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25 Mar 2003 : Column 170W—continued
Computer Fraud
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases of computer (a) hacking, (b) fraud and (c) theft his Department recorded in 2001–02; and on how many occasions computer systems have been illegally accessed by computer hackers (i) within and (ii) outside his Department. [97567]
Malcolm Wicks: There were no cases of computer hacking detected in 2001–02.
The number of cases of fraud detected was four in 2001–02. Of these, all were perpetrated by insiders.
The number of cases of computer theft detected was 89 in 2001–02. Of these, one was perpetrated by an insider and the remainder by persons outside the Department or unknown.
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Hepatitis C (Scotland)
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his decision not to give evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Health Committee in connection with the Scottish Executive's Hepatitis C compensation proposals. [105035]
Malcolm Wicks: The Scottish Executive's proposal to compensate Hepatitis C sufferers who contracted the virus through contaminated blood has raised issues broader than that of the interaction with the benefit system and the responsibilities of the Department. It would be inappropriate for me to comment until discussions have reached a conclusion.
Incapacity Benefit
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit claimants have been called in for medical assessment in each of the last five years; and how many have been reassessed as not qualifying for benefit. [103235]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The available information is in the tables.
| September 1998 to August 1999 | 768,653 |
| September 1999 to August 2000 | 616,071 |
| September 2000 to August 2001 | 639,923 |
| September 2001 to August 2002 | 783,294 |
Notes:
1. Figures prior to September 1998 are available only at disproportionate cost.
2. Figures are for the number of invitations in respect of IB medical assessments. As some people will be unable to attend their assessments when first invited, these figures include second and subsequent invitations.
Source:
Figures are 100 per cent. count from Medical Provision and Contracting Team figures.
| 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 | 199,290 |
| 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 | 202,680 |
| 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 | 181,895 |
| 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 | 152,085 |
| 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 | 161,125 |
Note:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
Source:
Figures are 100 per cent. count from the incapacity benefit computer system and will exclude a small number of cases held clerically.
Incomes (Blackpool and Fleetwood)
Mrs. Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals in the constituency of Blackpool, North and Fleetwood have incomes (a) up to £10,000, (b) between £10,000 and £20,000 and (c) over £20,000 per year. [98676]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available.
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Invalid Care Allowance
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much invalid care allowance would be if it had been indexed to earnings since its introduction. [101909]
Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.
| Weekly rate inJuly 1976 | Weekly rate inApril 2003 | Weekly rate inApril 2003 if indexed to earnings fromJuly 1976 |
|---|---|---|
| 7.90 | 43.15 | 54.75 |
Notes:
Average Earnings Index Whole Economy (Non Seasonally Adjusted) as published by the Office of National Statistics.
Figures have been rounded to the nearest five pence at each uprating.
Source:
Information Centre, Information and Analysis Directorate
Jobseeker's Allowance
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the number of persons fraudulently claiming jobseeker's allowance while working in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [104936]
Malcolm Wicks: We estimate that, on average, during the year 2001–02, 32,000 people were committing fraud by claiming jobseeker's allowance while they or their partner were working. Corresponding estimates for previous years are not available.
- Notes:
- 1. The above figure is the average number committing fraud at any one time during the year, and may therefore be compared to caseload figures. The total number of individuals committing the fraud over the year as a whole is likely to be considerably higher; however we do not have an estimate.
- 2. These are central estimates and are subject to sampling error.
Medical Services
Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 25 February 2003, Official Report, column 496W, on medical services, what proportion of the audits carried out by medical services in the last five years were targeted audits carried out in relation to complaints from claimants about the quality of those medical reports; and what proportion of these targeted audits have been awarded grade C. [103118]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: Medical Services management information does not allow for analysis of targeted audit that has arisen from complaints.
Targeted audit is used when a problem has been identified with a particular doctor, as a result of random audit, a complaint, a rework, or as a chance finding. It involves consideration of a number of reports completed by the doctor concerned, in order to gauge
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the overall standard of his or her work. The percentage of C grades for targeted audit is therefore higher than for random audit.
The total number of targeted audits carried out between September 1998 and February 2003 is 9,495, of which 1,704 (17.9 per cent.) were C grades.
Pension Credit
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated expenditure will be on pension credit in 2003–04; and what he estimates this would be if it were claimed by all those entitled to the benefit. [103635]
Mr. McCartney: Pension credit will replace the minimum income guarantee from 6 October 2003. Combined expenditure on the MIG and pension credit for the financial year 2003–04 is estimated to be around £5.3 billion (in cash terms). This is projected to rise to around £6.2 billion in 2004–05 (in cash terms).
The Department does not produce detailed forecasts of expenditure on the basis of different levels of take-up. However as an indication of the likely expenditure on pension credit, if all those entitled claimed it, DWP simulations suggest spending might be in the region of £7.5 billion for 2004–05. There is likely to be a wide margin of error around this estimate as it is based on survey data, which relies on individual responses and may be subject to non-response bias.
Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) single men, (b) single women and (c) couples are expected to be entitled to pension credit in October 2003; and how many of these will be entitled to (i) guarantee credit alone, (ii) savings credit alone and (iii) both guarantee and savings credit. [103636]
Mr. McCartney: The information requested is given is in the tables.
| Numbers entitled to pension credit in millions | Proportion (percentage) | |
|---|---|---|
| Single male | 0.60 | 49 |
| Single female | 1.95 | 61 |
| Couple | 1.05 | 26 |
| Numbers inmillions | Guarantee credit | Guarantee and savings credit | Savings credit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single male | 0.15 | 0.2 | 0.20 | 0.60 |
| Single female | 0.45 | 1.0 | 0.55 | 1.95 |
| Couple | 0.30 | 0.3 | 0.45 | 1.05 |
Notes:
1. The estimates were calculated for all pensioners using the Department's Policy Simulation Model based on the Family Resource Survey data for 2000–01 projected forward to 2003–04. This shows around 3.6 million households entitled to pension credit.
2. The Policy Simulation Model excludes all pensioners in nursing or residential care homes. This is because the Family Resource Survey data do not contain information on these cases. We estimate that just over 200,000 pensioners in care homes will be entitled to pension credit. This means that total pension credit entitlement for 2003–04 is estimated to be about 3.8 million households.
3. The figures in the tables were rounded to the nearest 50,000 cases. The figures may not add up due to rounding.
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