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Housing Benefit

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the effect on housing benefit expenditure will be if social rents in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK were reduced by (i) 5 per cent. (ii) 10 per cent. and (iii) 15 per cent. [119978]

Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.

Estimated savings in Housing Benefit expenditure(6) for percentagereductions in social rents(7) at 2000-01 prices(8)£ million

	5 per cent.	10 per cent.	15 per cent.
Scotland	40	90	130
Great Britain	420	830	1,240

(6) Estimates relate to gross Housing Benefit expenditure (the amounts actually paid to claimants) in respect of the current financial year 2000-01

(7) 'Social' rents are taken to refer to Local Authority and Registered Social Landlords

(8) Estimated results are based on a combination of information from the Family Resources Survey 1997-98, uprated to 2000-01 prices and benefit levels, along with the forecasts underlying the Departmental Report 2000.

Notes:

1. The information relates to Scotland and Great Britain. The Department forecasts only apply to Great Britain, therefore it has not been possible to supply corresponding data for the UK.

2. Figures are rounded to £10 million

Pensioners

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners have been entitled to means-tested benefits in each of the past five years; how many are expected to be entitled to be means-tested benefits in each of the following five years; and what proportion those represent of total pensioners in each year. [119944]

Mr. Rooker: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following tables.

Total of number of pensioner benefit units receiving and number entitled but not receiving means tested benefits in 1996-97

	Number in millions	As percentage of all pensioner benefit units
Income Support	2.0 to 2.3	26 to 29
Housing Benefit	1.9 to 2.1	24 to 27
Council Tax Benefit	3.4 to 3.9	43 to 50

20 Apr 2000 : Column: 606W

Total of number of pensioner benefit units receiving and number entitled but not receiving means tested benefits in 1997-98

	Number in millions	As percentage of all pensioner benefit units
Income Support	2.0 to 2.3	25 to 29
Housing Benefit	1.8 to 2.1	23 to 26
Council Tax Benefit	3.2 to 3.8	41 to 48

Notes:

1. Estimates refer to pensioners in private households, in Great Britain

2. Self-employed pensioners are excluded from counts of benefit recipients and entitled non-recipients

3. Pensioner benefit units here include couples where either member is over 60

4. Estimates are presented as ranges because estimates of entitled non-recipients are in ranges.

Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the annual cost of (a) removing the means test for benefits for pensioners and (b) keeping SERPS in (i) Scotland and (ii) the UK. [119869]

Mr. Rooker: The cost of removing the means test for benefits for pensioners depends on what assumptions are made. The net cost of uprating the basic State Pension to the level of the Minimum Income Guarantee is around £4.5 billion, excluding the effect on linked benefits. Retaining SERPS in preference to the State Second Pension would result in a cost saving because the State Second Pension will be more generous to some 18 million low and moderate earners, carers and long-term disabled people with broken work records. Estimates apply to Great Britain. Separate costs for Scotland are not available.

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the proposed pensioners tax credit; and when it will come into force. [119971]

Mr. Rooker: My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in his Budget Statement, proposed that the pensioner credit should be introduced in the next Parliament.

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack) of 17 April 2000, Official Report, columns 401-02W, on pensions, if he will estimate his Department's expenditure on pensioners as a proportion of GDP in each year from 1979-80 to 1990-91. [120239]

Mr. Rooker: The information is in the table.

Expenditure on people over 60 as a percentage of all social security benefit expenditure and as a percentage of GDP

		Expenditure as a percentage of:
Year	Expenditure (cash £ million)	All expenditure	GDP
1979-80	10,138	53.99	4.91
1989-81	12,134	53.55	5.15
1981-82	14,357	51.83	5.56
1982-83	16,105	50.92	5.70
1983-84	17,456	49.41	5.70
1984-85	18,496	48.39	5.61
1985-86	20,172	48.38	5.58
1986-87	21,697	48.31	5.58
1987-88	22,866	48.97	5.32
1988-89	23,652	49.97	4.94
1989-90	25,715	51.25	4.92
1990-91	28,490	50.42	5.06

Notes:

1. Expenditure figures are consistent with Table 3 of the 2000 Departmental Report (Cm 4614) and earlier equivalents.

2. Social Security benefit expenditure includes non-Departmental funded expenditure on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and earlier equivalents.

20 Apr 2000 : Column: 607W

Combined Pension Statement

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will place in the Library a copy of the combined pension statement launched on 12 April, referred to in departmental press release 00/114. [119945]

Mr. Rooker: I have placed in the Library an example of the combined pension statement issued by the Prudential, which includes details of both state and private pension rights.

Winter Fuel Payments

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much it has cost to administer the winter fuel payments in each year since their introduction; and what the projected costs are for the forthcoming year. [119938]

Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.

Cost to administer the winter fuel payments since their introduction£ million

Year	Cost
1997-98	13.7
1998-99	13.1
1999-2000	14.3

Notes:

1. Administration costs for 2000-01 are not yet finalised.

2. A provisional estimate of £10.2 million was anticipated; however, this does not include publicity costs or the extra costs resulting from the ECJ ruling.

Minimum Wage

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the additional cost to his Department's wage bill would be (a) in Scotland and (b) the UK if the minimum wage for all age groups was raised to (i) £4, (ii) £4.20 and (iii) £4.50 per hour. [119980]

Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.

The additional pay bill cost for the Department of Social Security of rises in the minimum wage

		£
	Additional costs
Rate of minimum wage	All DSS staff (including Scotland)	DSS staff based in Scotland
4.00	2,634,176	308,366
4.20	7,398,281	869,668
4.50	15,260,259	1,803,400

20 Apr 2000 : Column: 608W

Data Matching

Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if his Department has completed checking the individual payroll items against the departmental central index; and if he will make a statement. [119860]

Mr. Rooker: This Department does not at present match its payroll data against the departmental central index (DCI). To do so would involve a change of conditions of service of its staff and would have implications in respect of data protection legislation.

However, the large employers unit of the Contributions Agency, now part of the Inland Revenue, does carry out a reconciliation of National Insurance contributions paid by employees of companies against its records. In common with other large employers, this Department has been examined by this unit.

There is no evidence of widespread benefit fraud by staff: the last payroll cleansing exercise conducted by the Contributions Agency of the Department's payroll identified only one member of staff claiming benefit using their own national insurance number.

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