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4 Apr 2003 : Column 914W—continued
Pensions Payment
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners had their pensions collected on their behalf from a post office in the most recent week for which figures are available. [105546]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. Information is available of pensions customers who have an appointee recorded on their benefit account. As at 25 January 2003, of the 10.2 million pensions customers, 0.77 per cent. are recorded as having an appointee to collect their pension at a Post Office. Pensioners can also arrange to have their payment collected on their behalf by an agent. There are no reliable figures available for pensioners who choose this option.
SchlumbergerSema
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the levels of performance against the key performance targets in respect of SchlumbergerSema (a) for each of the last 12 months and (b) since the re-awarding of its contract; on how many occasions a financial remedy has been applied to SchlumbergerSema since it was first awarded the Benefits Medical Assessment Contract; how much the financial remedy was on each of the occasions until the re-awarding of the contract; how much the financial remedy was on each of the occasions since the re-awarding of the contract; and if he will make a statement. [105365]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: Service credits for failure to meet contractual service level targets are commercial in confidence and not disclosed under part 2, paragraph 13 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
A copy of the information relating to the key performance targets has been placed in the Library.
Tax Credits
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people who stop being entitled to income support or jobseeker's allowance in favour of the new tax credits will retain access to grants and loans from the Social Fund. [106118]
Malcolm Wicks: With the introduction of the new tax credits from April 2003, we estimate that more than 75 per cent. of families floating off income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance will gain by at least £20 a week—some by much bigger amounts. Anyone who receives the child tax credit at the maximum rate or any other rate greater than the family element, or the working tax credit where a disability or severe disability element is in payment, will qualify for Sure Start maternity grants and funeral payments from the regulated Social Fund, provided that all of the other eligibility criteria are met.
Budgeting loans and community care grants from the discretionary Social Fund target the available help on the neediest people in our society who qualify for income-related benefits. We have taken the view that access to these elements of the Fund should not be
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extended to a wider range of people with higher incomes as such help would be poorly targeted and potentially very costly.
Crisis loans will continue to be available to anyone in an emergency or as a consequence of a disaster where there is no other means of preventing serious damage or serious risk to their health or safety or that of their family. There is no requirement for a crisis loan applicant to be receiving an income-related benefit or a tax credit, but any income or capital they have will be taken into account.
Winter Fuel Payments
Mr. David Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the entitlement is to the Winter Fuel Payment; how many have received it in each year since its introduction; how much it has cost in public expenditure in each year; what percentage of this represents the cost of administration of the payment; and what his estimate is of the cost of the payment if it were to be restricted to those entitled to the pension credit. [106448]
Mr. McCartney: Most people aged 60 and over who normally live in Great Britain are entitled to a Winter Fuel payment. From winter 2000–01, the payment has been either £200 or £100 depending on the composition and circumstances of the household.
Information on the numbers of payments and total expenditure for each year from 1997–98 is set out in the following table.
| Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Number in receipt (million) | Expenditure (£ million cash) | |
| 1997–98 | 9.759 | 191 |
| 1998–99 | 9.953 | 194 |
| 1999–2000 | 10.084 | 759 |
| 2000–01 | 11.123 | 1,749 |
| 2001–02 | 11.202 | 1,692 |
| 2002–03 | 11.322 | 1,710 |
Source:
Departmental published estimates.
Information on administrative costs is not currently available in the format requested. In accordance with the requirements of Resource Accounting and Budgeting the Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its Public Service Agreements (PSA), and by individual Requests for Resources (RfRs), as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts.
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If Winter Fuel Payments were restricted to entitled recipients of Pension Credit, we estimate the cost to be £750 million per year.
Workstep Programme
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on recent developments in the Workstep programme, with particular reference to (a) achievement of targets for progression to open employment; (b) local authority contribution to capitation payments and (c) the financial health of providers. [104790]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: In April 2001, the former Supported Employment Programme was modernised and renamed Workstep to place greater emphasis on developing disabled people and helping them move into mainstream employment where possible.
Because of the varying potential of participants to make the transition to open employment, formal targets would not be appropriate. However, providers are encouraged to work towards achieving progression for up to 30 per cent. of all new entrants and 10 per cent. of those recruited under the former supported employment programme. Since April 2001, nearly 3,300 individuals have progressed into open employment.
Payments under Workstep are made to providers when participants achieve specific stages within the programme, and a monthly payment is made to providers for all those they support in work. Depending on the nature of the employment within which support is provided, local authorities and other providers may additionally contribute to the costs of the workplace. The amounts paid vary considerably across Workstep providers and across workplaces.
The financial health of providers is considered as part of the ongoing monitoring undertaken by Jobcentre Plus of its contractual relationship with providers. The recent extension to Workstep, carried out through a competitive procurement, included a rigorous assessment of financial health for all providers who expressed an interest in the competition.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Community Service
Mr. Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been sentenced to community service in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion these represented of the number of people convicted of criminal offences. [106585]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 1 April 2003]: The information requested for 1992 to 2001 is contained in the table. Statistics for 2002 will be published in the autumn.
(17) Community punishment and rehabilitation orders from April 2000.
(18) Community punishment orders from April 2000.
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Correspondence
Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter dated 16 January from the hon. Member for Banff and Buchan regarding his constituent Mr. S. Chemlakh of Fraserburgh. [105142]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 27 March 2003]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 3 April 2003.
Mr. Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 17 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. R. Myers. [106182]
Mr. Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 28 March 2003.
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 18 February to the Department for Transport, which was transferred to the Home Department. [107208]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I wrote to my hon. Friend on 3 April 2003,
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