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7 Jul 2003 : Column 601W—continued
Poverty Definition
18. Sir Sydney Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his new definition of poverty will be announced. [123538]
22. Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when his new definition of poverty will be announced. [123542]
Mr. Pond: The well-received consultation on measuring child poverty we launched last year has engaged a wide range of organisations, academics and young people themselves. We published preliminary conclusions in May and we will announce our definition of child poverty by the end of the year.
Benefit Claimants (Records)
21. Mr. Gordon Prentice : What consultations he has had with the relevant trade unions over the decision to privatise the management and storage of sensitive records on citizens claiming benefits. [123541]
Mr. Browne: Officials from the Department have met with representatives from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) on several occasions over the past
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year and have also provided documents to them. PCS put forward their views and these were taken into account as part of the decision making process. I have been kept aware of these deliberations at all stages.
Stakeholder Pensions
Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on take-up of stakeholder pensions. [123543]
Malcolm Wicks: Almost 1.4 million have been sold in their first two years on the market.
Stakeholder pensions impact on pension provision goes wider than its take-up. Charges on personal pensions have fallen by around a quarter since 1999 to around stakeholder pensions' 1 per cent. a year level. In addition, as an alternative to offering their staff access to a stakeholder pension scheme, some employers have widened access to their occupational pension schemes and others have set up group personal pension plans with an employer contribution. We recognise that more needs to be done to improve take-up of private pensions in general, including stakeholder pensions.
That is why we have set up an employer task force to develop and promote the employers' role in pension provision; established an independent pensions commission to report regularly to the Secretary of State on how the current voluntary approach to private pension provision is working; are developing an information pack for employers to make it clearer and easier for them to promote the benefits of their pension schemes; are framing initiatives to test the provision of advice and information at the workplace on saving for retirement; and have provided that members of money-purchase pension schemes receive annual illustrations, in today's prices, of what pension they might receive when they retire.
Research by the Association of British Insurers shows that where an employer contributes to a stakeholder pension scheme take-up by employees is greatly increased.
Basic State Pension
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of men and women do not receive the full basic state pension, broken down by age. [123995]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table.
| All | 60–64 | 65–69 | 70–74 | 75–79 | 80 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All male basic state pension recipients | 3,833.4 | (13)— | 1,204.2 | 1,040.4 | 784.6 | 804.2 |
| Men with less than 100 per cent. full basic state pension | 362.3 | (13)— | 173.2 | 109.2 | 47.0 | 32.8 |
| Percentage of all men in receipt of a basic state pension | 9.5 | (13)— | 14.4 | 10.5 | 6.0 | 4.1 |
| All female basic state pension recipients | 6,400.1 | 1,215.8 | 1,264.2 | 1,212.2 | 1,061.8 | 1,646.1 |
| Women with less than 100 per cent. full basic state pension | 3,197.5 | 902.2 | 860.3 | 670.7 | 432.5 | 331.8 |
| Percentage of all women in receipt of a basic state pension | 50.0 | 74.2 | 68.1 | 55.3 | 40.7 | 20.2 |
(13) Not applicable
Notes:
1. Figures based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore may be subject to sampling variation.
2. Figures are shown in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. The figures do not include any people who receive additional pension or graduated retirement benefit only.
4. Those on less than 100 per cent. basic state pension include people who are in receipt of 60 per cent. of the basic state pension based on their spouse's contributions. However, widows and widowers receiving a full basic state pension on their spouse's contributions are counted as receiving a full basic state pension.
Source:
1. 5 per cent. sample of Pensions Strategy Computer System—November 2002
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Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of raising the basic state pension to (a) 20 per cent. and (b) 25 per cent. of average earning on a (i) gross and (ii) net basis after tax and means-tested benefits. [124041]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is set out in the table:
| (14)Estimated cost | (15)Estimated cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Cost | 2.3 | 12.2 |
| Net Cost | 1 | 5.7 |
(14) Of increasing the maximum rate payable of the basic State Pension to 20 per cent. of average earnings in 2004–05.
(15) Of increasing the maximum rate payable of the basic State Pension to 25 per cent. of average earnings in 2004–05.
Notes:
1. The estimates are for Great Britain only and are in cash terms rounded to the nearest £100 million.
2. The maximum rate payable of the basic State Pension is assumed to increase to 20 per cent. and 25 per cent., of average earnings, this corresponds to £84.55 per week and £105.70 per week in 2004–05. All other payments are assumed to increase proportionately.
3. Estimates of the value of the basic State Pension are based on the April 2002 New Earnings Survey projected forward to April 2004.
4. The estimates of the gross cost are based on September 2002 State Pension administrative data, projected forward to 2004–05.
5. Estimates of savings in income-related benefits are based on the DWP Policy Simulation model for 2004–05. The calculations assume that the start of the Savings Credit is increased in line with the new value of the basic State Pension.
6. Estimates of tax yield are provided by the Inland Revenue and are based upon the Survey of Personal Incomes 2000–01 projected forward to 2004–05.
7. To estimate the net cost, it is assumed that additional tax yield and savings in income related benefits and are channelled back into the basic State Pension.
Post Office Banking Services
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with (a) HSBC, (b) the Royal Bank of Scotland, (c) the Halifax Bank of Scotland and (d) Abbey National concerning the provision of banking services in the Post Office; and if he will make a statement. [119841]
Mr. Pond: None. The provision of banking services at the Post Office is a matter for Post Office Ltd. However, the Government are keen that as many accounts as possible should be accessible at Post Office branches.
European Social Fund
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has issued to programmes financed by the European Social Fund which are seeking funding for 2006 and subsequent years. [122876]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 3 July 2003]: Current Structural Fund programmes, including those funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), have been agreed
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until the end of 2006. The European Commission is expected to make proposals on the future of the Structural Funds beyond 2006 in its Third Report on Economic and Social Cohesion, which it is due to publish at the end of 2003. It is expected that the Commission will then table draft legislation during 2004. The Department will publish guidance on any funding that may become available after 2006, when legislation is agreed by the relevant European Union institutions.
ESF partners have been informed of the reform of the Structural Funds after 2006 through the Government's current consultation exercise, which ended on 4 July 2003, and through the ESF website and newsletter published by the Department.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to be informed of a decision from the European Union on the timescale for release of the Performance Reserve of the European Social Fund; how much he expects will be released; and if he will make a statement. [122877]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 3 July 2003]: The European Commission is required by European Union legislation to allocate by 31 March 2004 the 4 per cent. performance reserve for Structural Fund Objectives 1, 2 and 3. The Department is responsible for managing the England Objective 3 programme, which is funded by the European Social Fund and which has a performance reserve of £105 million. The performance reserve will be released if the programme is judged to be successful on the basis of indicators that will be assessed as part of its mid-term evaluation. The Department will submit the mid-term evaluation report to the Commission at the end of 2003. The Department will agree the timing of the distribution of the performance reserve with the Commission in early 2004.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK of the European Social Fund in terms of (a) GDP, (b) employment, (c) skill development, (d) the employment of women and (e) information and communications technologies over the current programme period; and if he will make a statement. [122878]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 3 July 2003]: All Structural Fund programmes, including those funded by the European Social Fund (ESF), are currently being evaluated in all European Union countries. The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for evaluating the England Objective 3 and Great Britain Equal programmes. It also co-ordinates the evaluation of the Objective 3 Community Support Framework for Great Britain.
These programmes are part of a system of active labour market policies that, together with steady economic growth, has contributed to 1.5 million more people into work since 1997, of which 850,000 are additional women in employment.
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The evaluation of England Objective 3 will include the issues of employment, skill development, the employment of women and information and communications technologies (ICT). It will be informed by monitoring data, surveys of former participants and companies, and specially commissioned research projects. The latter will include, for example, research into the programme's effectiveness in promoting equal opportunities and ICT training. The evaluation will not examine the benefits of ESF in terms of GDP. While there have been positive results, it is unlikely that the programme is large enough to have a measurable effect on GDP. The evaluation will, however, examine how the programme adds value to domestic programmes, for example, by looking at how it interacts with the New Deal. There is a separate evaluation of Equal, which is testing new ways of combating discrimination and inequality in the labour market.
The Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government are undertaking similar evaluations of Objective 3 in Scotland and Wales respectively. The Department will bring together the England, Scotland and Wales Objective 3 evaluations, in an evaluation of the overarching Great Britain Community Support Framework.
The Department will send its evaluation reports to the European Commission at the end of 2003 and place copies in the House of Commons Library.
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