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Benefit Appeals (Scotland)
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which locations within Scotland appeals against refusal of benefits are held. [62388]
Maria Eagle: This is a matter for Neil Ward, Chief Executive of the Appeals Service. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Neil Ward to Mr. Weir dated 22 July 2002:
The Secretary of State has asked me to respond to your recent parliamentary questions, which asked which locations within Scotland appeals against refusals of benefits are held.
The Appeals Service arranges independent hearings for appeals on decisions on Social Security, Child Support, Vaccine Damage, Tax Credit, and Compensation Recovery. Within Scotland, appeals are heard at 24 locations, which are as follows:
| Aberdeen | Ayr |
| Campbeltown | Dumbarton |
| Dumfries | Dundee |
| Dunfermline | Edinburgh |
| Elgin | Galashiels |
| Glasgow | Greenock |
| Hamilton | Inverness |
| Irvine | Kilmarnock |
| Kirkcaldy | Kirkwall |
| Lerwick | Oban |
| Stirling | Stornoway |
| Stranraer | Wick |
Benefits Information
Mr. Peter Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanisms are in place to ensure that accessible information on benefits is sent out to those who need it in (a) large print, (b) braille and (c) audiotape. [70895]
Maria Eagle: The Department for Work and Pensions sends out information to customers on request and as part of specific campaigns. If any customer requests information relating to benefits the information can be supplied in braille and large print or on audio cassette (this includes Welsh versions of large print and audio cassette as desired). This does not include information of a technical nature which is produced for advisers, although we can make this available on request.
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Maternity Grant
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many low-income families have received the maternity grant in each year since it was established; and how many families who would otherwise have been eligible have been refused the grant because they have not accepted information about child healthcare from a doctor, midwife or health visitor. [72418]
Maria Eagle: Sure Start Maternity Grants were introduced on 27 March 2000 and complement the Sure Start programme, which is helping many thousands of children from the most deprived areas to get the best start in life. Sure Start Maternity Grants are now worth up to five times as much as the Maternity Payments they replaced and provide more help to the neediest families.
The scheme means more than just a cash payment. To ensure that vulnerable people have at least one contact with a health professional during pregnancy or following childbirth, we introduced a new condition of entitlement which requires people to provide evidence of having received advice on either child or maternal health from a health professional. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the vast majority of those people refused a grant for failing to produce a certificate from a health professional subsequently successfully reclaimed.
The information is in the table.
| Year | Number of Sure Start Maternity Grant awards | Number refused because no certificate from health professional produced(109) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000–01 | 170,000 | 9,000 |
| 2001–02 | 201,000 | 8,000 |
Sources:
Annual Reports by the Secretary of State on the Social Fund 2000–01 and 2001–02; Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
Note:
(108)Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
(109)Figures include an unquantifiable number of cases where the person subsequently successfully reapplies for a grant.
Bereavement Benefits
Mr. Barnes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many bereavement payments were made to (a) widows and (b) widowers in 2001–02; and what the total cost was; [69195]
- (2) what his estimate is of the take-up and cost of widowed fathers who have claimed the new widowed parents allowance over the last 12 months; [69199]
(3) what the estimated costs were in 2001–02 of the new system of bereavement benefits under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, broken down by gains or losses to (a) widowers, (b) widows and (c) those without dependent children. [69200]
Mr. Malcolm Wicks: Information on the number of Bereavement Payments awarded in 2001–02 is not available. The estimated outtum of expenditure on bereavement benefits in 2001–02 was £1,100 million. Estimates of take-up of bereavement benefits and of the expenditure for widowed fathers are not available.
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The available information on the estimated additional expenditure following the introduction of bereavement benefits is in the table. Widows in receipt of Widows Benefits prior to 9 April 2001 were not affected by the changes, consequently they continue to receive full benefit so long as they meet the conditions of entitlement. The estimate here takes account of the expected fall in the number of women so entitled.
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Bereavement Payments | |
| Widows | 35 |
| Widowers | 35 |
| Widowed Parents Allowance | |
| Widows | 0(110) |
| Widowers | 65 |
| Bereavement Allowance | |
| Widows | –5(111) |
| Widowers | 15 |
Source:
Based on data supplied by the Government Actuaries Department.
(110)There is no change for widows as the Widowed Parents Allowance simply replaces the old Widowed Mother's Allowance.
(111)Unlike the old widow's pension, the allowance is only paid for a year and does not attract an additional pension.
(112)Costs are given in millions of pounds and rounded to the nearest £5 million.
(113)Estimated costs do not take account of income-related benefits.
Non-Resident Parents
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on how many occasions in the last year for which figures are avalable the Child Support Agency contacted the Inland Revenue for assistance with tracking down non-resident parents. [71788]
Malcolm Wicks: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive, Mr. Doug Smith.
Letter from Doug Smith to Mr. Webb dated 23 July 2002
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in replying to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency promised a substantive reply by me.
You have asked on how many occasions in the last year for which figures are available the Child Support Agency contacted the Inland Revenue for assistance with tracking down non-resident parents.
In the year to 31 March 2002 the Child Support Agency issued 298,696 non-resident parent tracing enquiries to the Inland Revenue's Tax Information Distribution Office.
I hope this is helpful.
Child Benefit
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if it will be possible under the Social Security (Electronic Communication) (Child Benefit) Order 2002 for a father to claim and begin to receive child benefit without the mother of the children expressly giving her consent. [69260]
Malcolm Wicks [holding answer 12 July 2002]: Child benefit is awarded to a person who is responsible for a child. When a claim is received from a member of a
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couple, there is no legal requirement for the consent of the partner. However, the child benefit recipient also qualifies for Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), which helps to protect the pension position of those who are unable to contribute towards a pension while bringing up children.
In most cases it is the mother who needs this protection, so when an electronic claim is being completed by a man who is married or lives with a partner, an on-screen prompt will remind him of the importance of considering the HRP position. The system will prevent him completing his claim further without a specific response to this prompt, which asks him to read the child benefit information notes about HRP, available on screen, and to make sure the right person is making the claim.
The declaration he is required to sign at the end of the claim also requires him to positively indicate that he has read and understood the notes about the Child Benefit/HRP link.
Housing Benefit
Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of gross rents in (a) the private rented, (b) local authority and (c) the housing association sectors is met by housing benefit. [69740]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
| Tenancy type | Housing Benefit payments (HB)(114) as a percentage of the total value of the rental market |
|---|---|
| Private landlord(115) | 20 |
| Local Authority / Council / New Town / Scottish Homes | 55 |
| Housing Association / Trust | 55 |
Source:
Family Resources Survey 2000–2001
(114)The percentages are calculated from the total value of Housing Benefit payments divided by the total value of gross rents due. Gross rent is the total amount of rent which would be eligible for Housing Benefit paid by a household to the landlord.
(115)"Private Landlord" includes all landlords which do not fall into the other two categories.
(116)Gross rent does not include rent paid by one member of the household to another—it is the total rent paid by the household which is counted. For Housing Benefit, payments in respect of rent paid by any member of the household are included.
(117)Estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors to account for regional, Council Tax band and a number of demographic variables.
(118)Estimates are subject to sampling error and variability in non-response.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will set out the basis for his statement in paragraph 20 of the Government's Response to the Second report of the Work and Pensions Select Committee, on pension credit, that plans to improve the administration of housing benefit are well underway. [67806]
Malcolm Wicks: We have a comprehensive long-term strategy for reforming Housing Benefit (HB) and dealing with the legacy of neglect we have inherited. We are determined to work with local authorities to drive up standards of service, tackle fraud and error, reduce barriers to work and tackle social exclusion.
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The Spending Review announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15 July includes the biggest investment in HB administration since the scheme began in 1988. Starting with £40 million next year, we are investing an extra £200 million over three years to help local authorities meet the performance standards in delivery of HB.
From April 2003 all local authorities currently complying with the Verification Framework will receive a 50 per cent. increase in their funding allocation for this work. In addition, any authority seeking to become compliant now or in the near future will also receive 50 per cent. more than they otherwise would have done.
In March last year we established a Help Team to work in partnership with local authorities to support them in improving the administration of HB. We are already seeing real improvements resulting from the Team's work.
In addition, we have set up a Help Fund to support local authorities by providing funding for locally-led initiatives to improve the administration of HB. For the financial year 2001–02, a total of £1,637,570 was awarded which benefited over 200 authorities.
We also want to help more authorities deliver a high standard of HB service by sharing good practice. We have now introduced a dedicated web-site for local authorities and have also distributed on CD a Housing Benefit manager's service improvement "toolkit".
In April this year we published for the first time performance standards for the full range of HB administration. These standards provide authorities with a definition of what they should be delivering.
We will continue to review local authorities core administration subsidy each year and we will fund the set-up and ongoing costs of implementing the changes needed to bring in the new tax credits and the pension credit.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she takes to deal with councils which are not meeting their statutory obligations in delivering the housing benefit system; and if she will make a statement. [61096]
Malcolm Wicks: We have a comprehensive long-term strategy for reforming Housing Benefit (HB) and dealing with the legacy of neglect we have inherited. We are determined to work with local authorities to drive up standards of service, tackle fraud and error, reduce barriers to work and tackle social exclusion.
We have already made progress. Through a programme of inspection and active support, we have helped many local authorities to improve their administration. But where inspection shows that an authority's performance continues to fall below acceptable standards and gives cause for concern, we will not hesitate to direct the authority to take the necessary steps to improve.
In April this year we published for the first time performance standards for the full range of HB administration. These standards provide authorities with a definition of what they should be delivering.
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The Spending Review announced by my Right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15 July includes the biggest investment in HB administration since the scheme began in 1988. Starting with £40 million next year, we are investing an extra £200 million over three years to help local authorities meet the performance standards in delivery of HB.
From April 2003 all local authorities currently complying with the Verification Framework will receive a 50 per cent. increase in their funding allocation for this work. In addition, any authority seeking to become compliant now or in the near future will also receive 50 per cent. more than they otherwise would have done.
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of (a) the effectiveness of local authorities' administration of housing benefit and (b) the effects of poor administration of housing benefit on tenants; and if he will make a statement. [63913]
Malcolm Wicks: Housing Benefit has a key role to play in supporting our efforts to tackle poverty and social exclusion and promote work for those who are able to. Many local authorities are doing a good job of administering benefit and some are delivering to a high standard. However, we accept that too many local authorities have backlogs of work and that consequently tenants are experiencing delays in the processing of their claims. We are determined to tackle these unacceptable variations in performance and the weaknesses in the current Housing Benefit scheme. That is why we have set out a comprehensive long-term strategy for reforming Housing Benefit and dealing with the legacy of neglect we inherited.
We have already made progress. Through a programme of inspection and active support, we have helped many local authorities to improve their administration. The result, in the better authorities, has been a fall in backlogs of cases, an improvement of turn-around times, tighter verification of claims, improved recovery of overpayments, and a strengthening of counter-fraud work.
In April this year we published for the first time performance standards for the full range of Housing Benefit administration. These standards provide authorities with a definition of what they should be delivering.
The Spending Review announced by my Right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 15 July includes the biggest investment in Housing Benefit administration since the scheme began in 1998. Starting with £40 million next year, we are investing an extra £200 million over three years to help local authorities meet the performance standards in delivery of Housing Benefit.
Local authorities need to process Housing Benefit claims quickly to avoid any inconvenience to tenants. The measures we are putting in place are designed to encourage better performance and are making Housing Benefit easier to administer.
Mr. Neil Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in the Wigan MB are claiming housing benefit as a percentage of the total population there; and what the equivalent statistics are for (a) the North West Region and (b) England. [71896]
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Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
Housing Benefit recipients in Wigan, the North-West Region and England as a percentage of the total population aged 16 or over in each area: February 2002.
| Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council area | Government Office Region of North West England | England |
|---|---|---|
| 8.1 | 9.4 | 7.9 |
Sources:
Housing Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. count taken in February 2002;
Office for National Statistics mid-year population estimates for 2000.
Notes:
1. The data refer to households claiming Housing Benefit which may be a single person, a couple or a family. More than one benefit household can live in one property, for example two or more adults in a flat or nouse share arrangement.
2. Figures exclude any Housing Benefit Extended Payment cases.
3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
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