability. By restructuring our total support for Motability we shall be making available an additional £1 million for grants in the current financial year, and about £2.7 million extra from 2000-01. This will ease some of the current strain upon the MEF in particular, and start to reduce the waiting list. We recognise that to further reduce the MEF waiting list will require additional funding in the future. Further funding for the MEF will be considered alongside other Government spending priorities in the forthcoming spending review.
Mr. Portillo:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much money has been spent to date by his Department and by bodies funded by his Department in connection with the National Changeover Plan; on what headings this money has been spent; and how much his Department plans to spend on implementing the plan over the next 12 months. [112147]
Angela Eagle:
I refer the right hon. Member to the written answers which my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary has given the right hon. Member today.
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