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15 Sept 2003 : Column 561W—continued
Employment (People with Learning Disabilities)
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many adults with a learning disability were in unpaid employment in England for each year
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since 1997; what percentage this represents of people with a learning disability known to social services; and if he will make a statement. [127125]
Maria Eagle: The information is not available.
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Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the Government schemes intended to help adults with a learning disability move into paid employment; and if he will make a statement. [127126]
Maria Eagle: Adults with learning disabilities are able to access the full range of services provided by Jobcentre Plus. In addition Jobcentre Plus offers a range of programmes specifically tailored to the needs of disabled customers. These are, Access to Work, Work Preparation, Workstep and New Deal for Disabled People. These programmes are all aimed to help customers with disabilities, including learning disabilities, move into paid employment.
Access to these programmes is through Disability Employment Advisers (DEAs), who are based in Jobcentre and Jobcentre Plus offices. DEAs work closely with employers, employees and disabled people looking for work.
Workstep is the employment programme most suitable for many people with learning disabilities. Workstep provides tailored support for people with disabilities who have more complex barriers to finding and keeping work. It provides the support and opportunity for people to progress to unsupported employment where this is the right option for the individual. Of the 21,500 people accessing support through Workstep, 37 per cent. have a learning disability.
Pensioners (Means-tested Benefits)
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners were in receipt of means-tested benefits for each year between 1992 and 2002; and if he will make a statement. [128550]
Malcolm Wicks: The answer is in the table.
| Beneficiaries aged 60 and over of means-tested benefits | Percentage of the population aged 60 and over | |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Not available | Not available |
| 1993 | 4,320,000 | 36.9 |
| 1994 | 4,180,000 | 35.8 |
| 1995 | 4,060,000 | 34.7 |
| 1996 | 3,940,000 | 33.6 |
| 1997 | 3,810,000 | 32.5 |
| 1998 | 3,670,000 | 31.1 |
| 1999 | 3,540,000 | 29.9 |
| 2000 | 3,420,000 | 28.7 |
| 2001 | 3,380,000 | 28.3 |
| 2002 | 3,290,000 | 27.6 |
Notes:
1. From 1993 to 1999 means-tested benefits included in the table are Income Support (IS), Jobseekers Allowance (Income Based) (JSA(IB)), Housing Benefit (HB), Community Charge Benefit (CCB)/Council Tax Benefit (CTB), Family Credit (FC) and Disability Working Allowance (DWA).
2. From 2000 to 2002 means-tested benefits included in the table are IS, JSA(IB), HB and CCB/CTB. FC and DWA were replaced by Working Families Tax Credit and Disabled Persons Tax Credit in October 1999 and are therefore not included in the figures for 2000, 2001 and 2002.
3. Overlaps between benefits have been removed.
4. Great Britain HB/CTB figures include estimates for local authorities that have not responded.
5. CTB data excludes Second Adult Rebate cases.
6. HB data excludes any Extended Payment cases.
7. Percentage for population has been calculated using the revised ONS population estimates for age group 60 and over, for 1993 to 2001.
8. Figures (except DWA) are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. samples and therefore subject to sampling variation.
9. Beneficiaries of a benefit unit are the sum of claimants and their partners.
Source:
IAD Information Centre 5 per cent. and 1 per cent. samples
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Pension Credit
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what targets he has set for converting Minimum Income Guarantee claimants to Pension Credit. [128741]
Mr. Pond: The Department has a Service Delivery Agreement to maximise payments of Pension Credit from October 2003 by, among other measures, converting all existing Minimum Income Guarantee recipients automatically to Pension Credit. The process of conversion is on course to be completed by October 2003.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many operators work on the Pension Credit telephone application line; and what plans he has to increase this number; [128738]
- (2) how many call centres deal with Pension Credit telephone applications; and what their locations are; [128739]
(3) whether calls to the Pension Credit telephone application line will be handled by private contractors. [128750]
Mr. Pond: The Pension Credit application line currently has just over 1,100 whole-time equivalent staff, rising to around 1,500 when Pension Credit is implemented in October 2003. The application line is based at four sites in Cardiff, Dearne Valley, Derby and Newcastle. The Pension Service is working in partnership with Ventura, an experienced provider of contact centre services. Ventura is providing expertise in the running of the operation and also providing the staff and facilities to handle calls at the Dearne Valley site.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions who has been awarded the contract for developing the new IT system to deliver Pension Credit; what the estimated contract value is; and on what date he expects the system to become operational. [128747]
Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 8 July 2003, Official Report, column 762W.
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners he estimates will benefit from the pensioners' credit in Eltham; and what the average gain will be per pensioner (a) in the UK and (b) in Eltham. [129412]
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Mr. Pond: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.
Estimates of Pension Credit entitlement are not available at individual constituency level due to insufficient sample cases in the survey data used. However, around half of all pensioner households nationally will be eligible for Pension Credit, and the average gain per year will be around £400.
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to encourage pensioners to claim the pensioners' credit. [129413]
Mr. Pond: The Pension Service began writing to pensioner households in April, to explain Pension Credit and to invite advance applications. In addition, around 1.8 million people in receipt of the Minimum Income Guarantee have been told that they will be transferred automatically to Pension Credit ready for payments to be made from October 2003. By June 2004, all pensioner households will have been contacted. These direct mail arrangements are being supported by a national TV and press advertising campaign, which began on 3 September. The Pension Service is also working with partner organisations at national and local level to encourage take-up of the new entitlement. The Pension Credit freephone application line, which became operational on 7 April, enables our trained staff to help pensioners through the application form and complete it for them over the telephone. Friends and family can use the application line and apply on a pensioner's behalf.
NORTHERN IRELAND
Agriculture Training
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of the workforce in agriculture hold vocational qualifications at NVQ Level 3 or higher in Northern Ireland. [128277]
Mr. Pearson: Information is not available on numbers in the total agricultural labour force with vocational qualifications at NVQ Level 3 or higher. The information that is available is summarised as follows.
The social survey of farmers and farm families (excluding hired workers) carried out in 2000–01 indicated that:
7,029 farmers and regular family workers on family farms (18.9 per cent. of total) had general qualifications (excl. apprenticeships) at or above NVQ Level 3 or equivalent—as well as vocational qualifications in all disciplines, this includes "A" Levels and other non-vocational qualifications;
9,347 farmers and regular family workers on family farms (25.1 per cent. of total) had general qualifications (incl. apprenticeships) at or above NVQ Level 3 or equivalent;
2,131 farmers and regular family workers on family farms (5.7 per cent. of total) had agricultural qualifications at or above NVQ Level 3 or equivalent.
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In 2000, the EU Farm Structure Survey indicated that 3,888 farmers, family and regular hired workers (6.4 per cent. of workforce) had undertaken a formal agricultural course of less than two years and 2,101 people (3.5 per cent. of workforce) had undertaken a formal agricultural course of more than two years duration. However there was no assessment of level of qualification.
Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many business development training places for farmers there were in each Northern Ireland constituency in the last year for which figures are available. [R] [128278]
Mr. Pearson: During the 2002–03 financial year a total of 3,617 business development training places were available for farmers on the Good Business Sense training programme.
The management information system operated by the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise cannot allocate the total places available according to Northern Ireland constituency. The following table illustrates the breakdown according to county.
| Good business sense | |
|---|---|
| County Antrim | 482 |
| County Armagh | 420 |
| County Down | 900 |
| County Fermanagh | 765 |
| County Londonderry | 300 |
| County Tyrone | 750 |
| Total training places | 3,617 |
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