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Child Support
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will amend the Child Support (Maintenance and Special Cases) Regulations 1992, Schedule 1 Part II Para 7, to exclude working families tax credit awards from the assessment of child support maintenance. [70097]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 15 July 2002]: No. There are no plans exclude working families tax credit awards from the assessment of child support maintenance. It is only fair that the same level of income in different cases should be treated the same for assessment (current scheme) or calculation (new scheme) regardless of the source of that income.
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what representations he has received about the inclusion of working families tax credit awards in the assessment of child support maintenance. [70096]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 15 July 2002]: Some individual clients have written to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, to their MP, or to the Agency commenting adversely that awards of working families tax credit are taken into account for the non-resident parent's income, but not for that of the Parent with Care. No organised representations have been made.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of how long it will take to transfer existing cases to the new child support scheme for calculating maintenance payments made by non-resident parents. [69530]
Malcolm Wicks: No decision on the date for the commencement of the new child support scheme has been taken. The Government have made clear that they will see how the new scheme is progressing before reaching a decision on new cases, but our current assumption is that existing cases will convert to the new scheme around a year after the new scheme is introduced for new cases.
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average sum in maintenance paid by non-resident parents under the child support scheme which existed prior to April; and how many of these will see their payments (a) increased and (b) decreased under the new child support scheme, with an average calculation made of increase and decrease. [69532]
Malcolm Wicks: The available information is in the table.
| Number of qualifying children | Average per week (£) |
|---|---|
| One | 7.98 |
| Two | 10.65 |
| Three | 10.23 |
Note:
Includes nil assessments.
Source:
5 per cent. scan of the Child Support Computer System August 2001.
It is not possible to make firm estimates of the change to the average payment of child support maintenance as a result of the introduction of the new child support scheme.
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Benefits (East Dorset)
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the total cost of housing benefit paid in (a) Christchurch borough and (b) East Dorset was in each and of the last five years; [70352]
- (2) what the total cost of council tax benefit paid in (a) Christchurch borough and (b) East Dorset was in each of the last five years. [70353]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the tables.
| Housing benefit | Council tax benefit | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | 5,436 | 1,271 |
| 1996–97 | 5,548 | 1,255 |
| 1997–98 | 5,782 | 1,453 |
| 1998–99 | 5,890 | 1,576 |
| 2000–01 | 6,079 | 1,691 |
| Housing benefit | Council tax benefit | |
|---|---|---|
| 1995–96 | 6,294 | 1,894 |
| 1996–97 | 6,486 | 1,845 |
| 1997–98 | 6,809 | 2,057 |
| 1998–99 | 6,765 | 2,179 |
| 2000–01 | 7,091 | 2,298 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. The figures for 2000–01 are provisional. All other figures are actual annual expenditure but are subject to change as local authority activity is fully audited.
Source:
Annual subsidy returns by local authorities to the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in receipt of retirement pension in the Christchurch constituency receive payment of their benefit (a) directly into their bank accounts and (b) through local post offices. [70357]
Mr. McCartney: The available information is in the table:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| All methods of payment | 29,600 |
| Payment by Order Book | 12,300 |
| Payment by automatic credit transfer | 17,100 |
| Other | 200 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
2. Figures under 500 are subject to a high degree of sampling variation and should be used only as a guide tot he current situation.
Source:
Figures taken from the Pensions Strategy Computer System on 30 September 2001.
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Christchurch constituency are eligible for the minimum income guarantee; and how many are in receipt of it. [70354]
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Mr. McCartney: Estimates of the number of people eligible for the Minimum Income Guarantee are not available below National level. As at February 2002 there were 2,300 Minimum Income Guarantee claimants in parliamentary constituency of Christchurch.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry February 2002
Income-related Benefits
Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people in (a) the north-west, (b) Lancashire and (c) Burnley were claiming housing benefit at the latest date for which figures are available; [65549]
- (2) how many people in (a) the north-west, (b) Lancashire and (c) Burnley had claimed (i) jobseeker's allowance and (ii) income support at the latest date for which figures are available. [65547]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
| Government Office Region of North-west England | Lancashire | Burnley | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Benefit | 515,000 | 63,000 | 7,000 |
| Jobseeker's Allowance | 119,000 | 14,000 | 1,000 |
| Income Support | 579,000 | 79,000 | 8,000 |
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. Lancashire figures for Housing benefit refer to the local authorities of Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre. Figures for jobseeker's allowance and income support include all or part of the following parliamentary constituencies which fall within Lancashire boundaries: Blackpool North and Fleetwood, Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster and Wyre, Morecambe and Lunesdale, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale and Darwin, South Ribble and West Lancashire.
3. Burnley figures refer to Burnley borough council area for housing benefit and Burnley parliamentary constituency for jobseeker's allowance and income support.
4. Housing benefit figures refer to households which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or house share arrangement.
5. Housing benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases.
6. Jobseeker's allowance figures have not been seasonally adjusted.
7. Income support figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are subject to a degree of sampling variation.
Sources:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. case load count, February 2002 (figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated);
100 per cent. count of Jobcentre Plus computer system, May 2002.
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, February 2002.
Devolution
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the EU Advisory Committee on employment is next due to meet; whether representatives of the Scottish Executive (a) have been and (b) are members of it; and if he will make a statement. [67739]
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Malcolm Wicks: The Employment Committee is next due to meet on 18 July 2002, which will be an informal meeting under the Danish Presidency. Each member state has two nominated delegates to the Committee and for the UK those represent the Departments of Work and Pensions and for Education and Skills. The main business of the Committee is the European Employment Strategy and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has lead responsibility for the Strategy. However, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has a significant interest, as do my right hon. Friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, the Scottish Executive Ministers, Secretaries of the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive Ministers.
There is close contact between relevant officials to ensure that ministerial responsibility is properly represented at the Employment Committee and, indeed, on any activity under the Employment Strategy. For example, the main UK output under the Strategy is the UK Employment Action Plan and the devolved Administrations actively contribute. The Plan will be discussed with the European Commission in the autumn and the devolved Administrations have been invited to attend that meeting.
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