| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Dec 2002 : Column 856W—continued
Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which postcode areas Jobcentre Plus regulations are in force and in which particularly mandatory interviews for claimants in receipt of benefits other than Jobseekers Allowance apply. [86716]
Malcolm Wicks: Mandatory work-focused meetings were introduced from October 2001 in 56 Jobcentre Plus pathfinder offices and 39 work-focused interview sites. The postcode areas covered by these offices and sites are listed in a schedule to the Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2001 (SI 3210).
These regulations were revoked in June 2002 and have been superseded by the Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2002 (S11703). These regulations do not include a schedule of postcodes, but allow for the gradual rollout of the new Jobcentre Plus service. The offices that have been rolled out under these regulations, and the postcodes that they cover, are in the table.
| Office | Postcodes covered |
|---|---|
| Bridgnorth | DY7 5DR, DY7 5DS, DY7 5ER, DY7 5EU, DY7 5LF, DY7 5LJ, DY12 1SU, ST19 9AP, TF11 8, TF11 9, TF12 5, TF13 6, WR15 8, WV5 7, WV6 7, WV7 3, WV8 1, WV15 5, WV15 6, WV16 4, WV16 5, WV16 6 |
| Cheetham | M7 4DU, M7 4YG, M7 4YB, M7 4YT, M7 4YE, M7 4YH, M7 8YS, M7 4QA, M8, M9 |
| Fraserburgh | AB 43 |
| Kirkby St. Chads | L9 0, L9 5, L9 8, L10 0, L10 1, L10 4, L10 6, L10 8, L32, L33 |
| Nelson | BB9 |
| Plympton | PL7, PL21 |
| Spen Valley | WF13, WF14, WF15, WF16, BD4, BD11, BD12, BD1 9 |
Note:
Where a full postcode is not given the office covers the whole of the postal area shown
Pension Schemes
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensions scheme wind-ups have there been in each of the past five years when the company has been (a) solvent and (b) insolvent; and how many members have been affected in each case. [86550]
Mr. McCartney: The information that is available is in the tables.
There are different reasons why pension schemes are wound up. The schemes' sponsoring employer might, for example, become insolvent or the employer might decide to wind up one type of pension scheme in order to replace it with another type.
| Number of schemes notifying the Pensions Schemes Registry (PSR) they are commencing wind up | Number of members in schemes notifying PSR they are commencing wind up | Number of schemes notifying PSR they are commencing wind up and are still in the process | Number of members in schemes notifying PSR they are commencing wind up and still in the process | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1997–31 March 1998 | 7,334 | 321,254 | 84 | 10,271 |
| 1 April 1998–31 March 1999 | 6,530 | 322,699 | 113 | 2,309 |
| 1 April 1999–31 March 2000 | 6,003 | 321,991 | 4,287 | 101,236 |
| 1 April 2000–31 March 2001 | 5,304 | 316,205 | 1,903 | 74,403 |
| 1 April 2001–31 March 2002 | 4,651 | 301,646 | 2,206 | 73,038 |
18 Dec 2002 : Column 857W
| Year | Number of schemes that completed winding up | Number of members in schemes that completed winding up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 April 1997–31 March 1998 | 23,953 | 1,139,303 |
| 1 April 1998–31 March 1999 | 17,196 | 899,679 |
| 1 April 1999–31 March 2000 | 12,045 | 786,367 |
| 1 April 2000–31 March 2001 | 7,446 | 427,509 |
| 1 April 2001- 31 March 2002 | 3,315 | 196,841 |
Notes:
1. The information is based on data held by the Pension Schemes Registry (PSR). It includes all types of pension schemes. The PSR registers schemes for tracing purposes and to enable it to collect the levy from all those pension schemes required to pay it. The PSR was not designed to provide comprehensive statistical data on schemes winding up. However, the information held by the PSR is the most relevant material available.
2. The PSR does not hold information about whether the sponsoring company of the pension scheme was solvent or insolvent, this information is not required for their purposes.
3. There are no figures available for the period 1 April 2002 to date, due to a change in the Pension Registry's computer system. These figures will be available after March 2003.
Pensioner Income
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Government remains committed to the commitment on page 103 of the 1998 Green Paper, Cm 4179, on increasing the proportion of pensioners' incomes that comes from the private sector. [86737]
Mr. McCartney: I refer the hon. Member to the oral statement made by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, Official Report, 17 December 2002, columns 694—710.
Pensions
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates will claim state pension in each of the next five years. [87520]
Mr. McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested. However, such information as is available is set out in the table.
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men aged 65 | 275,000 | 274,000 | 271 ,000 | 258,000 | 274,000 |
| Women aged 60 | 332,000 | 343,000 | 349,000 | 355,000 | 435,000 |
Note:
Figures are mid-year estimates of men aged 65 and women aged 60 in the UK, rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Source:
The Government Actuary's Department 2001 based Population Projections.
Pension Credit
Mr. Ivan Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners within the Harwich Constituency will benefit from the introduction of the pension tax credit in October 2003. [85252]
18 Dec 2002 : Column 858W
Mr. McCartney: Estimates of pension credit entitlement are not available at individual constituency level due to the insufficient sample cases in the survey data used. However, just under half of all pensioner households across Great Britain will be eligible to Pension Credit. Such information as is available relates to pensioners in the Harwich constituency receiving the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) and is as follows:
As at August 2002, there were 4,200 MIG recipients in the Harwich constituency.
Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Eastern region will benefit from the pensions tax credit. [85280]
Mr. McCartney [holding answer 12 December 2002]: Estimates of pension credit entitlement are not available on a regional basis due to the insufficient sample cases in the survey data used. However, just under half of all pensioner households across Great Britain will be eligible for Pension Credit. Such information as is available relates to pensioners in the eastern region receiving the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) and is as follows:
As at August 2002, there were 133,700 MIG recipients in the Eastern region.
Skills Training Pilots
Mr. Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how the skills training pilots in North Nottinghamshire and Leeds are being evaluated; how many participants there were; how many sanctions were imposed; and if he will make a statement; [86701]
- (2) what plans he has to introduce the skills training pilot throughout the United Kingdom. [86702]
Malcolm Wicks: Between September 2001 and April 2002 we piloted a number of approaches aimed at encouraging greater take up of basic skills provision by people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance. These included testing different mechanisms to identify those with basic skills needs, and the use of financial incentives and/or benefit sanctions to encourage the take up of training.
In North Nottinghamshire we piloted the use of benefit sanctions if a client refused an offer of training or left training early without good cause. In Leeds we combined the use of sanctions with financial incentives of #20 per week on top of their benefit for taking up training and #100 for achieving a basic skills qualification. In the two pilots, 1,623 clients had a possible basic skills need identified. Of these, 18 had sanctions applied, three because they failed to attend a basic skills assessment and 15 because they failed to attend training or left early without good cause.
All the basic skills pilots are subject to an extensive, longitudinal evaluation study. This is looking at both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the pilots. The final evaluation report will be available in summer 2003. We will use the evidence from the evaluation to decide what changes we might make to help encourage more Jobcentre Plus clients to take up offers of help to improve their basic skills.
18 Dec 2002 : Column 859W
LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Legal Aid
Lady Hermon: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if Mr. Liam Campbell and Mr. Michael McKevitt have been awarded legal aid in respect of civil charges due to be brought against them relating to the bomb attack in Omagh on 15 August 1998. [87059]
Ms Rosie Winterton: It would be inappropriate to comment on individual legal aid applications. The grant or refusal of civil legal aid is a matter for the Law Society of Northern Ireland, through its Legal Aid Committee.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |