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Welfare-to-work
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the (a) social, (b) vocational and (c) financial benefits of a rehabilitation policy that assists people to return to work. [140339]
Mr. Bayley: As part of the extension of the New Deal for Disabled People, the Education and Employment, Social Security and Health Departments are developing plans for the launch of the Job Retention and Rehabilitation Pilots announced within Budget 2000. The pilots are due to start late next year.
The pilots will provide robust evidence about the overall impacts of job retention and rehabilitation services and their cost effectiveness, and the relative effectiveness of different delivery and intervention strategies. The pilots are just one part of the Government's support for disabled people, helping them to achieve a better future rather than just leaving them to a life on benefits.
Low-income Households
Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of pensioners (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in Wales live in a low-income household. [140323]
Mr. Rooker: The information requested can be found in the DSS publication "Households Below Average Income 1994/95-1998/99" (page 48), a copy of which is held in the Library.
Benefit Fraud
Mr. Win Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list, for each social security administrative region, the (a) number, (b) type and (c) value of detected fraudulent claims in each of the last 10 years. [140653]
Mr. Rooker: The information requested is not available.
Pension Credit
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if the savings element of pension credit will be assessed as resources for those pensioners receiving (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit at less than the full rebate of rent and council tax; [140627]
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- (2) if the savings element of the proposed pension credit will count as resources for the assessment of (a) council tax benefit and (b) housing benefit. [140632]
Mr. Rooker: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are important ways of ensuring that pensioners do not fall into poverty. The relationship between the Pension Credit and Housing and Council Tax Benefits needs to be designed carefully in order to achieve this. We have asked for views on how best this can be achieved. I refer my right hon. Friend to paragraph 34 of chapter 4 in the Pension Credit consultation document (Cm4900).
Pensions Reforms
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 27 July 2000, Official Report, column 840W, on the effects of pensions reforms, for what reason it is not possible to provide the estimates requested; and if estimates can be made if the effects of income tax offsets are excluded. [138249]
Mr. Rooker: The Department's Policy Simulation Model does not enable the question put by the hon. Member to be answered.
Euro 2000
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 4 July 2000, Official Report, column 164W, how many of the cases of people travelling to the Euro 2000 Football Championships investigated by the Benefits Agency have led to loss of benefits. [137774]
Mr. Rooker: Fifty-two cases were investigated by the Benefit Fraud Investigation Service following referrals from the Belgian Authorities.
To date as a result of these investigations four claims have been withdrawn and two overpayments identified. There are a further six cases where investigations are still ongoing.
Benefits Fraud Inspectorate
Mr. Gareth R. Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out the original budget and final expenditure for the Benefits Fraud Inspectorate in (a) 1997-98 and (b) 1998-99. [139007]
Mr. Rooker: The requested information is detailed in the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate Annual Reports. Copies are available in the Library.
Pensioners
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb) of 27 March 2000, Official Report, column 31W, and hon. Member for Wythenshawe and Sale East (Mr. Goggins) of 8 November 2000, Official Report, columns 218-19W, for what reason the figures showing the spending on pensioners as a proportion of GDP in (a) 1996-97 and (b) 2001-02 have changed; and what is the value of public expenditure on pensioners both as a proportion of GDP and in real terms on (i) basic state retirement pensions, (ii) SERPS, (iii) income support, (iv) other means-tested benefits,
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(v) winter fuel payments, (vi) free TV licences and (vii) other benefits for pensioners, for each year between 1996-97 and 2001-02. [139252]
Mr. Rooker: Figures for Social Security spending on pensioners as a proportion of GDP may be revised as a result of either new forecasts of Social Security expenditure and GDP or revisions to GDP outturn figures. Detailed forecasts of expenditure on individual pensioner benefits will be published with the DSS Departmental Report next spring.
Winter Fuel Payment
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people aged over 60 are not entitled to the winter fuel payment, broken down into each of the different groups that are not entitled to the benefit. [139120]
Mr. Rooker: The information is in the table.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Residential Care/Nursing homes/Part III accommodation | 220,100 |
| Hospital in-patients (over 52 weeks) | (45)400 |
| Sentenced prisoners | 1,100 |
Notes:
1. Pensioners are defined as benefit units where either the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over.
2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. Numbers are based on 5 per cent. sample data, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error.
4. Numbers marked
(45) are based on very few sample cases and are subject to a high degree of error. These figures should be used as a guide to the current situation only.
5. The entry under Residential Care homes also includes Polish Resettlement Homes.
Sources:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, August 2000. Jobseeker's Allowance Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, May 2000. Home Office Statistics, October 2000.
Payroll Administration
Mr. Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 16 November, Official Report, column 793W, on payroll administration what estimate he has made of the (a) total wages and (b) total expenses in fiscal years (i) 1999-2000 and (ii) 2000-01 of administering his Department's integrated pay, personnel and expenses system. [139768]
Mr. Rooker: The staff costs associated with administration of the Department's payroll, personnel and expenses system for 1999-2000 was £4,788,800 on salaries and £33,000 on expenses. For 2000-01, it is estimated at £4,096,400 on salaries and £36,000 on expenses. For 2001-02, after completion of payroll restructuring in January 2001, it is estimated that costs will reduce to £2,077,400 for salaries and £30,000 for expenses.
Exchange Rates
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security which exchange rates are used to convert income denominated in foreign currencies into sterling when assessing income for benefits purposes; and how often these exchange rates are reviewed. [140403]
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Mr. Rooker: With the exception of the Irish pound, the income is converted into sterling using the Bank of England exchange rates of transfer at the date of receipt. Daily rates are published in newspapers and a record of earlier rates is kept at the Department's Overseas Branch in Newcastle.
Details of the exchange rate for the Irish pound at the date of receipt are obtained from the Bank of Ireland.
Expenditure (Wales)
Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much of the social security budget was spent in Wales, broken down by the expenditure headings of his Departmental budget, in the most recent year for which figures are available. [140435]
Mr. Rooker: The information is in the table.
| Benefit | £ million |
|---|---|
| Retirement Pension--basic | 1,752 |
| Retirement Pension--AP | 236 |
| Christmas bonus | 6 |
| Widow's Benefit--basic | 40 |
| Widow's Benefit--AP | 13 |
| Jobseeker's Allowance contributory | 26 |
| Incapacity Benefit--Basic | 574 |
| Incapacity Benefit--AP | 73 |
| Statutory Sick Pay | 3 |
| Maternity Allowance | 1 |
| Statutory Maternity Pay | 28 |
| Guardian's Allowance and CSA | (45)-- |
| Non-Contributory Retirement | 1 |
| Non-Contributory Christmas Bonus | 1 |
| War Pension | 58 |
| Attendance Allowance | 219 |
| Invalid Care Allowance | 69 |
| Severe Disablement Allowance | 69 |
| Disability Living Allowance | 475 |
| Disability Working Allowance | 4 |
| Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit | 62 |
| Industrial Death Benefit | 5 |
| Other II benefits | (45)-- |
| Jobseeker's Allowance income-based | 139 |
| Income Support--under 60 | 487 |
| Income Support--over 60 | 213 |
| Child Benefit (with Lone Parent addition) | 420 |
| Family Credit | 116 |
| Earnings Top-Up Pilots + VDP | 2 |
| Independent Living Fund | 10 |
| Motability and Blesma | (46)-- |
| Social Fund | 14 |
| Winter Fuel Payments | 51 |
| Rent Allowance | 224 |
| Council Tax Benefit | 101 |
| Rent Rebate--DSS | 1 |
| Misc funding for savings | 1 |
| DSS AME Total | 5,492 |
| Grand total of benefit expenditure | 5,802 |
(46) Expenditure of less than £0.5 million
Notes:
1. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
2. The proportions of benefit expenditure in Wales have been calculated for each benefit, to give an overall proportion of 5.9 per cent. for the DSS AME total. This proportion has then been applied to the grand total of benefit expenditure to give the total expenditure for Wales of 5.8 billion.
3. The grand total of benefit expenditure includes all local authority spending on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit in addition to the money funded directly from Central Government.
Source:
Pre-Budget report 2000.
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