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Benefit Uptake
Mr. Swinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the uptake was in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland in (i) 1996-97, (ii) 1997-98, (iii) 1998-99 and (iv) 1999-2000 of (A) Child Benefit, (B) Housing Benefit, (C) Council Tax Benefit, (D) Family Credit and (E) Working Families Tax Credit expressed as a percentage of those eligible; and if he will make a statement. [153076]
Angela Eagle: Estimates of take up of Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Family Credit for Great Britain are published in annual statistics on "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up", copies of which are in the Library. It is not possible to produce reliable estimates for different parts of Great Britain and the latest published estimates are for 1998-99.
No statistics are published for Child Benefit; it is believed that on average 98 per cent. of families take up their entitlement to Child Benefit.
Mr. Welsh: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representations he has received from the Scottish Executive about increasing levels of benefit take-up. [153072]
Mr. Bayley: We are in regular contact with the Scottish Executive over a number of issues. Reducing poverty is an aim of both administrations and the UK Government works in partnership with the Scottish Executive, through mechanisms such as the Joint Ministerial Committee on Poverty.
Child Support Agency
Mr. Swinney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to review the procedures and operation of the Child Support Agency. [153077]
Angela Eagle: We have no current plans to review the procedures and operation of the Child Support Agency. As a result of a fundamental review of child support completed in December 1998, we have undertaken a radical reform of the system, detailed provision for which is contained in the Child Support, Pensions and Social Security Act 2000. The new child support scheme will be introduced for new cases by April 2002. Parents who have an existing maintenance assessment will be transferred to the new scheme at a later date when the new arrangements are shown to be working well.
The new child support scheme will be simpler and easy to understand. Child maintenance will be calculated based on a straightforward percentage of the non-resident parent's net income. The basic rate will be 15 per cent. for one child, 20 per cent. for two and 25 per cent. for
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three or more. The Child Support Agency will be radically reformed to provide a service focused on compliance and the needs of its customers.
Over 1 million more children will gain as a result of the new, simplified system.
The White Paper "A new contract for welfare: Children's Rights and Parents' Responsibilities" (CM 4349) sets out the scheme in more detail.
Retirement Age
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what level of basic state pension he estimates could be paid in 2040 from the projected expenditure on the basic state retirement pension if the retirement age for men and women in 2040 was 70, having been raised by one year every two years between 2030 and 2040. [153292]
Mr. Rooker: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Policies (Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East)
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will set out, including statistical information relating as directly as possible to the constituency, the effect on the Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East constituency of his Department's policies and action since 2 May 1997. [153283]
Mr. Rooker: The Department's policies and initiatives have made a significant contribution to the Government's overall objectives of:
- Eradicating child poverty in 20 years, and halving it within 10;
- Promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age while protecting the position of those in greatest need; and,
- Combating poverty and promoting security and independence in retirement for today's and tomorrow's pensioners.
Measures in our five Budgets so far will lift over 1.2 million children out of poverty. These include record increases to Child Benefit, the introduction of the Working Families Tax Credit, increases in the income- related benefits, the minimum wage and tax changes.
Child Benefit will be worth £15.50 a week for the eldest child and £10.35 a week for other children from April 2001: nationally about 7 million families receive Child Benefit, and in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East 12,127 families benefit.
We now have the lowest unemployment rate in 25 years. The New Deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, the over 50s and partners of the unemployed to move from benefit into work. In the period since May 1997 the number of
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people claiming Jobseekers Allowance nationally has reduced from 1,562,400 to 1,044,900; in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East the number has reduced from 3,200 to 2,900. Since May 1997 the number of lone parents who claim Income Support has decreased from 1,013,500 to 894,100 nationally and in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East from 1,800 to 1,700.
Older people are disproportionately affected by fuel poverty, so we have introduced Winter Fuel Payments to help with their heaviest fuel bill. This winter, the payment is £200 for households who qualify. Around 18,000 older people in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East have received a Winter Fuel Payment for this winter.
To demonstrate our commitment to combating pensioner poverty, this year we will spend £4.5 billion extra in real terms on pensioners. Some 16,900 pensioners in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East will benefit from the substantial increases in the basic state pension this April and next; this year's increase is £5 a week for single pensioners and £8 for couples. In addition we have introduced free TV licences for the over 75s of whom we estimate there are about 6,100 in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East. 2,900 pensioner families in Middlesbrough, South and Cleveland, East are receiving the Minimum Income Guarantee, which we introduced in April 1999 to help our poorest pensioners. From April they will be at least £15 a week, or £800 a year, better off in real terms as a result of Government measures since 1997.
Other reforms in the pipeline include: the new Pension Credit in 2003 designed to ensure that pensioners benefit from their savings; the launch of Stakeholder Pensions in April this year; and the introduction of the State Second Pension in April 2002 both of which will help provide greater security for tomorrow's pensioners.
Promotional Campaigns
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the television, newspaper and radio advertising and other promotional campaigns conducted by (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its departmental public bodies, in each of the past five years, showing for each the expenditure incurred by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [153415]
Mr. Rooker: The information is not available in the format requested.
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
Private Finance Initiative (Heat Insulation Specification)
Mr. Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what standard of heat insulation is specified for pipework in PFI projects in his Department. [151657]
Ms Beverley Hughes: My Department expects all service providers, including PFI contractors, to make optimum use of plant, equipment and materials to meet
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the output specifications of contracts in accordance with the policies and targets set by Government in respect of sustainability, environmental and energy conservation requirements. While we do not specify standards, the output specifications of contracts conform to Government standards for sustainability and energy efficiency.
Traffic Congestion (Rail Disruption)
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimates he has made as to the effect of reduced performance reliability of the trains on road congestion. [152356]
Mr. Hill [holding answer 5 March 2001]: DETR has 160 Automatic Traffic Counters continuously measuring traffic on a range of roads throughout the country. Overall these have shown no significant increase in traffic in the weeks after the Hatfield crash compared with similar weeks before the crash. Analysis of 56 Automatic Traffic Count sites in London similarly showed no overall increase in traffic. Similarly, no increase in road traffic has been detected following the Selby rail crash.
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