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Far East Prisoners of War

Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if (a) widows and (b) widowers who were Far East prisoners of war are also entitled to the ex-gratia payment for their spouse in cases where the spouse was also a Far East prisoner. [140929]

Mr. Bayley: Yes. In such a case the claimant would satisfy the criteria for payment on two counts--first, as a surviving member of one of the British groups held captive by the Japanese during the second World War and, second, as the surviving spouse of someone who would otherwise have been entitled to an ex-gratia payment.

Winter Fuel Payments

Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 November 2000, Official Report, column 348W, on Winter Fuel Payments, when he will complete his assessment of the administrative costs of the change; and on what date his Department printed the first Winter Fuel Payment cheques for this winter. [140980]

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Mr. Rooker: Invoicing and allocation of administrative costs are not yet complete. The first of this winter's Winter Fuel Payment girocheques were printed on 11 and 12 November, the weekend before the issuing of payments began on 13 November.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr. Wigley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the (a) care component and (b) mobility component for those in receipt of Disability Living Allowance at the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by the nations and regions of the United Kingdom. [141012]

Mr. Bayley: The information is in the table.

Disability Living Allowance awards current at 31 May 2000 by country, region and component

				Thousand
	All awards	Care component only	Mobility component only	Care and mobility component
Great Britain	2,130.5	286.9	587.8	1,255.8
England	1,717.0	240.7	466.9	1,009.5
Wales	176.1	20.5	54.4	101.2
Scotland	237.3	25.7	66.5	145.1
North East	139.8	18.6	45.6	75.6
North West	344.6	43.5	99.1	202.0
Yorkshire and Humberside	209.6	26.7	61.7	121.1
East Midlands	151.6	20.2	41.2	90.2
West Midlands	207.3	28.4	53.5	125.5
East	144.2	22.0	36.5	85.7
London	198.8	33.1	41.9	123.8
South East	181.5	28.0	49.3	104.2
South West	139.6	20.1	38.2	81.3

Note:

Figures are for Great Britain only. Figures for Northern Ireland are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Source:

DSS (Analytical Services Division-Information Centre) 5 per cent. sample

Mr. Flight: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of Disability Living Allowance claims are referred to appeal; what are the key issues considered in appeals; and if he will make a statement. [140875]

Mr. Bayley: The administration of Disability Living Allowance is the responsibility of Alexis Cleveland, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Charlie MacKinnon to Mr. Howard Flight, dated 29 November 2000:

The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked Alexis Cleveland to respond to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what percentage of disability living allowance claims are referred to appeal; what are the key issues considered in appeals; and if he will make a statement. Due to annual leave I am replying on her behalf.

Appeals can arise from any decision given during the life of a Disability Living Allowance (DLA) claim and it is therefore not possible to provide statistics which relate solely to appeals which are received against new and renewal claims. However, the attached table of figures gives an indication of the ratio of appeals to all appealable decisions.

30 Nov 2000 : Column: 844W

DLA has two separate components, mobility and care, which are based upon the claimant's care and mobility needs arising from a medical condition. There are two rates of mobility component and three rates of the care component and entitlement depends on the level of the claimant's needs.

Decision-makers assess entitlement to DLA based on all the evidence presented in support of an individual claim against the criteria for each component. If a claimant is unhappy with a decision, he has the right to request a reconsideration. If the decision-maker finds no evidence to revise the decision at the reconsideration stage, the dispute process allows the claimant to appeal to an independent appeal tribunal. The main issues which tribunals are asked to consider are dissatisfaction with decisions which do not award any rate of DLA or those where the level of benefit which has been awarded is disputed, and dissatisfaction with the period of an award.

I hope this information is helpful.

Disability Living Allowance

	Total of new claims, renewals and s/sessions cleared	Appeals received	Ratio of appeals to claims, renewals and s/sessions (Percentage)
2000
April	56,505	7,009	12.40
May	71,705	9,061	12.64
June	81,268	9,913	12.20
July	89,575	10,431	11.64
August	71,427	11,177	15.65
September	66,185	8,695	13.14
October	67,107	9,048	13.48
Year to date total	503,772	65,334	12.97

Household Incomes

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households had an income below the average household income in each of the last 20 years. [141205]

Mr. Bayley: Such information as is available can be found in the following publications, copies of which are held in the Library:

Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1988-89

Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1990-91

Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1991-92

Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1992-93

Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1993-94

Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1994-95

Households Below Average Income 1979 to 1996-97

Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 1997-98

Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 1998-99.

Pensioners (Benefit Payments)

Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the number of pensioners in (a) actual terms and (b) as a percentage of the total number who receive (i) Housing Benefit and (ii) Council Tax Benefit at (A) the full rate and (B) less than the full rate in each of the nations and regions of the UK. [140648]

Mr. Rooker: The information is in the tables.

Housing Benefit recipients aged 60 and over on full rate or part rate by Government Office Region--May 1999

	All Housing Benefit recipients aged 60 and over by Government Office Region--May 1999		All Housing Benefit recipients aged 60 and over on full rate or less than full rate by Government Office Region--May 1999
	Full rate		Part rate
Government office region	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Numbers	Percentage
Great Britain	1,769,000	100	1,054,000	60	715,000	40
North East	109,000	6	62,000	4	47,000	3
North West	221,000	12	141,000	8	80,000	5
Yorkshire and Humberside	178,000	10	110,000	6	68,000	4
East Midlands	111,000	6	61,000	3	49,000	3
West Midlands	176,000	10	112,000	6	64,000	4
East	144,000	8	83,000	5	61,000	3
London	233,000	13	139,000	8	94,000	5
South East	179,000	10	93,000	5	86,000	5
South West	121,000	7	71,000	4	50,000	3
England	1,472,000	83	873,000	49	599,000	34
Wales	81,000	5	54,000	3	28,000	2
Scotland	216,000	12	128,000	7	88,000	5

Source:

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

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Council Tax Benefit recipients aged 60 and over on full rate or part rate by Government Office Region--May 1999

	All Council Tax Benefit recipients aged 60 and over by Government Office Region--May 1999		All Council Tax Benefit recipients aged 60 and over on full rate or less than full rate by Government Office Region--May 1999
	Full rate		Part rate
Government office region	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage	Number	Percentage
Great Britain	2,542,000	100	1,497,000	59	1,046,000	41
North East	149,000	6	82,000	3	67,000	3
North West	337,000	13	202,000	8	135,000	5
Yorkshire and Humberside	253,000	10	150,000	6	103,000	4
East Midlands	173,000	7	97,000	4	76,000	3
West Midlands	270,000	11	164,000	6	106,000	4
East	208,000	8	121,000	5	86,000	3
London	290,000	11	183,000	7	107,000	4
South East	252,000	10	136,000	5	115,000	5
South West	184,000	7	111,000	4	74,000	3
England	2,115,000	83	1,245,000	49	870,000	34
Wales	129,000	5	87,000	3	42,000	2
Scotland	299,000	12	164,000	6	134,000	5

Notes:

1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.

2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

3. The percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.

4. Pensioner cases have been identified as those where the claimant is aged 60 and over.

Source:

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent.

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