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Pensions

Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on how his Department can protect employees' pension schemes if their employer goes into administration or bankruptcy. [92732]

Mr. McCartney: If a salary-related occupational pension scheme starts to wind up as a result of its sponsoring employer going into administration or-bankruptcy, the members of the scheme are protected by measures contained in legislation.

The Statutory Priority Order sets out how the assets of the scheme are to be applied towards meeting the scheme's liabilities for pensions and other benefits. It aims to ensure that scheme assets are divided among scheme members as fairly as possible.

The employer debt provisions place a debt on an insolvent company's estate to cover any deficiency in the pension fund. The calculation of the debt is based on an estimate of the costs of winding up the scheme, the notional costs of buying annuities for pensioners and cash equivalent transfer values for people who have not retired.

The independent trustee provisions require insolvency practitioners to make sure that schemes that are winding up have one trustee who is independent. Trustees are required to report their progress regularly to Opra, which aims to ensure that schemes are wound up as quickly as possible.

Additionally, a compensation scheme was established to provide compensation for losses caused by dishonesty where the employer is insolvent. The compensation scheme acts as a safety net for members if their scheme suffers from a reduction in assets through dishonesty and their employer is not around to make good the shortfall.

Nonetheless, we are still concerned about instances when the sponsoring employer becomes insolvent and the pension scheme winds up under-funded. We are aware of the impact this has, and are determined to protect the long-term security of pensioners and other scheme members in occupational pension schemes.

This is why the pensions Green Paper, "Simplicity, Security and Choice" (Cm 5677), published on 17 December 2002, includes proposals to further protect members' pensions, including proposals to share out scheme assets more fairly, introduce some form of insurance and strengthen protection for members whose solvent employer chooses to wind up its scheme.

We are seeking views on our proposals and additional suggestions, and are therefore holding a wide ranging consultation on the Green Paper.

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to simplify the overlap of stakeholder and additional voluntary contribution pension arrangements where a person's earnings are such to allow concurrent membership of an occupational and a stakeholder pension arrangement. [92315]

Ruth Kelly: I have been asked to reply.

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On 17 December the Government published, for consultation, simplification proposals for the pension tax rules. The consultation paper, "Simplifying the taxation of pensions: increasing choice and flexibility", is available in the House of Commons Library. The consultation is to allow people the opportunity to put forward their views before final decisions are taken.

The consultation paper puts forward a proposed framework of general benefit rules. It is proposed that these rules would apply to all qualifying pension arrangements.

Post Office Card Account

Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many personal invitation documents for post office card accounts have been issued; [92873]

(2) how many applications have been received for a post office card account; [92874]

(3) how many post office card accounts have been successfully processed. [92875]

Malcolm Wicks: As at 10 January, around 26,000 child benefit and veterans agency customers had requested a post office card account. The Government have decided to build up the number of benefit customers and pensioners that we pay through the post office card account gradually, starting from April 2003. This is to ensure that the systems supporting the post office card account are reliable and robust, and have proved themselves in live running, before we start to pay large numbers of customers through them.

The Department's current plans for issuing personal invitation documents—PIDS—meet our intention that, subject to acceptance of the card account service, we can start to pay some people through the post office card account from April 2003.

Accordingly, on current plans, the earliest date for PID issue will be 24 March 2003.

The only personal invitation documents issued so far have been to around 1,000 customers taking part in the card account pilots that Post Office Ltd. are currently undertaking. Detailed questions on the pilot are matters which fall within the day-to-day responsibility of Post Office Ltd. I have therefore asked the chief executive to reply directly to the hon. Member on this issue.

Public Sector Workers (Retirement)

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the number of public sector workers who are obliged to retire at or before age 60; and if he will make a statement. [92554]

Mr. Boateng: I have been asked to reply.

Retirement policy is a matter for individual public sector employers and detailed numerical information is not held centrally. Government policy as set out in last year's pensions green paper, "Simplicity, security and choice: Working and saving for retirement (Cm 5677)" is to encourage people to work up to the age of 65 and beyond if they wish. Public service employers are reviewing their retirement policies to take account of

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that. In local government, the normal pension age is already 65 for new entrants. Longer serving staff may have rights to an earlier normal pension age, between 60 and 65, depending on their length of service.

As set out in the Green Paper, the Government proposes to increase the normal pension age from 60 to 65 for new entrants to pension schemes such the NHS, teachers and civil service. Some 75 per cent. of civil servants already have the option to retire at age 65 and the numbers able to serve beyond age 60 are expected to increase. NHS staff are generally encouraged to continue to work beyond age 60 and those retiring on age grounds typically leave well after age 60. In the state education sector, teachers can normally work until age 65 if they wish and they can work beyond 65 by mutual agreement between the individual and the employer.

In the armed forces, police and fire services the great majority of people leave before age 60 and pensions for those retiring are payable well before 60. There are a few posts in these services where individuals may be retained beyond age 60. There are a few posts in these services where individuals may be retained beyond age 60.

Statutory Instruments

Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Statutory Instruments subject to negative procedure made by his Department (a) came into force and (b) were considered by a delegated legislation committee in each of the last three sessions. [88033]

Maria Eagle: The details requested are in the table.

Session	Number of negative statutory instruments that came into force	Number considered by delegated legislation committee
1999–2000 (Department of Social Security)	68	2
2000–01 (Department of Social Security)	44	0
2001–02 (Department for Work and Pensions)	101	4

A further 14 instruments subject to the negative procedure came into force in the period between the end of the 1999–2000 session and the start of the 2000–01 session and a further three instruments subject to the negative procedure came into force in the period between the end of the 2000–01 session and the start of the 2001–02 session.

Where a Statutory Instrument has more than one commencement date, the first date has been used.

Welfare to Work

Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what benefits and subsidies may be lost by the unemployed upon starting employment. [83173]

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Mr. Nicholas Brown: We are taking a single approach to work and benefits to make work pay, make work possible and to support those who cannot work.

The national minimum wage together with our reforms of the tax and benefit system are helping to ensure that work pays at all levels of the labour market, and particularly for people on low incomes. Building on the success of the working families tax credit and the disabled person's tax credit, we will introduce the working tax credit from April 2003, extending in-work support to workers without children or disabilities.

We have also recently announced an improved package of financial measures to help people make the transition into work. From October 2004, we will be introducing a new job grant to help people moving into a job after at least six months on benefit. Single people and couples without children will receive £100. A higher rate grant of £250 will be paid to lone parents and to couples with children. This improved job grant will make a real difference in helping tide families over until their first wages are received.

On starting full-time employment a person ceases to be entitled to jobseeker's allowance or income support. There are a number of other benefits and subsidies available to people claiming income-based jobseeker's allowance or income support. These may be affected by a person's increased income on starting work or the person may lose entitlement to them. They include: housing benefit, council tax benefit, certain social fund grants and loans, free NHS prescriptions, eye tests and dental treatment, free school meals, and milk tokens.

Housing benefit and council tax benefit remain available to provide in-work support to help people meet their rent or council tax and are designed to guarantee that a person is better off in work than out of work. In addition, the NHS low income scheme ensures that working people on low incomes can continue to receive help towards the cost of most NHS services.

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