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SOCIAL SECURITY

Income Support (Mortgage Interest Payments)

Dr. Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what schemes exist to enable unemployed households in receipt of Income Support covering mortgage interest payments to take up job opportunities available to them. [136815]

Mr. Bayley: In addition to the range of work incentives already available to recipients of Income Support and income based Jobseeker's Allowance, specific help to support home owners moving into full-time work was announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor in his Budget Statement.

From April 2001 home owners who have been receiving Income Support or income based Jobseeker's Allowance continuously for 26 weeks and who have help with their mortgage interest payments will continue to receive help with their mortgage interest for a further four weeks after starting full-time work. This measure will

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help to ease the transition into work by offering a financial cushion for the first few weeks in employment when people may have to wait for their first earnings: 60,000 home owners are expected to benefit from this help each year with average gains of between £30 and £35 per week.

In addition, we want to encourage home owners to try work. From April 2001 benefit-linking arrangements will be extended from the current 12 weeks to 52 weeks for home owners taking up employment. Home owners will be able to take up short-term or seasonal work secure in the knowledge that if they need to reclaim Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance within a year, they will immediately qualify for help with their mortgage interest payments.

CSA

Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the categories of expenditure covered by the CSA maintenance payments. [136811]

Angela Eagle: Child support maintenance assessments, which set the level of child support liability, do not specify categories of expenditure covered by maintenance payments. It is for the parent with care to decide how best to spend the money in the interests of her children.

Winter Fuel Payments

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many men have been eligible to receive a backdated Winter Fuel Payment, broken down into those who (a) have received the payment and (b) are still waiting to be paid. [135720]

Angela Eagle: Following the changes made to the Winter Fuel Payment scheme, the number of men who may now be eligible for payments in respect of previous years is around 1.7 million.

Payments in respect of previous years must be claimed and it is open to those who are now eligible to choose whether they wish to make a claim.

An information campaign has been running since April to inform potential customers about the changes to the scheme and what, if anything, they need to do.

To date, we have received 950,000 claims from men who have chosen to claim these payments, and around 930,000 payments have already been issued in respect of these claims. Outstanding claims from this group (currently estimated to be around 15,000) are being dealt with and payments will be issued on successful claims, in early December. Claims for past winters are not subject to any time limits and we continue to receive them daily.

War Pensions

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the changes made to the level of war pensions in each of the last 20 years; and what was the cost or saving to public funds of each change. [137836]

Mr. Bayley: The information is in the tables.

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The weekly rates of the maximum basic war disablement pension and the weekly rates of standard war widow's pension over the last 20 years£

Uprating month and year	War disablement pension(13)	War widows pension(14)
November 1980	44.30	35.30
November 1981	48.30	38.45
November 1982	53.60	42.70
November 1983	55.60	44.25
November 1984	58.40	46.55
November 1985	62.50	49.80
July 1986	63.20	50.30
April 1987	64.50	51.35
April 1988	67.20	53.50
April 1989	71.20	56.65
April 1990	76.60	60.95
April 1991	84.90	67.60
April 1992	89.00	70.35
April 1993	97.20	72.90
April 1994	98.90	74.70
April 1995	101.10	76.35
April 1996	105.00	79.35
April 1997	107.20	81.00
April 1998	111.10	83.90
April 1999	114.70	86.60
April 2000	116.00	87.55

⁽¹³⁾ Rate for those 100 per cent. service disabled

⁽¹⁴⁾ Rate for widow of a private

Estimated expenditure resulting from uprating war pensions£ million

From	To	Estimated increase in full year
November 1980	November 1981	69
November 1981	November 1982	46
November 1982	November 1983	52
November 1983	November 1984	18
November 1984	November 1985	28
November 1985	November 1986	37
July 1986	April 1987	6
April 1987	April 1988	12
April 1988	April 1989	23
April 1989	April 1990	34
April 1990	April 1991	48
April 1991	April 1992	48
April 1992	April 1993	48
April 1993	April 1994	38
April 1994	April 1995	27
April 1995	April 1996	26
April 1996	April 1997	47
April 1997	April 1998	26
April 1998	April 1999	48
April 1999	April 2000	37

Benefits (Wales)

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the amount by which benefit was under-claimed in Wales in each of the past 10 years. [137827]

Mr. Bayley: The information requested is not available.

Attendance Allowance

Sir Peter Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for Attendance

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Allowance were received in the last 12 months for which statistics are available; how many were refused; and how many were subsequently granted on appeal. [137275]

Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.

Attendance Allowance claims in the latest 12 months

	Number
Claims received(15)	405,313
Claims refused(15),(16)	98,657
Claims granted on review or appeal(17),(18)	13,900

⁽¹⁵⁾ Figures based on 100 per cent. data relate to the 12 months ending September 2000.

⁽¹⁶⁾ Figures include claims received before the 12 months ending September 2000.

⁽¹⁷⁾ Figures based on 5 per cent. data relate to the 12 months ending August 2000.

⁽¹⁸⁾ Figures relate to claims awarded as a result of review, reconsideration, supersession or appeal.

Source:

DSS Information Centre

CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT

Museums and Galleries

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what additional funding he is making available to museums and galleries sponsored by his Department over the next three years; what provision this

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additional funding includes for free access and quids-in at the charging museums; what resources he has set aside in reserve for further allocation; and if he will list the resources that he is making available. [138398]

Mr. Chris Smith: I am increasing the funding available for the museums and galleries sponsored by my Department from £229 million this year to £275 million in 2003-04. Included in the increase is additional capital funding of £10 million in 2002-03 and 12 million in 2003-04. Not all of this funding has yet been allocated.

The bulk of the extra revenue funding available is to support the continuation of free access for children and pensioners at the charging museums and to provide compensation for the introduction of quids-in (a reduced charge of £1 for adults) from 1 September 2001.

Within the total I have allocated £7 million in 2003-03 and £8 million in 2003-04 for urgent capital repairs. I am holding back £3 million of capital funding in 2002-03 and £4 million in 2003-04 from which I shall invite bids for improvement projects and I am also holding back £4 million of revenue funding in 2002-03 and £10 million in 2003-04 to meet particular requirements as they arise.

The allocations made for 2001-02 to 2003-04 are set out in the table for comparison with the allocations for 1998-99 to 2000-01 and show the significant increase achieved. The table does not include the funding for work in the regions which I announced in the House on 25 July 2000.

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Grant-in-aid to sponsored museums and galleries£ million

	1998-99(19)	1999-2000(19)	2000-01(20)	2001-02(21),(22)	2002-03(21),(22)	2003-04(21),(22)
British Museum	33.921	34.721	34.881	35.969	(23)36.469	(23)36.469
Natural History	26.960	29.583	30.408	33.108	(23)37.360	(23)38.478
Imperial War	10.573	12.149	11.744	13.110	14.072	14.126
National Gallery	18.689	19.478	19.215	19.949	(23)20.449	(23)20.449
National Maritime	10.184	10.923	11.660	12.820	13.371	13.420
National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside	12.696	13.714	13.910	15.237	(23)16.169	(23)16.382
National Portrait Gallery	4.997	5.115	5.138	5.462	(23)5.562	(23)5.712
National Museum of Science and Industry	20.281	24.576	25.481	27.341	(23)30.598	(23)31.712
Royal Armouries	3.723	5.096	5.148	5.820	6.042	6.056
Tate Gallery	19.218	19.727	24.881	26.877	26.979	26.986
Victoria and Albert	29.147	30.084	30.458	32.690	33.471	33.514
Wallace Collection	1.916	2.463	2.073	2.163	(23)2.413	(23)2.413
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester	2.178	2.717	2.677	2.822	3.016	3.029
Museum of London	4.210	4.361	4.429	4.681	(23)5.236	(23)4.842
Sir John Soane's	0.567	0.630	0.593	0.699	(23)0.874	(23)0.874
Horniman	3.144	3.062	3.226	3.106	3.106	3.106
Geffrye	1.047	1.172	1.176	1.124	1.124	1.124
Tyne and Wear	--	--	0.994	0.994	0.994	0.994
National Coal Mining Museum England	--	--	--	1.332	(23)1.882	(23)1.928
Design Museum	--	--	0.200	0.200	0.200	0.200
24-Hour Museum	--	--	0.149	0.149	0.149	0.149
Unallocated Reserve Revenue	--	--	0.141	0.158	4.575	9.098
Unallocated Reserve Capital	--	--	--	--	3.375	3.725
Other	--	0.200	--	--	--	--
Government Indemnity Scheme	0.015	0.098	0.150	0.150	0.150	0.150
Total	203.466	219.869	228.772	245.986	267.636	274.936

⁽¹⁹⁾ Outturn

⁽²⁰⁾ Provision

⁽²¹⁾ Plans

⁽²²⁾ SR 2000 allocations 2001-02 to 2003-04

⁽²³⁾ Includes a capital allocation

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