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Misuse of Aid
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what measures are in place to prevent British aid being used to fund or encourage illegal activity in developing countries; [136635]
- (2) what steps are taken to ensure that British aid is not misused; and if she will make a statement. [136630]
Clare Short: The Department's Office Instructions manual, a copy of which is available in the Library, contains an explicit requirement for all development assistance to comply with the Overseas Development and Co-operation Act 1980. If there was any question regarding the legality of an activity in the country concerned, this would be addressed as part of the appraisal procedure. All expenditure is subject to subsequent monitoring, accounting and audit processes to verify that funds are used for the purposes intended. External scrutiny of the Department's expenditure is carried out by the National Audit Office on behalf of the Comptroller and Auditor General.
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the scope for corruption in sector-wide approaches to aid. [136637]
Clare Short: Sector-wide approaches are considered after careful appraisal of a wide range of factors which include, in particular, the robustness and integrity of financial management systems. Where such systems have inadequate controls, separate procurement, disbursement and/or audit channels are used. Technical assistance associated with a sector-wide approach can include strengthening of the expenditure management, procurement, reporting, accounting and audit capacity of the sector concerned. Thus sector-wide approaches help deliver country wide improvements in health and educational provision and improved financial management.
Publications
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her document "Fair-Trade, Overview, impact and challenges" cost to produce. [136632]
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Imfundo Project
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much her Department has spent on the Imfundo project. [136633]
Clare Short: The total spend (excluding staff costs) on the Imfundo project to date is £52,957.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Carers
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many carers in receipt of their retirement pension do not qualify for the full amount of Invalid Care Allowance. [136446] [136595]
Mr. Bayley: It is estimated that up to 110,000 carers in Great Britain in receipt of retirement pension have made a claim to Invalid Care Allowance (ICA) at some point but do not currently qualify for the full amount of the allowance due to the overlapping benefit rules.
Note:
Those who have never claimed ICA due to receipt of an overlapping benefit will not be included.
Source:
ICA unit administrative data and projections of underlying entitlement cases aged over State pension age. Rounded to the nearest ten thousand.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many married couples who were carers, over the age of 60 years and both in receipt of the state pension, were not entitled to Invalid Care Allowance in the last year for which figures are available. [136447] [136596]
Mr. Bayley: The information is not available.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many carers over the age of 65 years he expects to claim Invalid Care Allowance under the package for carers announced in October. [136444] [136598]
Mr. Bayley: It is estimated that 40,000 individuals aged 65 or over who are also carers will benefit by being eligible to claim Invalid Care Allowance under the extension of new claims entitlement to that age group.
Note:
Due to the difficulty of modelling entitlement to ICA from survey data and the small sample sizes used, this estimate must be treated with caution.
Source:
Family Resources Survey 1997-98, 1998-99. ICA caseload forecasts. Estimates rounded to the nearest five thousand.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much additional funding he has allocated for the package of measures for carers announced in October. [136445] [136597]
Mr. Bayley: The allocation amounts to £191 million over the three years 2001-02 to 2003-04.
Pensions and Working Age Agencies
Mr. Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what progress has been made in establishing (a) a pensions agency and (b) a working age agency. [135524]
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Angela Eagle: Project teams are in place to take work forward on the design and development of the pensions organisation and working age agency. The projects are working closely together to ensure a smooth migration to the new organisations without disrupting the existing service to benefit clients. The project teams report regularly to Ministers on progress.
Invalid Care Allowance
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the cost of abolishing the overlapping benefits rule for those over pension age in the case of Invalid Care Allowance in order to ensure that full-time carers over pension age could receive ICA in addition to any state pension. [135081]
Mr. Bayley: It is estimated that the cost of abolishing the overlapping benefits rules in the case of Invalid Care Allowance (ICA) for those over state pension age in 2002-03 would be about £400 million.
Notes:
1. Cash prices, rounded to nearest £50 million.
2. Given the limitations of modelling entitlement to Invalid Care Allowance from survey data the estimate should be treated with caution.
3. It is assumed that take-up among the entitled group will be 100 per cent.
4. An adjustment has been made for Income Related Benefits (IRB) effects.
Sources:
Family Resources Survey 1998-99, ICA quarterly extract September 1999 and ICA caseload forecasts.
In-patients Costs
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what studies his Department has conducted into the everyday (out of hospital) financial costs borne by pensioners who go into hospital for six weeks or more. [136546]
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people, who have previously been awarded a life award of disability living allowance at high rate, have had their disability living allowance downgraded following a review in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) Scotland. [135860]
Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.
| Great Britain | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|
| All downgradings (12), (13), (14) | 55,500 | 7,200 |
| Downgraded to lower rate(12) | 11,800 | 1,800 |
| Downgraded to fixed term(13) | 44,600 | 5,500 |
(10) The term "life award" was removed from legislation in January 2000. Therefore figures may include a small number of indefinite awards.
(11) From October 1999 reviews were replaced by two new processes, reconsideration and supercession, which are included in these figures.
(12) Figures consist of cases where the higher rate of either the care or the mobility component has been reduced.
(13) Figures consist of cases previously awarded for life which are then awarded for a fixed period of time.
(14) Includes a small number of cases which were both downgraded to a lower rate and downgraded to a fixed term so figures will not sum.
Note:
DLA was created in 1992.
Source:
DSS Information Centre: 5 per cent. data rounded to the nearest hundred.
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It is important to note that "life awards" of DLA was never intended to guarantee benefit entitlement up to death. They were always subject to change where, for example, a person no longer continued to satisfy the rules of entitlement, or where an error had been made. The criteria for changing a DLA award were, and remain, the same as those that apply to changes of almost all Social Security benefits. The Government recognised that the "life award" terminology in DLA was in this respect unsatisfactory because it created uncertainty. In the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 the terminology was changed to bring it in to line with other benefits. Awards previously termed "for life" are now termed "indefinite". The Department routinely examines cases to make sure that people are still entitled.
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