| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Commonwealth Development Corporation
Mr. Khabra: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the Commonwealth Development Corporation's recently published annual report. [160732]
Clare Short: For the year 2000, CDC made a pre-tax operating surplus of £72.3 million. However, after provision on its investment portfolio of £133.4 million it made an overall loss of £61.1 million before tax (£51.5 million after tax).
With regard to its investment policy in the year 2000, CDC exceeded the target of directing 70 per cent. of investments by value to poorer countries. However, in 2000 it again did not meet the aim of directing 50 per cent. of its investments by value to Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. CDC is focused on meeting this aim in 2001.
CDC made important progress during last year to establish the basis for a beneficial public-private partnership that will demonstrate that it is possible for private investors to make adequate returns in poor countries in a socially responsible way.
Copies of CDC's annual report and accounts have been placed in the Library of each House.
SOCIAL SECURITY
Benefit Appeals
Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in how many cases since 1 May 1997 in which Dr. Abou-Amer was the examining medical practitioner the decision maker's ruling on entitlement to benefit has been overturned on appeal. [160612]
Mr. Bayley: The information is not available. Neither medical services nor the Benefits Agency keep records that identify which examining medical practitioners were
8 May 2001 : Column: 5W
involved in individual cases. The appeals service does not record details of the examining medical practitioner involved in cases coming to appeal.
Benefit Fraud
Mr. McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he will publish the inspection report of the benefit fraud inspectorate in respect of Kingston upon Hull city council. [160725]
Mr. Rooker: The benefit fraud inspectorate (BFI) has produced an assessment report in respect of Kingston upon Hull city council. The report was published today and copies have been placed in the Library.
The inspection coincided with my right hon. Friend's announcement on the setting up of an Expert Help Team to help local authorities improve their benefit administration. The council offered to be the first local authority to work with the expert help team.
BFI therefore produced a short assessment report to help the council identify the extent of deficiencies in key areas of benefit administration and security, and to help inform the focus of the expert help teams visit.
8 May 2001 : Column: 6W
This report identifies a range of problems that hinder the delivery of an efficient service and notes the council's commitment to improve, demonstrated by some encouraging work including the introduction of the verification framework and a good claim form designed in line with BFI guidance.
I commend the Council for its openness, good work and on-going effort undertaken in conjunction with the expert help team to improve its standard of administration and counter-fraud activity.
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the number of people affected by (a) disallowance of JSA for failure to comply with actively seeking work, or availability for work tests, (b) JSA sanctions of a discretionary length, (c) JSA sanctions of a fixed length, (d) JSA sanctions arising from failure to comply with New Deal requirements, (e) JSA sanctions arising from failure to co-operate with the Child Support Agency and (f) Income Support sanctions arising from failure to co-operate with the Child Support Agency. [160284]
Angela Eagle: The information is in the table.
8 May 2001 : Column: 5W
| Thousand | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanction/disallowance type | All claimants | JSA (IB) in payment on hardship grounds | No JSA in payment |
| All cases | 27.5 | 6.0 | 21.6 |
| Disallowed--availability for work/not actively seeking employment | 0.6 | (1)0.1 | 0.6 |
| Sanctions for failure to comply with New Deal requirements | 0.5 | -- | 0.5 |
| All other sanctions/disallowance | 26.4 | 5.9 | 20.5 |
(1) Figure is subject to a high degree of sampling error and should be used only as a guide to the current situation
Notes:
1. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error
2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred
Sources:
Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 2000
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 2000
8 May 2001 : Column: 5W
As at 30 November 2000 there were 12,100 people claiming Income Support with a reduction in benefit due to their failure to supply the CSA with the name of the father of their child(ren).
Winter Fuel Payments
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims submitted (a) prior to 31 December 2000 and (b) since 1 January for the Winter Fuel Payment from men aged between 60 and 64 years are unresolved; and if he will make a statement. [160092]
Mr. Rooker: Sixty-six claims prior to 31 December 2000 and 249 claims since 1 January are unresolved. In all these cases, further information has been requested in order to determine the claim.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people missed the March deadline for applying for a Winter Fuel Payment for 2000; and if he will impose a similar deadline for applications for winter fuel payments relating to earlier years. [158714]
8 May 2001 : Column: 6W
Mr. Rooker: Around 1.3 million people have made successful claims for Winter Fuel Payments in respect of winter 2000 out of a possible 1.5 million people that might have been eligible. We have received 252 claims since the deadline.
There are no immediate intentions to impose deadlines on claims for payments for past winters.
Pensioner Incomes
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many and what percentage of (a) single pensioners and (b) pensioner couples have weekly incomes below (i) £80, (ii) £85, (iii) £90, (iv) £95, (v) £100, (vi) £105, (vii) £110, (viii) £115, (ix) £120, (x) £125, (xi) £130, (xii) £135, (xiii) £140, (xiv) £145, (xv) £150, (xvi) £155, (xvii) £160, (xviii) £165, (xix) £170, (xx) £175, (xxi) £180, (xxii) £185, (xxiii) £190, (xxiv) £195 and (xxv) £200. [158793]
Mr. Rooker [holding answer 26 April 2001]: The information is in the tables. Although the income bands for couples reflect the proposed structure of the pension credit, they should not be used to estimate numbers of
8 May 2001 : Column: 7W
pensioners who would be eligible. This is because they refer to total net income from all sources, including certain benefit payments which will not be taken into account when assessing eligibility for the pension credit. Also, the figures relate to a different time period.
| Net weekly income | Number (Thousand) | Percentage of all single pensioners |
|---|---|---|
| Below £80 | 750 | 18 |
| Below £85 | 890 | 21 |
| Below £90 | 1,000 | 24 |
| Below £95 | 1,140 | 27 |
| Below £100 | 1,310 | 31 |
| Below £105 | 1,510 | 36 |
| Below £110 | 1,730 | 41 |
| Below £115 | 1,960 | 47 |
| Below £120 | 2,160 | 52 |
| Below £125 | 2,340 | 56 |
| Below £130 | 2,520 | 60 |
| Below £135 | 2,640 | 63 |
| Below £140 | 2,750 | 66 |
| Below £145 | 2,850 | 68 |
| Below £150 | 2,950 | 71 |
| Below £155 | 3,050 | 73 |
| Below £160 | 3,140 | 75 |
| Below £165 | 3,220 | 77 |
| Below £170 | 3,290 | 79 |
| Below £175 | 3,340 | 80 |
| Below £180 | 3,400 | 81 |
| Below £185 | 3,470 | 83 |
| Below £190 | 3,540 | 85 |
| Below £195 | 3,590 | 86 |
| Below £200 | 3,630 | 87 |
Source:
Family Resources Survey 1998-99
| Net weekly income | Number (Thousand) | Percentage of all pensioner couples |
|---|---|---|
| Below £80 | -- | -- |
| Below £85 | -- | -- |
| Below £90 | -- | -- |
| Below £95 | -- | -- |
| Below £100 | -- | -- |
| Below £105 | -- | -- |
| Below £110 | 110 | 4 |
| Below £115 | 140 | 5 |
| Below £120 | 190 | 7 |
| Below £125 | 240 | 9 |
| Below £130 | 290 | 11 |
| Below £135 | 350 | 13 |
| Below £140 | 400 | 15 |
| Below £145 | 460 | 17 |
| Below £150 | 530 | 20 |
| Below £155 | 610 | 23 |
| Below £160 | 680 | 26 |
| Below £165 | 750 | 28 |
| Below £170 | 810 | 30 |
| Below £175 | 880 | 33 |
| Below £180 | 950 | 36 |
| Below £185 | 1,020 | 38 |
| Below £190 | 1,080 | 40 |
| Below £195 | 1,120 | 42 |
| Below £200 | 1,180 | 44 |
Notes:
1. Single pensioners (non-cohabiting) are defined as men aged 65 and over or women aged 60 and over.
2. Pensioner couples (married or cohabiting) are defined as couples where the man is aged 65 or over.
3. Incomes are defined as net weekly income from all sources, before housing costs, expressed in July 1998 prices.
4. The numbers of pensioners are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and the percentages are rounded to the nearest 1 per cent though they are not necessarily accurate to that degree.
5. Estimates are based on survey data and are subject to sampling error. A dash represents sample sizes that are too small to provide reliable estimates. Extreme caution should be exercised when using these figures to estimate the number of pensioners falling within a given £5 band of income, since the resulting estimate may not be based on a sample size large enough to produce reliable estimates.
Source:
Family Resources Survey 1998-99
8 May 2001 : Column: 8W
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update his estimate based on the Family Resources Survey 1998-99 of (a) median pensioner incomes, excluding means-tested benefits, by age, sex and marital status, consistent with his answer of 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 128W, on pensions and (b) the size of each group. [160282]
Mr. Rooker: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to this question on 16 November 2000, Official Report, column 790W.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |