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24 Feb 2003 : Column 185W—continued
WORK AND PENSIONS
Pension Provision (Women)
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment she has made of the adequacy of pension provision for women. [97718]
Mr. McCartney: The Green Paper takes a comprehensive look at the issue of women, work and pensions.
It recognises that it is often harder for women to build up state and private pensions rights than it is for men. This is because of a combination of factors including shorter working lives, lower pay and lower occupational pensions coverage among part-time workers. The Green Paper also recognises that the current generation of female pensioners are over represented in those groups of pensioners with low incomes.
We have already taken action to address these issues.
The introduction of the State Second Pension, from April 2002 provides extra help to those on low or moderate earnings, to certain carers and to certain people with long-term illness and disability.
The Government have enabled some low paid workers to get national insurance benefits without paying contributions. From April 2000, the start point of national insurance contributions was separated from the lower earnings limit (LEL) for employees and aligned with the personal allowance for income tax. From April 2002–03, national insurance contributions
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only become payable on earnings from £89 a week whereas entitlement to national insurance benefits start accruing at £75 a week. This has benefited around half a million women.
The Government have also already taken action to support the labour market position of women through, for example, the introduction of the national minimum wage and additional investment in child care.
And many current female pensioners should benefit from the introduction of the pension credit in October 2003. Just over half of those entitled to the pension credit are single women. Two-thirds of those entitled to the pension credit will be women, and half of these women will be aged 75 or over.
Finally, we are engaging in a wide-ranging consultation on proposals made within the Green Paper. In this document, we state our commitment to providing pensions information for everyone, but we recognise that this is particularly important for women.
Pensioners
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the combined deduction of taxation and pensions credit for an extra £1 of income to a pensioner paying tax and receiving pensions credit. [90660]
Mr. McCartney: The combined deduction of taxation and pension credit for an extra £1 of income will depend on the individual characteristics of the person, such as age, family status, eligibility for additional amounts and income level.
The table shows an example of the deductions for a single person receiving pension credit and paying income tax, according to their gross income and age, assuming no additional amounts in payment.
Deduction of tax and pension credit for a single person paying tax and receiving Pension Credit [with no additional amounts].
| Age | Gross income(£ per week) | Deductionper £1 | Net increase in income per £1 | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60–64 | 88.75–103.60 | 1.00 | 0.00 | Pension credit [guarantee only] + 10 per cent. tax |
| 65–74 | 127.10–140.40 | 0.46 | 0.54 | Pension credit [savings credit]+ 10 per cent. tax |
| 75+ | 129.25–140.20 | 0.46 | 0.54 | Pension credit [savings credit] + 10 per cent. tax |
Notes:
Calculations are for 2003–04 benefit and tax rates.
The personal tax allowances are consistent with announcements made in the Pre-Budget Report 2002. Income tax bands have not yet been announced. For the purposes of this PQ they have been assumed to increase in line with normal indexation.
Gross Income bands are defined using a 52-week year and then rounded to the nearest 5 pence.
Taxation is defined as income tax only and excludes National Insurance contributions, which people below state pension age may pay.
The effect of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit is not included.
The deductions and gross income bands may vary for people with entitlement to additional amounts in Pension Credit.
Pension Credit entitlement is calculated according to post tax income.
The guarantee within pension credit will be £102.10 for a single person in 2003–04 in net income terms.
For single people, only those in the above income bands and age groups will be eligible for pension credit and be liable to pay income tax.
Benefit Payment
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners collect benefits from post offices in (a) Haltemprice and Howden and (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire. [96707]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of pensioners as at 28 December 2002 in the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden and the East Riding of Yorkshire receiving their benefits by a method of payment collectable at a post office is shown in the table. Included in these figures
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are customers paid by giro cheque. Giro cheques are encashable either at a post office, or they can be paid into a bank or building society account.
| Number of pensioners | |
|---|---|
| Haltemprice and Howden | 9,107 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 37,916 |
Some customers who are paid direct into an account can also collect their benefit in cash at post offices through network banking arrangements at the Post Office. There is no data available on the number of benefit claims collected in this way.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners have migrated from over-the-counter benefit payments to direct bank transfer in (a) Haltemprice and Howden and (b) the East Riding of Yorkshire. [96708]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of pensioners receiving DWP benefits (including War Pensions) who have migrated from payments collectable at the post office to payments direct into a bank or building society account is 43 in Haltemprice and Howden, and 159 in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The figures are as at 28 December 2002 compared with the same records from four weeks earlier.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the cost of the minimum income guarantee and pension credit for each year from 1997–98 to 2004–05 (planned). [97365]
Mr. McCartney: The information is shown in the table below:
| Cash terms £ million | Real Terms (02/03 prices) £ million | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997/98 out turn | 3,773 | 4,249 |
| 1998/99 out turn | 3,619 | 3,967 |
| 1999/00 out turn | 3,781 | 4,046 |
| 2000/01 out turn | 4,095 | 4,288 |
| 2001/02 estimated out turn(47) | 4,486 | 4,598 |
| 2002/03 plans | 4,470 | 4,470 |
| 2003/04 plans(48) | 5,287 | 5,171 |
| 2004/05 plans | 6,231 | 5,945 |
Notes:
All estimates are consistent with the PBR2002 forecasts
(47) Expenditure for 2001/02 reflects the latest estimate of out turn for the year and not
the amounts voted by Parliament.
(48) Pension Credit is introduced in October 2003.
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners collected benefits from post offices in the parliamentary constituency of Bury St. Edmunds. [97390]
Malcolm Wicks: The percentage of pensioners receiving DWP benefits (including war pensions) collectable at post offices in the Bury St. Edmunds constituency was 48 per cent. of all pensioners as at
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28 December 2002. This figure includes benefits paid by giro cheque which can also be paid into a bank or building society account.
Benefit Take-up
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many pensioners in the London Borough of Southwark claim (a) the minimum income guarantee and (b) attendance allowance; and if he will make a statement; [96844]
- (2) what the average take-up rate is of (a) the minimum income guarantee and (b) attendance allowance, expressed as a percentage; and if he will make a statement; [96845]
(3) what arrangements are in place between his Department and partner organisations to increase take-up of (a) the minimum income guarantee and (b) attendance allowance in the London Borough of Southwark; and if he will make a statement. [96847]
Mr. McCartney: In August 2002, there were approximately 7,900 customers receiving the minimum income guarantee in the London Borough of Southwark and approximately 3,200 receiving attendance allowance.
The information regarding the average take-up rate of minimum income guarantee for 1999–2000, the latest financial year for which estimates are available, can be found in the DWP publication, "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 1999–2000". A copy is placed in the Library.
The next edition of the report containing estimates for 2000–01 will be released on 27 March 2003.
Our fundamental priority is to put money in the pockets of pensioners who need it. The MIG take up campaign has put an average £20 a week extra in the pockets of 144,000 elderly people who would not have received it otherwise. These people would have lost out so the campaign undoubtedly achieved value for money.
Because the MIG is more generous and the limits on capital have been increased, there has been a natural increase in the number of people who could claim. Our overall policy is, and will continue to be, that we will get as many eligible pensioners as possible to claim their entitlement to the MIG.
Pension credit will be introduced in October 2003 and we have developed a strategy to ensure maximum take-up.
First, we will transfer existing MIG recipients to pension credit ready for payments to be made from October 2003;
Second, we will run mass advertising (TV and Press) from September 2003 to launch pension credit and advise pensioners and their friends and family of how The Pension Service and partner organisations can support them to consider and take-up entitlement;
Third, we will write to all pensioners not already receiving MIG over the take-on period (through to October 2004) to help them consider any entitlement to pension credit and encourage those likely to be eligible to apply; and
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Fourth, we will work with local partners to help support the communications to pensioners, and tailor marketing and communications activity accordingly.
We will review the take-up position during autumn 2004 and take any further action that may be necessary.
The DWP set up the Partnerships against Poverty Forum for England and Wales as a working group in 2001 with the Local Government Association and voluntary organisations to develop joint working to improve take-up of minimum income guarantee.
The group has, on a national basis, identified and developed a number of initiatives to improve access to entitlements and for the take-up of MIG by older people. The group has been instrumental in helping to develop products such as the shorter minimum income guarantee (MIG) claim form, the new MIG leaflet and the "At a Glance" and "Good Practice Guides", which all support the take-up of benefit entitlements. It also regularly reviews new and revised leaflets and has provided invaluable feedback into the training packages developed by The Pension Service local service.
The Partnership Against Poverty members quickly recognised that the issues that adversely impact the take-up of entitlements by black and minority ethnic (BME) elders needed to be addressed separately. To support this, a sub-group was established.
One of the first tasks of the group was to commission research into the barriers to look specifically at the problems faced by black and minority ethnic elder communities. The research will be qualitative and based around seven case studies looking at different groups. One of these is looking at the black African communities in Southwark.
Take-up is encouraged through local services via their drop-in surgeries in Southwark. These take place frequently in partnership with local groups and organisations. These are Peckham One Stop, Black Elderly Group of Southwark, South Asian Elderly Organisation, Blackfriars Settlement and at the Surrey Quays Shopping Centre.
In terms of attendance allowance, it is not possible to be precise about the number of pensioners who might be entitled if they claimed it. This is because entitlement to AA is determined on the customer's specific circumstances, which can only be determined after a claim has been made. Up-to-date estimates of the take up of AA and disability living allowance are not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Sutton Disability Benefits Centre undertakes a number of targeted local activities to promote awareness of AA in the area it serves, which includes the London Borough of Southwark. This includes training and awareness sessions for Pension Service staff and external organisations.
- Notes on the minimum income guarantee figure:
- 1. Based on a 5 per cent. sample, therefore subject to sampling variation.
- 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands.
- 3. MIG claimants are defined as any live income support benefit unit where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 and over.
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- 4. Local authority is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
- Source:
- Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, August 2002.
- Note on the attendance allowance figure:
- Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
- Source:
- IAD Information Centre, data taken from 5 per cent. sample.
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