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Occupational Pension Income

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the size of the average occupational pension income for each income decile of retired people (a) in total and (b) for men and women separately. [140538]

Mr. Rooker: The information requested is not readily available in decile bands.

Council Tax Benefit

Mr. Coleman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many, and what percentage of properties, which are subject to Council Tax Benefit restrictions, are (a) owner-occupied and (b) rented in (i) London and (ii) England. [138633]

Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.

Council Tax Benefit recipients subject to council tax band restrictions split by owner occupied and rented--May 1999

		Owner occupied		Rented
	Total restricted	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
England	18,000	13,000	74	5,000	26
London	7,000	4,000	61	3,000	39

Notes:

1. The data refer to households, which may be a single person, a couple or a family.

2. The numbers of cases have been rounded to the nearest thousand and the percentage rounded to the nearest whole number.

3. The data relating to Owner Occupiers will include cases where the Local Authorities have been unable to identify the correct tenancy as it has not been reported, Council Tax Benefit is in payment and there is no Housing Benefit entitlement shown.

Source:

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1999.

POWs (Compensation)

Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when compensation payments will be paid out to those eligible under the scheme for former POWs and their spouses held by the Japanese. [138577]

Mr. Bayley: We intend to make these ex-gratia payments as quickly as possible but we do not expect to have everything in place before February. There are good reasons for this. First, the regulations needed to ensure that the ex-gratia payments are disregarded in relation to entitlement to income-related benefits cannot be in place until 1 February, and we want to be absolutely sure that there is no risk of anyone being disadvantaged in the few weeks prior to that date. Second, we need time to set up the payment systems.

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Departmental Employees (HIV)

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will take steps to ensure that people who are HIV-positive do not suffer discrimination as a result of employment practices followed by his Department. [137794]

Mr. Rooker: This Department is committed to employing a diverse work force and values the contribution of all employees irrespective of their background or personal circumstances. The Department does not discriminate on the ground of HIV positivity and this is reflected in current employment policies.

Pensioner Income

Mr. Alan W. Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much in total pensioners' income will have risen between May 1997 and April 2001 as a result of Government measures; and what this figure would have been if basic pensions had been linked to the rise in average earnings over the same period. [140240]

Mr. Rooker: The average pensioner household will have seen their net income rise by £9.10 a week over and above inflation by April 2001 thanks to the measures introduced since 1997 (Minimum Income Guarantee, Winter Fuel payments and the real rise in the Basic State Pension). If we include the effects of tax changes over the same period the average pensioner household will have seen their net income rise £10.90 per week.

By way of comparison the average pensioner household would have seen their net income rise by only £3.10 above inflation if pensions had been linked to earnings since 1997, and £4.90 if the effects of tax changes were included. In addition many pensioner households also gain £2 a week from free TV Licences for the over 75s.

Children (Workless Households)

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of children (a) live in workless households and (b) lived in workless households in each of the last five years. [140213]

Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.

Proportion of children living in workless households (UK)

Year	Percentage
1995	19.4
1996	19.4
1997	17.9
1998	17.9
1999	17.3
2000	15.8

Note:

The figures show the percentage of children aged under 16 living in a working-age household where no adult works.

Source:

Labour Force Survey, Spring Quarters.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Child Abuse

Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources he proposes

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to make available to (a) the police and (b) child protection agencies to combat and investigate child abuse; and if he will make a statement. [138763]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Vigorous action against child abuse is very important. However, it is for individual chief police officers to determine how best to allocate their resources in the light of their respective priorities. Although we have not made resources available to forces specifically to combat and investigate child abuse, the recent spending review has resulted in a significant boost in spending on the police generally. By 2003-04 total provision for the police will have risen by almost £1.6 billion against provision for this year.

We have not yet allocated any additional resources to child protection agencies but are currently considering representations from one agency on this matter.

Drugs Related Crime

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of property crime in the United Kingdom has been committed by (a) heroin users, (b) tranquilliser users and (c) cannabis users in each of the last 10 years. [140378]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Figures are not collected centrally on the extent to which property crime in the United Kingdom is committed by different types of drug user. However, the Home Office's programme of interviewing and drug testing arrestees provides some insight into this issue. The latest findings report on research undertaken at four sites (in London, Liverpool, Nottingham and Sunderland).

Over two-thirds of arrestees (69 per cent.) tested positively for at least one drug (excluding alcohol). Arrestees were asked if they had committed any property crimes over the last 12 months. Half of all arrestees admitted to at least one such crime. However, the likelihood of committing property crime rose for those arrestees who stated they were using cocaine/crack (53 per cent.); heroin (61 per cent.); or heroin together with cocaine/crack (87 per cent.).

The links between drug use and crime are outlined in the report from which these figures are drawn (Home Office Research Study 205, Drugs and Crime: The results of the second developmental stage of the NEW-ADAM programme). Copies of this publication are available from the Library.

Police Cadet Training (Hendon)

Mr. John Cryer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cadet police officers commenced basic training at Hendon in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999; and what number are planned to do so in 2000. [139907]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that the number of officers who commenced basic training at Hendon in the years requested was as follows:

Year	Number
1996	1,065
1997	1,012
1998	1,046
1999	1,131

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Since January 2000, 835 recruits have commenced training at Hendon and a further 150 are expected to commence in December. Should these estimated figures be achieved the total for the year will be 985.

The Metropolitan Police Cadet Scheme ceased in June 1993.

Sexual Assaults (Minicabs)

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported sexual assaults occurred in minicabs in (a) London and (b) the rest of England in each of the last five years. [139994]

Mr. Charles Clarke: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Charities and Voluntary Organisations

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many charities and voluntary organisations there are in England and Wales; and how many people are (a) employed by and (b) contribute financially to these bodies. [139492]

Mr. Boateng: Over 185,000 charities in England and Wales are registered with the Charity Commission. It is estimated that there are between 80,000 and 100,000 other charities which are excepted or exempt from registration, such as churches, schools and museums. There is no reliable information on the number of voluntary and community organisations which are not registered charities--estimates vary up to 500,000.

The other information requested is not recorded centrally.

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