| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Maxwell Pension Schemes
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the expenditure incurred by the National
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 152W
Insurance Fund was in paying the guaranteed minimum pensions of members of Maxwell scheme pensions who suffered as a result of the theft of pension funds. [158198]
Mr. Rooker: The value of State Scheme Premiums payable to restore members' rights in the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme is £126.6 million. The Department initially deferred collecting the premiums, but £23.6 million of the debt has been collected to date.
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the agreements between his Department and Maxwell pension schemes for the recovery of national insurance loans and, in each case, (a) what the agreed sum to be recovered is, (b) how much has been recovered to date and (c) what the deadline for repayment is. [158438]
Mr. Rooker: The agreement reached with all of the Maxwell pension schemes in the early 1990s was that no scheme would be required to pay any State Scheme Premiums (SSPs) until members' pensions have been secured and there were residual funds available to meet these liabilities.
Information on the agreed sum to be recovered and how much has been recovered to date is in the table.
No deadlines have been set for collecting the outstanding premiums for schemes, where they have become payable.
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 151W
| Scheme name | Amount paid (£) | Amount outstanding (£) | Progress | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mirror Group Pension Scheme | 2,825,000 | 70,377,280 | The SSP bill has been capped at £66 million. A phased and gradually accelerating payment schedule has been agreed. Final payment due in 2020 | |
| Maxwell Communications Works Pension Scheme | 20,000,000 | 10,467,802 | It is expected that the scheme will make a final payment for the amount outstanding in the next two months | |
| Headington Pension Plan | 727, 109 | 49,236 | Remaining balance is expected to be paid by the scheme | |
| Victoria Works | 0 | 313,456 | ||
| AGB | 0 | 10,012,704 | These three schemes have merged. Some SSPs may be paid | |
| AGB Research | -- | 1,338,787 | ||
| Maxwell Communications Pension Plan | 0 | 10,168,744 | The scheme is unlikely to make any SSP payment | |
| Maxwell Media Pension Plan | 0 | 409,002 | There is no prospect of this scheme making any SSP payment | |
| Totals | 23,552,109 | 103,137,011 |
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 151W
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much of the expenditure incurred by the National Insurance Fund in paying the guaranteed minimum pensions of members of Maxwell scheme pensions who suffered as a result of the theft of pension funds has been repaid. [158199]
Mr. Rooker: A total of £23.6 million of State Scheme Premiums (SSPs) has been paid to the National Insurance Fund by Maxwell schemes. Further substantial payments will be made.
Occupational Pensions
Mr. Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of occupational pension schemes which have pensioners whose pensions do not meet the guaranteed minimum pension. [158201]
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 152W
Mr. Rooker: Of the 120,000 occupational pension schemes, around 7,000 are required to pay pensions at least to the value of the Guaranteed Minimum Pension in respect of service between April 1978 and April 1997.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what representation he has received from ITnet covering their administration of housing benefit; and if he will place all correspondence in the Library. [158585]
Angela Eagle: I am aware that ITNet have made a number of representations to the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, one of which was copied to me. It is not normal practice to place such correspondence in the Library.
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 153W
Independent Living Fund
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to receive the results of the current inquiry into the Independent Living Fund; and if he will publish the submissions made. [158587]
Mr. Bayley: The consultation period for the review of the Independent Living Fund closed on March 16. The results of the review will be announced in the summer. Over 1,800 submissions were received from current individual fund clients and their families and carers and over 60 from organisations including those of, and representing, disabled people. Many of the former contain personal details and full publication would not be appropriate. However an anonymised summary of these comments, together with the full text of other submissions, will be placed in the Library when the results of the review are announced.
Appointments (Age Limits)
Tony Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what age limit is placed on appointments to public bodies in his Department; if this limit is mentioned in advertisements for such posts; and what the basis for this limit is. [158104]
Mr. Rooker: For non-judicial public appointments made in the Department no age limits apply. Age is not a criterion of the job or person specification and advertisements make no reference to age. The Department follows the guidance of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments and does not discriminate on the grounds of age.
For part-time judicial office-holders, which includes the Pensions Ombudsman and members of the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority, an upper age limit of 70 applies. This is now referred to in advertisements for posts. This upper age limit was introduced following the Lord Chancellor's review of the terms of service of part-time judicial office-holders.
Widow's Pensions
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what the effect is on (a) entitlement to a widow's pension of a woman aged under 60 and (b) entitlement to retirement or widow's pension of a woman aged over 60 based on a late husband's contributions, of a woman having paid national insurance contributions at the reduced rate for married women. [158281]
Minimum Income Guarantee
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to my hon. Friend the Member for New Forest, West (Mr. Swayne) of 2 April 2001, Official Report, column 17, if he will list the assumptions behind his statement that 9 per cent. more pensioners will be on means-tested benefits in 2003 compared with today. [158695]
Mr. Rooker: The primary reason for the increase in overall numbers receiving means-tested benefits between 1999 and 2003-04 is that more people become eligible to the Minimum Income Guarantee as a result of the
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 154W
generous increase in the rates. In May 1999 some 3 million pensioners were in receipt of means-tested benefits. By 2003-04 the number of pensioners forecast to be receiving means-tested benefits is 3.2 million.
- Notes:
- 1. Pensioners are defined as where either the claimant or the partner is aged 60 or over.
- 2. Means-tested benefits for pensioners comprise Minimum Income Guarantee, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (the latter cases involve men between 60 and 65)
- 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and represent benefit units rather than individuals.
- 4. Whereas the historical figures represent a certain point in time in the year, forecast figures represent an estimated annual average caseload for the year in question.
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Magistrates Courts (London)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if she will list the magistrates courts covering the Greater London area. [158577]
Jane Kennedy: Information on the magistrates courts in the Greater London area available for use in December 2000 is in the table.
- Acton
Balham
Barking (East street)
Barnet
Belmarsh
Bexley
Bow Street
Brent
Brentford
Bromley (London road)
Camberwell Green
City of London
Croydon
Ealing
Enfield
Feltham
Greenwich
Harrow
- Hendon
Highbury Corner
Highgate
Horseferry road
Inner London Children and Family Proceedings Court
Kingston-upon-Thames
Marylebone (181 Marylebone road)
Marylebone (185 Marylebone road)
Redbridge
Richmond-upon-Thames
Seymour Place
23 Apr 2001 : Column: 155W
Stratford
Sutton
Thames
Tower Bridge
Uxbridge
Waltham Forest
West London
- Wimbledon
Woolwich.
Fines
Mr. Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department how much money was collected by the Treasury via the Consolidated Fund in respect of all court and police imposed fines in each year since 1997 for (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) the United Kingdom. [158528]
Jane Kennedy: Figures for fines alone could be obtained for England, Wales and Northern Ireland only at disproportionate cost. Questions concerning fines imposed in Scotland are outside the Lord Chancellor's jurisdiction and should be referred to the Scottish Executive.
The police do not impose fines.
Figures available for total amounts of fines, fees, confiscation orders, contributions to legal aid and other amounts collected by the courts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and remitted to the Consolidated Fund are set out in the table.
| Amounts collected by courts in | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| England | Wales | Northern Ireland | |
| April 1997-March 1998 | (68)-- | (68)-- | 6,382,000 |
| April 1998-March 1999 | (68)-- | (68)-- | 6,089,000 |
| April 1999-March 2000 | 226,175,023 | 15,606,246 | 6,464,000 |
| April 2000-December 2000(69) | 157,863,584 | 11,062,441 | (69)-- |
| April 2000-March 2001 | (70)-- | (70)-- | (71)6,235,000 |
(68) Not available
(69) Latest actual figures available for England and Wales based on three quarters worth of data
(70) Not yet available
(71) The Northern Ireland figure for the year April 2000-March 2001 is an estimate
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |