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21 May 2003 : Column 797W—continued
Spending Review
Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, which United Kingdom commitments arising from the World Summit on Sustainable Development (a) have been incorporated into the Department's existing delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements and (b) will be incorporated in its delivery plan for Service Delivery Agreements in advance of the 2004 Spending Review. [113941]
Peter Hain: As part of the 2002 Spending Review it was decided that my Department would no longer have a Service Delivery Agreement. Rather it will report its achievements through its annual Departmental Reports, the most recent of which was published in May 2003 as Cm 5928.
Staff Numbers
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, how many staff have been employed in the Ministerial Correspondence Unit of the Department in each of the last two years. [115876]
Peter Hain: The Wales Office Correspondence Unit deals with all incoming internal and external mail. The staffing complement has been three post since November 2001. Prior to that there were two.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Enhanced Pension Take-up
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many wives have received an increased state pension because their husbands have reached 65 in each year since 1997; what estimate he has made of the numbers of wives who have not received this enhancement, broken down by reasons; and how many wives have claimed the increase and failed to receive it in each year since 1997. [113853]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is not available.
Pensions
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the change in value of the state retirement pension in the last 10 years. [113493]
Maria Eagle: The level of the basic State Pension is increased each year to ensure that, as a minimum, it retains its value in relation to prices. Since April 2001 we have uprated basic State Pension by more than the annual Retail Prices Index (RPI), and for the future lifetime of this Parliament we are committed to increasing basic State Pension by the higher of 2.5 per cent. and RPI. The change in value is to take account of the increase.
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Detailed information is contained in table 5.1 of the DWP publication "Abstract of Statistics: 2002 Edition" a copy of which is available in the Library or can be obtained via the DWP website—www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/abstract/Abstract2002
Pensions Ombudsman
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the average time for dealing with a complaint to the Pensions Ombudsman was in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 1999–2000, (d) 2000–01 and (e) in the current year; [114030]
- (2) how many complaints the Parliamentary Ombudsman received in (a) 1997–98, (b) 1998–99, (c) 2000–01, (d) 2001–02 and (e) this year; [114031]
(3) how many (a) investigators and (b) solicitors the Pensions Ombudsman has to investigate complaints. [114032]
Maria Eagle: The Pensions Ombudsman currently employs 15 investigators of whom five are legally qualified. In addition to this a small number of lawyers are used on a "fee per case" basis.
The information requested on average clearance times and number of complaints are in the following tables. The information on the year 2002–03 is not available. The Pension Ombudsman's annual 2002–03 report, which will be published later this year, will contain data that assesses performance using different criteria and consequently will not be directly comparable.
| From acceptanceto completion | Once formal investigation begins | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 12.7 | 7.3 |
| 1998–99 | 11.0 | 7.3 |
| 1999–2000 | 8.8 | 6.8 |
| 2000–01 | 5.7 | 4.7 |
| 2001–02 | 8.5 | 6.9 |
| Inquiries | Accepted cases | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–98 | 2,328 | 729 |
| 1998–99 | 3,067 | 719 |
| 1999–2000 | 3,269 | 627 |
| 2000–01 | 3,215 | 911 |
| 2001–02 | 2,946 | 831 |
Source:
Pensions Ombudsman annual reports 1997–2002
Personal Finance
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has conducted to assess the financial literacy of consumers with different income levels. [111439]
Maria Eagle: In 2001 the Department published a research report—Pensions 2000 1 —examining public attitudes to pensions and financial planning for retirement. The research asked people to assess their own knowledge of pensions issues and examined
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variations in knowledge by income levels. Findings from similar research undertaken by my Department last year will be published in early summer.
The Government recognise the importance of financial literacy in decisions about saving for retirement. Drawing on research evidence from my Department, the Financial Services Authority and elsewhere the Green Paper 'Simplicity, security and choice: working and saving for retirement' (Cm 5677) examined some of the barriers to saving and underlined the need for everyone to understand the financial choices they are faced with in preparing for retirement.
- 1 Mayhew, V. (2001) Pensions 2000—Public attitudes to Pensions and Planning for Retirement DSS Research Report No. 130, CDS, Leeds
Secondments
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 14 April 2003, Official Report, column 652W, if he will list the organisations to which civil servants in his Department have been seconded since 1997–98 in (a) the private sector, (b) NGOs and (c) other, stating in each case (i) the dates of the secondments, (ii) the number of civil servants seconded to that organisation and (iii) their grade. [114171]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Fund
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by how much Social Fund loan recoveries are expected to change in value in the current year and for what reason; and whether this increase is related to a change in the rules on loan repayments. [114374]
Malcolm Wicks: The discretionary Social Fund plays an important role in the Government's agenda for tackling poverty and social exclusion by helping the poorest and most needy members of society meet the cost of occasional one-off essential items through community care grants, budgeting loans and crisis loans.
The forecast Social Fund loans recovery for 2003–04 is £519.3 million as opposed to £488.8 million in 2002–03. There has been no change in the rules on loan repayments. The increase in recoveries is due to the fact that the annual national gross loans budget has increased year after year enabling more people to take advantage of the Social Fund loans scheme.
Tax Credits (Staff Transfers)
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of his Department's staff have been, or will be, transferred to the Inland Revenue as a result of the introduction of the new tax credits in (a) 2002–03, (b) 2003–04 and (c) 2004–05. [114361]
Maria Eagle: There are no plans to transfer staff from DWP to the Inland Revenue as a result of the introduction of new tax credits.
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While responsibility for administering the Child and Working Tax Credits rests with Inland Revenue, the DWP will continue to deliver a one-stop system of support for working age customers, including transacting their tax credits business.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Joint Declaration
7. Mr. Ben Chapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the Joint Declaration. [113807]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Joint Declaration and accompanying documents set out the agreed way forward on the implementation of the remaining commitments in the Belfast Agreement, and the restoration of stable and inclusive institutions as envisaged in the Agreement. We shall press ahead with implementing some parts of the Joint Declaration, as the Prime Minister and Taoiseach agreed in Dublin two weeks ago. However, some elements, such as full security normalisation, must await the necessary clarity on an end to paramilitarism.
8. Huw Irranca-Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what elements of the Joint Declaration can be implemented without acts of completion by the IRA. [113808]
Mr. Paul Murphy: It is our intention to press ahead with the implementation of a range of recommendations in the Declaration, including on rights and equality and policing and justice. We also intend to introduce legislation on the establishment of an Independent Monitoring Body, as set out in the Agreement between the British and Irish Governments on Monitoring and Compliance.
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