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Disability Living Allowance
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Disability Living Allowance appeals were successful on (a) reconsideration and (b) aural tribunal for people whose main disabling condition is deafness in (i) England, (ii) Scotland and (iii) Wales since 1997. [95273]
Maria Eagle: The information is not available.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of people (a) with a disability and (b) whose main disabling condition is deafness received disability living allowance in the United Kingdom in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2002. [95541]
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Maria Eagle: The information in the following table indicates the total number of people receiving Disability Living Allowance and those whose main disabling condition is deafness or deafness and blindness in Great Britain at 31 August 1997 and 2002. Information for Northern Ireland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
| 1997 | 2002 | |
|---|---|---|
| All DLA recipients | 1,926.2 | 2,385.8 |
| Deaf or deaf and blind DLA | 16.7 | 28.9 |
Source:
IAD Information Centre, data taken from 5 per cent. sample as at 31 August each year.
Figures in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred
It is estimated that there are 8,582,200 disabled adults in Great Britain (aged 16+). This estimate is based on a survey published in 1999 1 , and it is therefore not possible to calculate the proportion of disabled people receiving DLA in 1997 and 2002 from this information, as the data are not comparable. The survey estimated that 34 per cent. of disabled people had a disability related to hearing.
It should be noted that entitlement to Disability Living Allowance is based on the extent to which a severely disabled person requires attention, supervision or watching over by another person and/or has walking difficulties as a result of their disabilities, and not on the disabilities themselves. In addition, the majority of people who are hard of hearing are over the age of 65. People who become disabled after reaching age 65 claim Attendance Allowance instead of Disability Living Allowance. For these reasons, there is no meaningful correlation between the numbers of disabled and deaf people in Great Britain and the numbers receiving Disability Living Allowance.
- 1 Grundy, E., Ahlburg, D., Ali, M., Breeze, E. and Sloggett, A. (1999) Disability in Great Britain: Results from the 1996–97 Disability Follow-Up to the Family Resources Survey, Department of Social Security Research Report No.94.
External Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the projects on which external consultants have been used by his Department in each of the last four financial years for which data is available; and if he will indicate which firms of consultants were used on each project. [94000]
Mr. McCartney: The information is not held centrally or in the format requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Gender Income Gap
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average gap, expressed as a percentage, was between the incomes of all working (a) women and (b) men for the last year for which figures are available. [94015]
Ms Hewitt: I have been asked to reply.
In 2000–01 women working full-time had weekly median income of £295 per week, 78 per cent. of the weekly median income of men working full time
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(£379 per week). Women working part-time had weekly median income of £135, 82 per cent. of the weekly median income of men working part-time (£164 per week). These figures reflect differences between men and women in hours worked in addition to differences in hourly rates of pay.
K Shoes Factory (Kendal)
Mr. Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to assist those who become unemployed following the closure of the K Shoes factory in Kendal to find new work. [94014]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: JobCentre Plus offers assistance to help companies handle any significant reduction in staffing they may have to make, and help to those employees who are affected in identifying alternative jobs or any training they require.
In the case of the K Shoes factory in Kendal, JobCentre Plus has already agreed to give those employees being made redundant immediate access to its employment and training programmes. JobCentre Plus is working closely with the employer and the local authority. Together they have arranged to run advice and information sessions in the factory during the week commencing 3 February 2003 and have planned a jobs fair for the 14 February 2003.
Pension Payment (Automated Credit Transfer)
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) existing and (b) new state retirement pension claimants have opted for payment via automated credit transfer in each of the last 12 months. [93918]
Mr. McCartney: The information is not available in the format requested as the statistics are collated on a periodic basis. The information that is available is in the following tables.
| Period ending | Total live cases | Order book cases | Order payable cases | ACT cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 November 2001 | 9,610,506 | 4,958,548 | 179,760 | 4,472,198 |
| 20 February 2002 | 9,601,651 | 4,899,331 | 173,174 | 4,529,146 |
| 30 April 2002 | 9,605,886 | 4,858,229 | 172,523 | 4,575,134 |
| 30 June 2002 | 9,616,957 | 4,824,513 | 171,176 | 4,621,268 |
| 31 August 2002 | 9,622,462 | 4,786,398 | 169,294 | 4,666,770 |
| 29 November 2002 | 9,644,971 | 4,713,765 | 165,896 | 4,765,310 |
| Period ending | Order book cases | Order payable cases | ACT cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 November 2001 | 35,125 | 496 | 62,701 |
| 28 February 2002 | 50,626 | 673 | 88,271 |
| 30 April 2002 | 34,116 | 498 | 57,671 |
| 30 June 2002 | 31,098 | 451 | 57,544 |
| 31 August 2002 | 36,032 | 485 | 67,345 |
| 29 November 2002 | 48,079 | 607 | 95,180 |
Source:
Method of Payment Scan—Pension Strategy Computer System 27 November 2002
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Pre-Budget Report
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the constituent parts of the allocation of the planned expenditure for (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04, (c) 2004–05 and (d) 2005–06, set out in Table B15 of the Pre-Budget Report 2002. [93412]
Mr. McCartney: Latest information on the approved allocation of planned expenditure for 2002–03 is published in the Central Government Supply Estimates 2002–03, Winter Supplementary Estimates and New Estimates, command number HC43. The allocations will change, subject to Parliamentary Approval of the Spring Supplementary, and will be published in the Central Government Supply Estimates 2002–03, Spring Supplementary Estimates and New Estimates in February 2003.
Approved allocations for future years have yet to be finalised and have not been published.
Private Pension Schemes
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures are being taken to educate and encourage recent graduates and new members of the work force to make provision for private pension schemes. [93383]
Mr. McCartney: We are committed to encouraging people to consider their pension saving options early. Everyone needs to be equipped to understand their financial choices and have access to the information they need to prepare for their retirement.
The Green Paper "Simplicity, security and choice: working and saving for retirement", published on 17 December 2002, Cm 5677, sets out the Government's proposals to work with employers and the financial services industry to provide:
- A simple framework to help people understand their choices.
Financial education and awareness to navigate the system, including access to
generic financial advice for the mass market
Personalised information tailored to individual circumstances, so people can make
rational choices; and a choice of suitable products.
It also sets out the Government's proposals for working with employers to encourage and facilitate the provision of better information, both generic and specific personalised information, to employees and prospective employees.
We have launched a wide ranging consultation exercise in which we are seeking views on all these issues. We want to reinvigorate the pension partnership to make sure that future generations of pensioners can make informed choices.
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