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Regeneration
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 4 May 2000, Official Report, column 213W, on regeneration-related initiatives, if he will list the details requested for (a) New Deal for Disabled people, (b) New Deal for Lone Parents, (c) New Deal for the Long-term Unemployed aged 25 plus: 12 to 18 months unemployed, (d) New Deal for Long-term Unemployed aged 25 plus: 2 years plus unemployed and (e) ONE. [124412]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 5 June 2000]: Details regarding sums budgeted and expended on these initiatives are set out in the tables.
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Under the New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP), we have been piloting and testing ways in which to help Disabled People in to work. Over the coming months we will develop proposals for extending the NDDP nationally. Expenditure to date is set out in the following table.
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1997-98(11) | (15)0 |
| 1998-99(11) | 3 |
| 1999-2000(12) | 13 |
| 2000-01(23), (24) | 24 |
| 2001-02(13) (24) | 13 |
(11) Expended
(12) Expended (Provisional)
(13) Planned (Provisional)
(14) The figures for 2000-01 and 2001-02 are provisional and do not include funds for the national extension of NDDP.
(15) All figures rounded to nearest £1 million, actual 1997-98 expenditure £0.175 million.
Note:
Over £50 million has been allocated to pilot initiatives, including the pilot Personal Adviser Service, Innovative Schemes and evaluation. We are also considering what funds will be allocated for the proposed retention and rehabilitation pilots and the national extension of NDDP.
The New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) aims to help lone parents on Income Support move into work. The following table details the sums expended throughout the planned lifetime of this programme.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1997-98(16) | (17)0 |
| 1998-99(16) | 22 |
| 1999-2000(16) | (18)36 |
| 2000-01 | (19)-- |
| 2001-02 | (19)-- |
(16) Expended
(17) All figures rounded to nearest £1 million, actual 1997-98 expenditure £0.175 million.
(18) Provisional
(19) The remainder of the national budget, based on current projections, will be spent by the end of 2001-02.
Notes:
1. The sum of £182 million has been made available for the NDLP national programme.
2. The cost of implementing the NDLP in eight prototype areas was £8 million, incurred between July 1997 and October 1998.
New Deal for long-term unemployed persons aged 25 plus--12 to 18 months unemployed
This information refers to provision for pilot schemes in 28 different local areas. Of these, 18 are targeted at people who have been unemployed for 18 months or more, with the rest targeted at those who have been unemployed for 12 months or more. The following table details the amounts budgeted or expended on these schemes.
12 Jun 2000 : Column: 485W
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1998-99(20) | 5 |
| 1999-2000(20) | (22)60 |
| 2000-01(21) | 50 |
(20) Expended
(21) Budgeted
(22) Provisional
Notes:
1. The majority of this funding is from windfall tax receipts. Estimates of the allocation of the windfall tax receipts between programmes are revised and published in each pre-Budget and Budget report. Since the windfall tax receipts are to be spent across lifetime of the Parliament, funds which are unspent in one year are available for spending in subsequent years.
2. Figures supplied by the Department of Education and Employment, who are responsible for this programme.
3. All figures rounded to nearest £1 million.
New Deal for long-term unemployed persons aged 25 plus--two years or more unemployed
This information refers to provision for the national New Deal 25 plus scheme, targeted on those who have been unemployed for two years or more. The following table details the amount budgeted or expended on this programme.
| Year | £ million |
|---|---|
| 1998-99(23) | 20 |
| 1999-2000(23) | (25)50 |
| 2000-01(24) | 100 |
| 2001-02(24) | 350 |
(23) Expended
(24) Budgeted
(25) Provisional
Notes:
1. The majority of this funding is from windfall tax receipts. Estimates of the allocation of the windfall tax receipts between programmes are revised and published in each pre-Budget and Budget report. Since the windfall tax receipts are to be spent across the lifetime of the Parliament, funds which are unspent in one year are available for spending in subsequent years.
2. Figures supplied by Department of Education and Employment, who are responsible for this programme.
3. All figures rounded to nearest £1 million.
ONE pilots have been designed to test the effectiveness of work focused interviews for all working age clients and to develop appropriate models for the integration and improvement of welfare services. The following table details the amounts budgeted and expended in each financial year for the planned lifetime of these pilots.
| £ million | |
|---|---|
| 1999-2000 | |
| Budgeted | 33 |
| Expended (provisional) | 31 |
| 2000-01 | |
| Available | 41 |
| Profiled (provisional) | 36 |
| 2001-02 | |
| Available | 41 |
| Profiled (provisional) | 36 |
Note:
Figures rounded to nearest £1 million.
12 Jun 2000 : Column: 486W
Pensions
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate for each financial year since 1996-97 the extra expenditure on pensions and the amount of this year's pension if the link between pensions and earnings had been restored immediately before the year in question. [124345]
Mr. Rooker: The information requested is in the table.
| Year | Assumed rate of basic Retirement Pension (£ per week) | Gross cost (£ billion) | Net cost (£ billion) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-97 | -- | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| 1997-98 | -- | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| 1998-99 | -- | 1.5 | 1.3 |
| 1999-00 | -- | 2.1 | 1.8 |
| 2000-01 | 73.60 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
Notes:
1. Assumed rates of basic Retirement Pension have been uprated by the higher prices or earnings growth at each uprating from April 1995 onwards. Rates have been rounded to the nearest 5p at each uprating.
2. Earnings growth is based on the seasonally adjusted average earnings index in the three months to July of the previous year, as originally published. Price inflation is the previous September figure.
3. Gross costs have been estimated by the Government Actuary's Department. Costs net of income-related benefit savings have been estimated using the DSS Policy Simulation Model.
4. Costs include benefits whose rates are linked to the rate of basic Retirement Pension.
5. Costs are rounded to the nearest £100 million, are in £ billion and are expressed in 2000-01 prices.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the length of time taken between an application for ACT payment for pensions and the date when payment is received into the pensioner's bank account. [124779]
Mr. Rooker: The administration of benefit payments is a matter for Alexis Cleveland the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Fiona Mactaggart, dated 9 June 2000:
- The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary question asking what estimate he has made of the length of time taken between an application for Automated Credit Transfer (ACT) payment for pensions and the date when payment is received into the pensioner's bank account.
- Customers wishing to receive payment by ACT must fill in the appropriate form of application, which includes a declaration that they have read and accept the conditions under which it is offered.
- Applications for ACT payment can be received with new claims, which are subject to a clearance target of 60 days, or as a change to an existing pensioner's method of payment. The length of time taken has therefore been gauged from the time of processing the application, which in both instances should be the same.
- Except in the case of weekly sums under £5, which are paid annually, currently customers have the option of receiving ACT payments at 4 weekly or 13 weekly intervals. Payment is received in the pensioner's bank account on the last banking day of the 4 or 13 week period.
12 Jun 2000 : Column: 487W
- If there are two full weeks or more left in the current ACT period when the application is processed a payment for that period is made accordingly. Where only one week remains this is added to the payment for the first full period. The longest time a customer must wait for payment is therefore normally limited to 5 weeks or 14 weeks.
- I hope this is helpful.
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