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9 Dec 2002 : Column 137W—continued
National Insurance
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the basis for the calculation by his noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, of the amount of money saved by a typical married woman who opted to pay National Insurance contributions at the reduced rate. [86072]
Mr. McCartney: My noble Friend quoted an illustrative example comparing what a married woman would have paid in full and reduced rate National Insurance contributions if she had earned around #4,000 in 1977 rising evenly to around #27,000 in 2002. The saving of #18,000 in this case is the total cash saving and has not been adjusted upward to take account of inflation over the period. The exact amount of savings any married woman will enjoy depends on her level of earnings because the amount of National Insurance contributions is calculated based on earnings.
New Deal
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people had benefits withdrawn for failing to accept all options under (a) New Deal for Young People, (b) New Deal 50 plus and (c) New Deal 25 plus. [83511]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 26 November 2002]: New Deal 50 plus has always been a voluntary programme and so there are no benefit sanctions for not participating.
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Between January 1998 and September 2002, 64,106 sanctions, to withdraw any Jobseeker's Allowance in payment, had been imposed under the New Deal for Young People. Between April 1998 and June 2002, 21,607 sanctions to withdraw benefit had been imposed under the New Deal 25 plus. We record only the total number of sanctions imposed and not the number of people sanctioned. Some people are sanctioned more than once.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of entrants to New Deal for Young People were functionally illiterate in (a) its first year and (b) the latest period for which figures are available. [83512]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 26 November 2002]: We estimate that at least 32 per cent. of all unemployed people have literacy, language and/or numeracy needs, which in part prevent them from improving their employability and finding secure work. Information is not available specifically on the level of illiteracy among entrants to the New Deal for Young People.
Jobcentre Plus screens around 15,000 people a week for literacy and/or numeracy needs. Clients who need help with their literacy and/or numeracy can access job focused training to ensure they are able to develop the skills they need to find and retain work. From April 2001 to January 2002, more than 4,400 young people received basic skills help in the New Deal for Young People. In the same period 10,000 began basic skills training though other programmes or voluntary New Deals.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the improvements in employability of those on each New Deal; and if he will make a statement. [83514]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 26 November 2002]: The New Deals are delivering services tailored to meet the needs of individuals, giving people the skills, confidence and motivation they need to help them find work.
We have in place a wide-ranging programme of evaluation of our New Deals. This evaluation examines the benefits that New Deals are providing, including the increased likelihood of participants moving into work. Evaluation reports are placed in the Library as they are published.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have entered the New Deal gateway (a) once, (b) twice and (c) three times or more in respect of (i) New Deal for Young People, (ii) New Deal 50 plus, and (iii) New Deal 25 plus. [83515]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 26 November 2002]: The New Deal 50 plus does not have a gateway period.
At June 2002, 738,950 people had started on the gateway of the New Deal for Young People programme.
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Of these 101,160 clients (16.7 per cent. of all gateway starters) have entered the gateway twice and 16,040 (2.7 per cent. of all gateway starters) have entered the gateway three times or more.
At June 2002, 482,680 people had started on the gateway of the New Deal 25 plus. Of these 55,990 clients (13.6 per cent. of all gateway starters) have entered the gateway twice and 7,050 (1.7 per cent. of all gateway starters) have entered the gateway three times or more.
Many participants will leave the programme before they reach the gateway stage (e.g. by finding work following their initial interview) so the numbers entering the gateway are significantly lower than the number entering the programme.
- Source:
- New Deal Evaluation Database.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will provide the information given in his Answer to the hon. Member for Hertsmere of 31 January, Official Report, column 537W, in respect of 2001–02. [86056]
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Malcolm Wicks: During 2001 and 2002 a total of 11,183 sentences were imposed. Of these, 648 were custodial sentences and 3,067 were community sentences. The remaining 7,468 comprised a range of punishments including conditional discharge, probation, suspended imprisonment and payment of compensation.
- Source:
- Jobcentre Plus Fraud Information By Sector system
New Deal Costs
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total expenditure has been to date on (a) New Deal for Young People, (b) New Deal 50 plus and (c) New Deal 25 plus. [83516]
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the gross annual cost is of each of the New Deal programmes since they were first established; how much of this cost has been met by the proceeds of the windfall tax; and what projections have been made for future years. [81795]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 26 November 2002]: The information requested is in the table.
| 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02(37) | Total 1997 to 2002 | Of which: Windfall Tax | Planned(38) spend 2002–03 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young People | 50 | 268 | 378 | 368 | 285 | 1,347 | 1,080 | 354 |
| 25 plus | 0 | 24 | 108 | 128 | 226 | 486 | 420 | 303 |
| 50 plus(39) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 15 | 40 | 40 | 16 |
| Lone Parents | 0 | 21 | 41 | 41 | 36 | 139 | 135 | 142 |
| Disabled People | 0 | 5 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 45 | 45 | 58 |
| Partners | 0 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 25 | 25 | 26 |
(36) Includes expenditure in Northern Ireland.
(37) 2002–03 figures reflect planned gross expenditure, including Windfall Tax. Future New Deal allocations are currently being revised to reflect the outcome of Spending Review 2002.
(38) New Deal 50 plus expenditure does not include employment credits, which are met from Annually Managed Expenditure.
Pensions
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list (a) Green Papers, (b) reviews and (c) consultations or pensions since 1997. [81794]
Mr. McCartney: We produced a Green Paper—Partnership in Pensions in 1998. Quinquennial reviews of occupational and personal pension schemes: review of certain contracted out terms took place in 1998 and 2001. A quinquennial review of the pensions ombudsman took place in 2000. The Pickering review took place in 2002.
The Pension Credit: a consultation paper was produced in November 2000. It is a general requirement to consult on all draft amendment regulations on occupational pensions and the following list details consultations of the new Department for Work and Pensions compiled from August 2001. A detailed list of consultations before this date is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
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Notes: The following point should be noted :
(i) The Government's code of practice on written consultation applies to written consultations which have a national impact on policy and services from 1st January 2001. This is in addition to our unique obligations as a Department to consult the Social Security Advisory Committee on certain legislative changes. Such changes may, or may not be subject to a public consultation.
(ii) All public consultations are published on the DWP website and can be found on www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2002/index.htm.
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