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Belarus
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received concerning the whereabouts of, and the circumstance relating to the disappearance of, (a) the First Deputy Chairman of the Belarus Supreme Council, (b) Yuri Zakhavenko, (c) Anatol Kvasovski and (d) Dmitri Zaradski; and what representations have been made by (i) the United Kingdom Government and (ii) the European Union on their behalf to the Government of Belarus. [130725]
Mr. Vaz: Her Majesty's Government, in concert with our EU partners, has repeatedly asked the Belarusian authorities to investigate the disappearances of Mr. Gonchar, Deputy Chairman of the 13th Supreme Soviet, his associate Mr. Krasovski, and Mr. Zakharenko, a former Interior Minister. The European Union maintains pressure on the Belarusian authorities to pursue their inquiries into these disappearances and keep us informed of progress. In a formal EU representation in April 2000, EU Heads of Mission in Minsk, once again requested information on all
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cases involving the disappearances of political figures. The whereabouts of these men are still not known. The Belarusian Government argue that there is no evidence to suggest that State agencies were in any way responsible for the disappearances. They claim to have done everything possible to find the missing men.
There is much speculation concerning the disappearance of Mr. Zavadsky, a cameraman working for Russian ORT, on 8 July. We are aware that the Belarusian opposition suspect official involvement but we have not seen any evidence to support this. The Belarusian Government have said that they are searching for Zavadsky. Our Embassy in Minsk are monitoring the situation.
Official Visits
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the projected (a) State Visits and (b) other categories of official visit by heads of Government, and heads of state to the United Kingdom. [131833]
Mr. Battle: At the invitation of Her Majesty The Queen, His Majesty The King of Jordan, accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Rania, will pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from 7 to 10 November. There are no other visits by Heads of State or Government confirmed at present.
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April which requested information, pursuant to his previous answers. [132134]
Mr. Robin Cook: Figures supplied by the House of Commons Library indicate that there were 53 such questions. However, because of the way that information is recorded on the POLIS database, it is not possible to guarantee the complete accuracy of this figure.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Child Poverty
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of children living in poverty in the United Kingdom; and if he will provide a breakdown for children aged (a) 0 to four years, (b) five to 10 years, (c) 11 to 15 years and (d) 16 years and above, providing in each case the numbers affected and the proportion of the relevant age group. [127859]
Mr. Bayley: Poverty is a multi-dimensional problem which cannot be defined solely on the basis of a particular level of income. One indicator which may be used, however, is whether the income of households is below 60 per cent. of median. The following table provides this information for the proportion of children living in households below 60 per cent. of median equivalised income in 1998-99 in the age bands requested.
Notes:
1. The source is Households Below Average Income (HBAI). Estimates are derived from the Family Resources Survey.
2. All figures are subject to sampling error and response biases. Results may be sensitive to the precise way in which household incomes are adjusted for household size and composition.
3. Estimates are presented on household income both Before Housing Costs (BHC) and After Housing Costs (AHC) in line with HBAI conventions.
4. HBAI defines a child as an individual aged under 16, or an unmarried 16 to 18-year-old on a course up to and including 'A' level standard (or up to and including "highers" in Scotland).
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Housing Benefit
Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the local authorities in Great Britain which (a) have already embarked on the housing benefit verification framework, stating their respective commencement dates, (b) are planning to do so, stating their proposed starting dates and (c) have still to commit themselves to the scheme. [130759]
Angela Eagle [holding answer 18 July. 2000]: We do not hold information in the format requested. Information provided by local authorities shows that at 17 July 2000, 173 had certified they are fully complying with all the requirements of the Verification Framework. A further 78 authorities had either already received or accepted the offer of set-up funds to implement the Framework fully and are at various stages of their implementation.
The table which lists these authorities and, where appropriate, includes the commencement date certified by the authority has been placed in the Library.
Pensioners
Mr. Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the number of pensioners expressed as a percentage of the total number of pensioners who are entirely dependent upon the state old age pension and means tested benefits (a) for the UK and (b) for Wales. [131601]
Mr. Rooker: Estimates for Great Britain and Wales for 1997-98 (the latest year for which information is available) are as follows:
In 1997-98, 9 per cent. of pensioners in Great Britain were entirely dependent on State Retirement Pension and/or means-tested benefits for their income. In Wales, the proportion was 12 per cent.
- Source:
- Family Resources Survey 1997-98
Free Television Licences
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the value of the free television licence for pensioners aged over 75 years is taken into account in
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assessing entitlement to (a) Housing Benefit, (b) Council Tax Benefit, (c) Income Support and (d) other means- tested assistance. [131654]
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many written parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000; and how many have not received substantive answers citing disproportionate cost as the reason. [132132]
Mr. Rooker: We received 1,815 written parliamentary questions during the period 19 October 1999 to 20 April 2000. Fifteen of those Questions did not receive substantive answers owing to disproportionate cost.
Disability Benefits
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many requests for permission to make late appeals in respect of Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance were (a) made and (b) granted in each year since 1996-97. [132056]
Mr. Bayley: The information is not available in the format requested.
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance receive both a child dependant's addition and an adult dependant's addition. [132059]
Mr. Bayley: The number of Incapacity Benefit recipients where both a child dependant's addition and an adult dependant's addition is payable is 47,200.
The number of Severe Disablement Allowance recipients where both a child dependant's and an adult dependant's addition is payable is 1,300.
These figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample of the benefit computer system at 29 February 2000 and will exclude a small number of clerically held cases.
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance with dependent children also receive Income Support. [132060]
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Mr. Bayley: At November 1999, there were 231,000 claimants of Incapacity Benefit or Severe Disablement Allowance of working age with dependent children who also receive Income Support in Great Britain.
Of the 231,000 claimants of Incapacity Benefit/Severe Disablement Allowance with dependent children who also receive Income Support, 132,000 are not receiving an Incapacity Benefit payment but are receiving National Insurance credits only due to failing the contribution condition.
- Source:
- Client Group Analysis of DSS statistical 5 per cent. samples relating to the working age claiming key Social Security benefits in November 1999.
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people who have been assessed as disabled under the Industrial Injuries Disablement Scheme he estimates will benefit from decision CI 1698/97 of the Social Security Commissioners on aggregation of disablement assessments. [132057]
Mr. Bayley: Work is in hand to identify the people affected.
Mr. Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children, by age group, live in households where a parent is in receipt of Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance or Income Support with a disability premium. [132058]
Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| All children | 582 |
| Under 5 | 97 |
| Aged 5-10 | 153 |
| Aged 11-15 | 163 |
| 16 or over | 54 |
| Not known | 115 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand
2. Includes children for which additional benefit allowances are payable.
3. A "disability related premium" means a Disability Premium, Severe Disability Premium (higher and lower rates) or a Higher Pensioner Premium where the claimant or partner are aged over 60 and would qualify for the Disability Premium.
Source:
Client Group Analysis of DSS statistical 5 per cent. samples relating the working age claiming key Social Security benefits in November 1999.
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