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7 Apr 2003 : Column 85W—continued
Departmental Pay
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made with the pay review in his Department, agencies and non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible, with particular reference to the gender pay gap; and if he will make a statement. [106741]
Maria Eagle: The DWP is committed to fair pay across the Department and all of its component parts. Equal pay audits have been completed across all parts of the Department in the last 18 months. The main findings were that our policies are not discriminatory and no significant issues were identified in terms of their application. We will continue to ensure our policies arid processes are designed to promote equality.
Departmental Staff
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many staff are employed by his Department. [106293]
Maria Eagle: Staffing figures for civil service Departments and agencies are available in the Library. The latest information, for October 2002, was published in February this year. The figures are also made available on the internet at http://www.civil-service.gov.uk/statistics/documents/pdf/staffing 03.pdf.
EU Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the EU Directives and Regulations which have been implemented by his Department since 17 April 2002. [106840]
Malcolm Wicks: The Department for Work and Pensions plays a leading role in the UK's EU policy on employment, social protection and health and safety at work. Since 17 April 2002, the following six EU health and safety Directives have been implemented:
- Commission Directive 2001/58/EC of 27 July 2001 amending for the second time Directive 91/155/EEC defining and laying down the detailed arrangements for the system of specific information relating to dangerous preparations in implementation of Article 14 of European Parliament and Council Directive 1999/45/EC and relating to dangerous substances in implementation of Article 27 of Council Directive 67/548/EEC (safety data sheets)
Commission Directive 2001/59/EC of 6 August 2001 adapting to technical progress for the 28th time Council Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances
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Commission Directive 2001/60/EC of 7 August 2001 adapting to technical progress Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations
Directive 1999/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 May 1999 concerning the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the member states relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations
Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of the health and safety of workers from the risks related to chemical agents at work (14th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)
Directive 1999/92/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1999 on minimum requirements for improving the safety and health protection of workers potentially at risk from explosive atmospheres (15th individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC).
- Commission Regulation (EC) No 1687/2002 of 25 September 2002 on an additional period for notification of certain active substances already on the market for biocidal use as established in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1896/2000
Council Regulation (EEC) No 304/2003 of 28 January 2003 concerning the export and import of certain dangerous chemicals.
Exhibitions
Mr. Yeo: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list events at which his Department and each agency and non-departmental public body for which his Department is responsible have exhibited in each of the last three years, stating for each (a) the purpose of exhibiting, (b) the cost of exhibiting and (c) the number of staff attending for the exhibition. [107617]
Maria Eagle: The Department and its agencies exhibits at many events each year. These include commercial trade exhibitions; local outreach events for The Pension Service, job fairs organised by Jobcentre Plus; and a host of other events aimed at the general public and other stakeholders—ranging from Green Paper consultations to forums aimed at the pensions industry.
The details requested are not held centrally for these many types of event. As a result the answer can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
External Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) pursuant to his answer of 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 598W, on external consultants, what the total cost of external consultants
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was to his Department and its predecessors in each of the last four financial years for which figures are available; [107433]
- (2) pursuant to his answer of 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 598W, on external consultants, if he will list the 10 contracts with the largest value awarded to external consultants by his Department since it was established, giving the (a) value of the contract and (b) firm in each case; [107434]
(3) pursuant to his answer of 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 598W, on external consultants, what his estimate is of the cost involved in answering the hon. Member for North East Hertfordshire's question; how this was arrived at; and if he will make a statement on the reasons for the time it took to reach the conclusion that answering the question would incur significant disproportionate cost. [107435]
Maria Eagle: The accounting systems that record payments to organisations that supply consultancy and other professional services to DWP are not able to provide disaggregated figures in the level of detail required, without encountering significant disproportionate cost. Such information is as follows:
The total cost to DWP of the use of external consultants and professional services in the 2001–02 financial year was £169.494 million. DWP accounting systems do not currently allow us to reliably disaggregate expenditure by contract under this heading, so this figure does not solely reflect expenditure on consultancy. The Department is in the process of introducing systems which should rectify this problem (a legacy of the creation of the Department in 2001 and of the Department of Social Security and Employment Service Accounting Systems) and allow us to record this data more accurately in future.
The former DSS spend, prior to creation of DWP in 2001, on external consultancy and professional services was:
- 1998–99 £72.34 million: (£79.30 million at present 2002–03 value)
- 1999–2000 £83.00 million: (£88.83 million at present 2002–03 value)
- 2000–01 £104.73 million: (£109.66 million at present 2002–03 value)
The increase in expenditure in this area is due to the widespread modernisation programme currently underway in DWP. Figures are not available for the spend under former ES and could be obtained only at significant disproportionate cost.
In attempting to provide information in response to the hon. Member's previous question, Official Report, column 598W, it emerged that there may be potential inaccuracies with the way in which the figures are recorded on the accounting systems. This was due, we believe, to the inability of DWPs current accounting system to disaggregate expenditure on consultancy and professional services by contract. Significant cost had already been incurred up to this stage and it was determined that further significant disproportionate cost would be incurred in attempting to provide the information requested by a manual reckoning of the input data.
We estimated that the cost of answering the hon. Members previous question will be in the region of £3,000–£5,000.
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Minimum Income Guarantee
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were in receipt of the minimum income guarantee (a) in total and (b) in each parliamentary constituency for each of the last six years for which figures are available. [107431]
Maria Eagle: The information has been placed in the Library.
Pensioners
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Yeovil, of 13 February 2003, Official Report, column 967W, what his estimate is of the gross annual cost of increasing the basic state pension by average earnings growth for each of the next 10 years; what offsetting savings there would be on the benefits; and what the net cost would be. [106120]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is set out in the table.
| Gross cost | Net cost | Income related benefit savings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | £510 million | £340 million | £180 million |
| 2004–05 | £1.4 billion | £900 million | £500 million |
| 2005–06 | £2.2 billion | £1.4 billion | £800 million |
| 2006–07 | £2.9 billion | £1.9 billion | £1 billion |
| 2007–08 | £3.8 billion | £2.5 billion | £1.3 billion |
| 2008–09 | £4.7 billion | £3.1 billion | £1.6 billion |
| 2009–10 | £5.7 billion | £3.7 billion | £2 billion |
| 2010–11 | £6.7 billion | £4.4 billion | £2.3 billion |
| 2011–12 | £7.7 billion | £5 billion | £2.7 billion |
| 2012–13 | £8.8 billion | £5.7 billion | £3 billion |
Notes:
1. Figures are in 2002–03 price terms rounded to the nearest £100 million, except 2003–04 which is rounded to the nearest £10 million. The gross cost may not sum due to rounding.
2. Gross costs are estimated by the Government Actuary's Department.
3. Income related benefit offsets are calculated using the DWP policy simulation model.
4. Estimates are consistent with figures provided on 13 February 2003, Official Report, column 967W.
The difference between the gross and net costs represents estimated savings in income related benefits as a result of increasing the basic State Pension by average earnings.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether legislation arising from the consultation process on the recent Pensions Green Paper, Cm 5677, will include a commitment to protect the pension rights of people who worked in Australia before the termination of the Anglo-Australian Social Security Agreement. [106196]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer given by the Minister for Pensions on 23 July 2002, Official Report, column 1031.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners aged 80 or over are in receipt of the 25p per week pension supplement; and what the cost is of administration of this scheme. [106252]
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Malcolm Wicks: The latest available information is that there are around 2.6 million pensioners in receipt of the 25p age addition.
Information on the cost of administering the age addition 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, and by individual Requests for Resources, as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts.
- Notes:
- 1. Information on recipients is based on September 2002 State Pension administration data.
- 2. This figure has been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand.
- 3. This figure includes all pensioners aged 80 or over living in the UK and overseas receiving a State Pension.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his letter to hon. Members of 17 March on the Pension Service and the Pensions Credit, how many personal direct mail packs his Department is sending to pensioner households; and if he will place a copy of a pack in the Library. [106878]
Maria Eagle: The Pension Service will be writing to all pensioner households to explain Pension Credit and invite applications. Between April 2003 and June 2004, all 6.8 million pensioner households will be issued with a direct mail pack. This systematic approach will be supported by regional and national advertising.
Copies of the direct mail packs will be placed in the Library after the Easter recess.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for how many pensioner households he holds verified address information; and if he will make a statement. [106879]
Maria Eagle: There are about 8.1 million pensioner households in Great Britain. All customers are asked to give their address when they claim their pension. They are asked to let the Department know if they move to a different address.
- Note:
- The number of pensioner households is based on Winter Fuel Payment figures for 2001–02.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures have been taken to reduce pensioner poverty since 1997; and what proposals he has to ensure that these measures are fully implemented. [106093]
Malcolm Wicks: We are taking action to tackle pensioner poverty and ensure that all pensioners share in the nation's prosperity. This is why our first priority has been to help the poorest pensioners and why it is right to target more money on them through the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG): from April 2003 no pensioner will have to get by on less than £102.10 (£155.80 for couples). Rates will be linked to earnings throughout this Parliament.
We know that there is no single measure of pensioner poverty which is a complex, multi-dimensional issue, affecting many aspects of pensioners' lives. But providing a decent income is key. So we will be spending
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around £7½ billion extra on pensioners in 2003–04 as a result of the measures introduced since 1997. This includes around £3½ billion on the poorest third of pensioners—the very people who need help most, and is almost six times as much as an earnings link to the basic state pension since 1998 would have given them.
When Pension Credit replaces the MIG in October 2003, pensioners will, for the first time, be rewarded, not penalised, for saving. Pension Credit is radically different from MIG in that pound for pound deductions will be scrapped. Pension Credit will reward those with weekly incomes up to £139.08 for single pensioners, and £203.80 for couples. At the same time, further increases are proposed—above inflation—to the Pensioners' Tax Allowances.
Other measures have also been introduced to help tackle pensioner poverty. For example, in September 1997 the level of VAT on fuel was cut from 8 per cent. to 5 per cent., reducing a typical customer's fuel bill by around £16 a year, at a cost to the Government of £450 million a year. Winter Fuel Payments (WFP) will be £200 for each eligible household for the remainder of this Parliament—around 7.9 million households and 11.3 million individuals will benefit from WFPs in 2002–03.
We have introduced various measures to ensure that the initiatives we have introduced are fully implemented. For example, we have undertaken a take-up campaign to encourage those pensioners who are entitled to it to claim the MIG. This has put an average £20 a week extra in the pockets of 149,000 people who would not have received it otherwise. We have also reduced the MIG claim form from 40 pages to 10 and introduced a claim line for the MIG, which enables customers to contact the claim line by using a freephone number. The line has dealt with over one million inquiries.
Our commitment to encourage pensioners to claim Pension Credit can be seen in the fact that the Spending Review 2002 introduced a Public Service Agreement target to pay Pension Credit to at least three million pensioner households by 2006. We have introduced a comprehensive strategy to achieve this. Measures, include:
- Transferring existing MIG recipients to Pension Credit ready for payments to be made from October 2003
Running 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
Writing 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
Working with local partners to help support the communications to pensioners, and tailoring marketing and communications activity accordingly
Reviewing the take-up position during autumn 2004 and taking any further action that may be necessary.
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(before and after housing costs) since 1997. The absolute low income figures numbers are down from 2.7 million (1996–07) to 1.1 million pensioners (2001–02), a decline of over 60 per cent. on the after housing costs measure.
Also, there has been a reduction of 0.4 million pensioners living in relative low-income households (after housing costs). This has been achieved even at a time of rapid growth in general prosperity that we've seen since 1997. Pensioners are therefore sharing in the country's rising prosperity. In fact on one measure, pensioners have more than kept pace with rising incomes overall—the number of pensioners below 60 per cent. of median income (after housing costs) is down by around 15 per cent. since 1996–97 (2.7 to 2.2 million pensioners).
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