| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
24 Feb 2003 : Column 201W—continued
Retirement Age
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on allowing civil servants to retire at the age of 65. [90029]
Mr. McCartney: The Government has already begun to address the social and economic consequences of demographic change in its role as employer. One of the recommendations of Winning the Generation Game was that public sector employers should review their retirement ages and examine the case for allowing those who want to work on to age 65 to do so. Already 75 per cent. of civil servants now have the option to retire at 65 and the numbers able to serve beyond 60 are expected to increase.
All staff in the Department for Work and Pensions, below the Senior Civil Service, are able to choose to remain in employment beyond the age of 60 for any period of time up to the age of 65.
- "Staff in the Senior Civil Service normally retire at the age of 60 but the Head of the Department and Agency Chief Executives have flexibility to retain members of the Senior Civil Service beyond age 60 if they judge it in the public interest and they are satisfied about the fitness and efficiency of the individual to carry out his or her duties. The most senior posts require written approval from the Head of the Home Civil Service to be retained for longer than three months beyond their 60th birthday."
This is based on an extract from the Civil Service Management Code.
Most public service pension schemes, however, still allow a normal pension to be taken at 60 or under. The Government is seeking views on the proposal that the rules of public service pension schemes should be changed and applied to all new members during the next few years to make an unreduced pension payable from age 65 rather than 60. Such a change would reflect improved longevity, modern working patterns and the practice in the majority of private sector pension schemes.
Senior Civil Servants (IT Qualifications)
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what IT qualifications each of the senior civil servants within his Department possesses. [98109]
24 Feb 2003 : Column 202W
Mr. McCartney: Information on IT qualifications held by each senior civil servant is not held centrally. Senior civil servants are encouraged to gain IT skills through a range of internal and external training.
War Pensions
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what mechanism exists to co-ordinate benefit awarded by his Department and those paid by the War Pensions Agency. [96952]
Malcolm Wicks: It has been a long-standing principle of the benefits system that it should not provide more than one benefit to cover the same contingency. While income from a War Pension is often disregarded for benefit purposes, there are certain circumstances where the award or cessation of a War Pension or supplementary allowance will necessitate an adjustment to the amount of benefit in payment.
We have measures in place to ensure that benefits paid by this Department are co-ordinated with those paid by the Veterans Agency (formerly the War Pensions Agency), and that any appropriate adjustments to benefit claims are made in the normal course of events.
Prior to the award of a Social Security benefit, a person must make a declaration of their circumstances, including details of the benefits they receive or have claimed. Once benefit is in payment, the recipient is advised to report any changes in their circumstances, including for example, the award or cessation of another benefit. Claims are also reviewed periodically by the Department to ensure their accuracy.
In addition, all claims to benefit are recorded on a computer system to which our agencies and the Veterans Agency have access, enabling the relevant agencies to share information where appropriate.
Winter Fuel Payments
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2003, ref: 90125, what the reasons are for the assumption in the Green Paper on Pensions that spending on winter fuel payments will remain at their current level of £200 up until 2051–52; and, on the basis of the projections of spending given in the Green Paper, what the value of the winter fuel allowance will be in real terms in (a) 2011–12, (b) 2021–22 and (c) 2051–52. [93940]
Mr. McCartney: The current amount of the Winter Fuel Payment of £200 will continue to be paid to each eligible household for the rest of this parliament. The rate will be kept under review. However, for the purposes of the projections in Annexe 3 of the Green Paper 'Simplicity, security and choice' (Cm 5677), it was necessary to make a modelling assumption about the value of winter fuel payments. Modelling assumptions should not be interpreted as statements of policy. It will be for future Governments to decide what the rate of Winter Fuel Payments should be for future years.
The following table shows the projected future value of the winter fuel payment in 2002–03 prices on the assumption that it remains at its current cash value of £200 and that inflation remains constant at 2.5 per cent.
24 Feb 2003 : Column 203W
| Cash amount | 2001–02 prices | |
|---|---|---|
| 2011–12 | 200 | 155 |
| 2021–22 | 200 | 121 |
| 2051–52 | 200 | 58 |
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners received winter fuel payments in the financial year 2001–02 in (a) Scotland, (b) Wales, (c) England and (d) Northern Ireland; and what the total payment was in each. [97265]
Mr. McCartney: Most people aged 60 and over, who normally live in Great Britain are entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment. There is no need to be in receipt of a State Pension. Information based on the number of people who received a payment is given in the table below.
Benefits in Northern Ireland are normally the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency (NISSA). However, the following figures are available as this Department processes Winter Fuel Payment's on behalf of NISSA. In winter 2001/2, 269,289 payments were made, totalling £42,152,400
| Thousands | Millions | |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of recipients | Total amount paid | |
| Great Britain | 11,201.9 | 1,680.6 |
| England | 9,585.8 | 1,435.9 |
| Scotland | 996.4 | 151.9 |
| Wales | 619.7 | 92.8 |
Notes:
1. Figures are in thousands and have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Figures are in millions and have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
Source:Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter Fuels Payment 2001/2002 exercise.2.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the amount of unclaimed winter heating allowance for each year from 1999–2000 to 2003–04; and if he will make a statement. [97357]
Mr. McCartney: Most eligible people receive their winter fuel payment automatically, without the need to claim. Over 11 million payments have been made this winter.
We are unable to provide any reliable estimate of the amount of unclaimed Winter Fuel Payments because some people aged 60 and over are excluded, others may choose not to claim and payments are based on household composition.
Where a person needs to claim, it is up to them whether they do so, and we publicise the availability of these payments.
24 Feb 2003 : Column 204W
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the change in real spending on the winter heating allowance between 2000–01 and 2003–04 (planned); and if he will make a statement. [97358]
Mr. McCartney: In 2002–3 price terms, expenditure of winter fuel payments was £1.83 billion in 2000/1 and it is estimated it will be £1.68 billion in 2003/4. These figures are based on the standard winter fuel payment being 200 for each year.
TREASURY
Burmese Narcotics
Vera Baird: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what percentage of illegal narcotics on UK streets he estimates originated from Burma in 2002; [97224]
- (2) what (a) percentage and (b) types of intercepted illegal narcotics were believed to have originated from Burma in 2002. [97222]
John Healey: Burma is known to be a source of two of the narcotics that would be considered illegal if trafficked into the UK—heroin and methamphetamine. However there was no evidence in 2002, either from Customs and Excise intelligence or from analysis of samples of seized drugs, that any of these narcotics on the UK streets could be traced back to Burma.
Aggregates Tax
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much aggregates tax revenue has been collected in Northern Ireland to date against that which would have been expected; and what is the estimated cost to date of implementing the tax in Northern Ireland; [97014]
- (2) what research Customs and Excise have carried out into the amount of illegally imported aggregate from the Republic of Ireland; [97007]
(3) how he proposes to remove the incentive for people (a) to import aggregate from the Republic of Ireland, (b) to open up unauthorised extraction operations and (c) to sell aggregate without paying aggregate tax; [97010]
(4) how many tonnes of imported aggregate have been declared in tax returns to date; [97006]
(5) how many (a) detections of evasion of payment of aggregates tax and (b) prosecutions there have been; [97008]
(6) what mechanism is used by Customs and Excise to ensure that companies pay aggregates tax on stone. [97015]
John Healey: The Government has designed the aggregates levy to protect the international competitiveness of aggregates businesses by applying the levy to the commercial exploitation of all virgin aggregate used in the UK and by exempting exports. The Government has also recognised the unique position of the Northern Ireland processed products sector, those producing concrete, mortar and asphalt, by introducing a transitional relief scheme.
24 Feb 2003 : Column 205W
This scheme allows the sector more time to adapt to the new market conditions by, for example, making increased use of levy-free alternatives to virgin aggregate.
Customs and Excise assure aggregates levy in the same way that they assure other taxes and duties for which they are responsible. Assurance resources are allocated according to risk. Additionally, in the first year of its operation Customs are undertaking education and assurance visits to all companies registered for the levy. The resources allocated to administering the levy in Northern Ireland take account of issues associated with the land boundary, and this resourcing is subject to regular review.
The levy is due at the point of first commercial exploitation in the UK and not at the point of import. Consequently aggregates can be imported without levy immediately being due and therefore the question of illegal imports does not arise. Where it cannot be demonstrated that commercially exploited aggregate is from a levy-paid source, Customs will use their powers to recover the revenue due and impose penalties, where appropriate.
Similarly, figures for the total weight of aggregate imported into the UK are not available. Aggregates levy returns record the weight of aggregate which is commercially exploited in the UK and do not differentiate between domestically produced and imported aggregate.
Data for revenue collected under the levy are recorded for the UK as a whole and are not available by devolved region; therefore, figures for levy revenue raised in Northern Ireland are not available. Equally, the cost of implementing the levy is estimated for the UK as a whole and not by devolved region.
There have been no prosecutions for evasion of the levy. Customs' approach in the first year of the tax has been to ensure that those who should be registered are registered, and that the correct liability is established and paid.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |