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State Second Pension
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects the low-earning self-employed to be brought into the state second pension. [115910]
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Mr. Rooker:
Self-employed earners will not be included in the state second pension scheme from the outset. The issue of whether they should eventually be brought into the scheme was part of the Pension Green Paper consultation exercise we carried out. We are considering the outcome of this.
Mr. Cox:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims were made for industrial injury benefit during 1999. [115918]
Mr. Bayley:
Data on the claims made to industrial injuries disablement benefit in the quarter ending December 1999 are not yet available. 54,600 claims were made for industrial injuries disablement benefit between January and September 1999. 70,300 claims were made in the 12 months ending September 1999.
Notes:
1. These figures are based on a 10 per cent. sample of industrial injuries disablement benefit claims.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
Source:
Analytical Services Division.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Cotter: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average length of time between date of initial application and date of appeal for incapacity benefit applications in North Somerset in each of the last three years. [116005]
Mr. Bayley: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Stakeholder Pensions
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what advice he has received from his advisers on the increase in the number of pensions taken out and the money likely to be put into pensions if stakeholder pensions were fully concurrent. [115908]
Mr. Rooker: If all members of defined benefit occupational pension schemes were permitted to contribute up to £3,600 to a stakeholder pension, regardless of existing limits, it is estimated that there would be an increase of around one million people taking out stakeholder pensions. The additional money put into pensions would be about £1.3 billion, of which about £400 million would come from tax relief.
Key Client Groups
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his oral statement of 15 March 2000, Official Report, columns 307-21, if he will list his Department's key client groups other than children, people of working age and pensioners. [115851]
Angela Eagle:
Our aim is to promote work for those who can and provide support and opportunity for all. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said in his statement, we are focusing the Department on its key client groups: children, people of working age and
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pensioners. We recognise that within these key groups people will have different needs. Our approach will help us to focus services to meet these needs.
Mrs. Lait:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what recent discussions he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the Australian Government about frozen state pensions of British people living in Australia; and if he will make a statement. [115101]
Mr. Rooker:
The Australian Government's proposal for a limited unfreezing of pensions for some UK pensioners living in Australia were discussed at a meeting with the then Minister of State in July 1999. This proposal was rejected.
Formal notification of Australia's intention to terminate its social security agreement with the UK was received on 1 March. The agreement will end 12 months from this date. This action will have no effect on the great majority of UK pensioners living in Australia, nor will it affect those in receipt of an Australian age pension at the time the termination becomes affective.
It is unfortunate that the Australian Government has decided to end this long-standing agreement. We have no plans to unfreeze pensions in Australia or elsewhere.
Mr. Jenkin:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will reply to the letter from the hon. Member for North Essex of 6 November 1999 concerning purchasing policies of local authorities. [116138]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I replied to the hon. Member on 23 March 2000.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the practice of firing National Hunt horses' tendons. [115804]
Mr. Morley:
This practice has been condemned by the Council of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons as being therapeutically ineffective and unjustifiable.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the timetable for the proposed Directive on Food Supplements; whether he has received a copy of the Draft Directive; what policy objectives he intends to pursue in connection with that Directive; and what steps is he taking to promote those objectives in discussions with other member states. [115798]
Ms Quin:
In its White Paper on Food Safety published on 18 January, the Commission stated that it will adopt the proposal for a directive on food supplements in March 2000, with a view to it being adopted by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament by March 20001. The draft directive has not yet been published.
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The Government believe that the level of vitamins and minerals in supplements sold under food law should be limited only where this is necessary for safety reasons, and we are taking every opportunity to promote this approach during discussions in Brussels and other international forums.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has to review food labelling regulations to ensure that consumers of food supplements and other health food products are given accurate, relevant information about these products, their safety, use and effectiveness in maintaining good health. [115795]
Ms Quin:
The Government are committed to giving consumers clear, easily understood information so they can make informed choices about the food they buy. We have been pressing the European Commission for changes in existing food labelling rules, which are harmonised at Community level, to require mandatory nutrition labelling of all foods and for the development of harmonised rules on health and nutrition claims. In addition, we are supporting the work of the Joint Health Claims Initiative, an alliance of consumer, industry and enforcement groups, in the development of a Code of Practice on Health Claims.
In January, my noble Friend Baroness Hayman launched the "Better Food Labelling" initiative to identify whether current labelling rules and regulations meet the needs of consumers. The views received will be passed to the new Food Standards Agency to help judge whether the current regime is in need of reform, and for use in formulating its advice to Government on the UK's food labelling policy.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is his policy in relation to the availability on general retail sale of safe vitamin and mineral supplements. [115797]
Ms Quin:
The Government believe that in the interests of consumer choice supplements sold under food law should, like other foods, be freely available.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to receive the report of the Expert Advisory Group on Vitamins and Minerals; and if he will arrange for the provisional findings of the Group to be made available for comment to consumer, retailer, practitioner and manufacturer representative groups prior to its publication. [115794]
Ms Quin:
The Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals is expected to submit its report to the Food Advisory Committee in spring 2001. Whether the provisional findings are the subject of consultation with interested parties prior to this is a decision for the group itself. However, the group is committed to publishing the scientific reviews of the nutrients that it is considering so that interested parties have an opportunity to comment. It is also aided in its work by observers from consumer, food and health food industries and alternative medicine who are free to participate in the discussion of the scientific reviews.
Mr. Breed:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the cost of storing meat
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and bone meal produced under the over-30-months scheme prior to incineration in each of the storage locations. [115110]
Ms Quin:
The total cost of storing meat and bone meal produced under the over-30-months scheme is currently around £9 million per year. Specific rates are negotiated individually with contractors and are commercial confidential.
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