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25 Mar 2003 : Column 164W—continued
Television Licence
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the cost of collecting the television licence in the latest year for which information is available. [104757]
Dr. Howells: Statutory responsibility for collecting the television licence fee rests with the BBC. The Corporation's licence fee collection costs for 2001–02, as stated in the BBC's Annual Report and Accounts, were £95.4 million. Central Government costs relating to the administration of the television licensing system in 2001–02 were £132,000.
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LORD CHANCELLOR'S DEPARTMENT
Departmental Website
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what the total cost of the Department's website was in the last 12 months; and how many hits it received in the same period. [104192]
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Yvette Cooper: Website related work is not differentiated from other work in the production and publication of departmental material. The total annual cost of my Department's website could therefore not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
For the financial year 2001–02, my Department's website, (www.lcd.gov.uk), attracted 469,683 unique visitors (a more reliable indicator of individuals accessing web pages than hits).
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WORK AND PENSIONS
Pension Supplement
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will increase the 20 pence per week supplement for 80-plus year old pensioners. [105001]
Mr. McCartney: The 25 pence age addition for state pensioners aged 80 and over was introduced by the Conservative Government in 1971.
The age addition will be maintained, but on its own it is not the most cost-effective way to help elderly pensioners. We have gone much further.
We have introduced measures which, from October 2003, will mean that the poorest third of pensioner households will have gained over £1,500 a year in real terms.
We have introduced free TV licences from age 75 worth over £100 a year, winter fuel payments of £200 per year for eligible households paid to some 11 million people in 8 million households, and the minimum income guarantee which means that no single pensioner has to live on less than £102.10 and no couple on less than £155.80 from April.
We are going further still with the introduction of pension credit from October 2003.
We have therefore found better and more effective ways to help pensioners with the lowest incomes.
Attendance Allowance
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he stopped paying attendance allowance
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to people in Scotland who are receiving free personal care for the elderly; and how many people in Scotland are receiving attendance allowance. [76325]
Maria Eagle: Free personal care was introduced in Scotland from 1 July 2002. Attendance allowance continues to be payable to care home residents in Scotland who meet the costs of their accommodation without help from public funds. Those who do receive help from public funds are not eligible to receive attendance allowance.
The latest available information is that 129,800 people in Scotland were receiving attendance allowance at 31 May 2002. This figure is based on a 5 per cent. sample of cases, rounded to the nearest hundred.
Benefits
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount of recoverable benefit overpayments caused by fraud and error in each of the past five years; and how much of these overpayments has been recovered. [99067]
Malcolm Wicks: Our most recent estimate is that the total annual amount of benefits overpaid due to customer error and official error taken together is around £1 billion and the total annual amount due to fraud is around £2 billion.
We have not made an estimate of how much of these overpayments would be recoverable.
Information on actual overpayments established and recovered for all benefits 1 over the last five years is in the table.
- 1 Except overpayments in respect of housing benefit and council tax benefit, because they are recorded and recovered by local authorities.
| Financial year | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value of new recoverable overpayments | 327 | 387 | 313 | 357 | 310 |
| Value of recoveries | 122 | 169 | 184 | 177 | 188 |
Notes:
Data is based on recoveries shown on the Overpayments Recovery System and the Overpayment Recovery Computer System.
Recoveries do not necessarily relate to overpayments identified in the same year.
Source:
Programme Accounting Computer System and Financial and Management Information System.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Wales claimed (i) child benefit, (ii) unemployment benefit and (iii) incapacity benefit in each year since 1997. [102779]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The available information is in the tables. Figures for Northern Ireland are not included, as social security matters in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
| England | Scotland | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 1997 | 1,837,100 | 298,500 | 206,200 |
| 31 March 1998 | 1,805,200 | 289,700 | 197,400 |
| 31 March 1999 | 1,778,700 | 280,600 | 190,900 |
| 31 March 2000 | 1,762,100 | 279,600 | 186,800 |
| 31 March 2001 | 1,819,600 | 283,600 | 189,900 |
| 31 March 2002 | 1,857,600 | 287,200 | 191,600 |
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
Source:
Figures are based on 5 per cent samples of the incapacity benefit computer system and will exclude a small number of clerically held cases.
Notes:
1. Figures are seasonally adjusted.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
Source:
100 per cent. count from the jobseeker's allowance computer system.
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| England | Scotland | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 1998 | 6,007,900 | 603,800 | 354,400 |
| November 1999 | 6,021,100 | 602,900 | 354,500 |
| November 2000 | 6,026,200 | 598,500 | 354,000 |
| November 2001 | 6,016,000 | 596,800 | 355,400 |
| November 2002 | 6,017,400 | 594,700 | 353,900 |
Notes:
1. Data prior to 1998 are unavailable broken down by country.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
Source:
Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample of the child benefit computer system.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many roadside stops have been conducted by the Benefit Fraud Investigation Service in each of the last three years; and how many (a) investigations and (b) successful prosecutions resulted. [88447]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people have been convicted of benefit fraud on two separate occasions since April 2002; [92501]
- (2) how many persons who were convicted of benefit fraud in each of the last four years for which figures are available had (a) one, (b) two and (c) more than two previous convictions for benefit fraud; [94001]
(3) how many persons claiming benefit have (a) one, (b) two and (c) more than two convictions for benefit fraud; and what the total amount claimed by such persons is, broken down by type of benefit. [94002]
Malcolm Wicks: We have taken powers in the Social Security Fraud Act 2001 to strengthen benefit fraud investigation and punish persistent offenders more severely. The provision to sanction people convicted of two separate benefit fraud offences in a three-year period, known as the 'two-strikes provision', came into force on 1 April 2002. This provision can only be applied to people who have committed, and then been convicted for, two separate benefit offences after that date.
Information on the number of people who were convicted of benefit fraud and who had one or more previous convictions for benefit fraud is recorded only from April 2002. However, our research suggests that prior to April 2002 approximately five per cent. of prosecutions involved a person with a previous conviction for benefit fraud.
By 28 January 2003, our records showed that four people had been convicted of benefit fraud on two separate occasions since April 2002. In two of these cases, one or more of the offences had occurred before 1 April 2002, so the 'two strikes' legislation does not apply. In the third case, sanctionable benefits are not in payment currently, but the case has been marked so that if the person reclaims benefit within the next three years a sanction will be applied. In the fourth case, sanctionable benefits are in payment and sanctions are being imposed. Information about the amounts obtained and the benefits defrauded in the four cases concerned are in the following table.
| Case | Benefit | Amount | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First conviction | Housing benefit/council tax Benefit (HB/CTB) | 2,088.58 | 2,312.69 |
| Second conviction | HB/CTB | 224.11 | ||
| 2 | First conviction | Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) | 73.75 | 127.70 |
| Second conviction | JSA | 53.95 | ||
| 3 | First conviction | JSA | 103.86 | 316.01 |
| Second conviction | JSA | 212.15 | ||
| 4 | First conviction | JSA | 269.70 | 345.35 |
| Second conviction | Income Support | 75.65 |
Source:
Two Strikes Database, Professional Standards Unit
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