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18 Sept 2003 : Column 912W—continued
Pension Investment
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the effects of the propensity for those aged 25 to 34 to view property rather than other savings products as a vehicle for pension investments; [131126]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the likely effects of increased use of equity release as a savings vehicle for retirement. [131125]
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Malcolm Wicks: Individuals of all ages have different preferences and it is right that people are free to choose to save for retirement in a variety of different ways. However, the Government believes that the best way to provide a secure income in retirement—in excess of that provided by the state—is through saving in a private pension during an individual's working life. In general, buying a house and putting money into a pension should not be seen as substitutes for each other. By saving in a pension individuals benefit from risk pooling and diversification, favourable tax treatment and over the longer term can expect strong returns to private pension investment. Furthermore, at the point of retirement, housing wealth is generally much more illiquid than any accrued private pension benefits and the market for equity release products is relatively small and trading down incurs high transaction costs.
People will want to take account of the relative risks of investing in different savings vehicles, particularly if these savings are for the long term. Above all, the Government are committed to seeking to provide individuals with information so that they can make informed choices about how and when to save to achieve the level of income in retirement that they expect.
Pensioner Benefits
Mr. Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Monmouthshire benefited from (a) the winter fuel allowance, (b) the £100 allowance for the over 80s and (c) free TV licences in the last year for which figures are available. [130368]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of people in Monmouthshire who received a winter fuel payment for winter 2002–03 was 19,625. Of that figure 3,970 were over age 80 and would be entitled to an additional amount of winter fuel payment from the winter of 2003–04. The extra amount will depend on the composition of the household, but generally most households will receive an extra £100.
The information in respect of people in receipt of free TV licence in Monmouthshire is not available. However, the number of people in Monmouthshire aged 75 or over receiving a social security benefit as at 30 November 2002 was 7,700. These people would be eligible to receive a free TV licence.
- Notes:
- 1. Figures taken from the Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service winter fuels payment 2002–03 exercise and the Pensions Strategy Computer System: 30 September 2002.
- 2. 100 sample figures are rounded to the nearest five.
- 3. Figures based on 5 per cent. data taken from the Client Group Analysis of the population over state pension age as at 30 November 2002, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. These figures are expressed in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred
- 4. Social security benefits are attendance allowance, disability living allowance, severe disablement allowance, incapacity benefit, minimum income guarantee and state pension.
- 5. As only one TV licence is required per household, the number of free TV licences issued may be lower than the number of people entitled to one. Some households may contain more than one person aged 75 and over and not all households with a person aged 75 and over will have a television.
- Source:
- IAD Information Centre 100 per cent. sample and 5 per cent. sample.
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Pensions
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the benefits to consumer financial education of including figures showing average healthy life expectancy in government pension statements. [129855]
Malcolm Wicks: Previous customer research conducted on the information contained in state pension forecasts has not highlighted the need to include information on average healthy life expectancy.
The inclusion of such information will be assessed in future customer research conducted into pensions education material.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many retirement pensions in payment continue after the death of the beneficiary; what the cost to public funds was in the last year for which figures are available; and what proportion of these payments was recovered. [129979]
Malcolm Wicks: In 2002–03, 48,946 cases were identified with a value of £9.848 million for State Pension paid after death. £1.606 million of this was recovered. The balance is in the process of recovery. In addition, a further £5.928 million was recovered in 2002–03 against debts identified in previous years.
- Source:
- Central Debt Management System
Sign Language
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2003, Official Report, column 527W (1) what progress the British Sign Language working group has made towards distributing the money his Department has allocated to the recognition of British Sign Language; and if he will make a statement on how this programme of initiatives will increase access to services and the number of BSL interpreters; [130769]
- (2) if he will make a statement on his Department's continued support for the implementation of the recognition of British Sign Language further to the money allocated on 18 March. [130723]
Maria Eagle: The British Sign Language working group, which is an advisory group, has met twice to consider priorities for allocating the additional £1 million we have made available, and to consider draft specifications for initiatives which would best support the 18 March statement. We have received the working group's recommendations which involve action to promote access for BSL users through awareness raising, and action which will contribute to establishing a framework to support BSL tutors. Over time this will result in an increase in the number of BSL interpreters. Officials will shortly start a formal tendering exercise.
The working group will also be doing some longer-term strategic thinking and we will receive their advice in due course on policies and initiatives which would, over time, further increase access for deaf people who use BSL.
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Social Security Funding
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much social security funding was distributed to (a) local authority welfare rights units, (b) Citizens Advice Bureaux and (c) other voluntary or private agencies in each local authority in England in each of the last 10 years. [130415]
Malcolm Wicks: Direct funding of outside bodies by the Department for Work and Pensions is confined to a small number of grants, the details of which can be obtained from the Department's annual Accounts, copies of which are available in the Library. The grants enable the voluntary sector to work with the Department in: helping people with disabilities to live more independently in the community; providing mobility related assistance; and free help and advice to members of the public regarding their company, stakeholder or personal pension scheme.
However, the voluntary sector is a key partner of the Department's and a number of organisations receive funding under contract to the Department for the delivery of specific services. For example, assisting in the Department's efforts to help people back into work, particularly those facing the greatest disadvantages, by delivery of a range of employment and training programmes, including elements of the New Deal.
Unclaimed Benefits
Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate the Department has made of the amount of unclaimed benefits, broken down by type of benefit, in each of the last 10 years. [130050]
Mr. Pond: Estimates of the amount of additional income-related benefits payable if everyone entitled took-up their entitlement for the full period, broken down by benefit, can be found in the statistical report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up", which is published annually by the Department. Copies of the publications are available in the Library.
Winter Heating Allowance
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the total value of the winter heating allowance for each year from 1998–99 to 2005–06; and if he will make a statement. [130142]
Malcolm Wicks: The information in respect of winter fuel payments, which were introduced in 1997, is in the table.
| Winter fuel payments | |
|---|---|
| Expenditure | |
| 1997–98 | 191 |
| 1998–99 | 194 |
| 1999–2000 | 759 |
| 2000–01 | 1,749 |
| 2001–02 | 1,692 |
| Estimated expenditure | |
| 2002–03 | 1,712 |
| Forecast expenditure | |
| 2003–04 | 1,891 |
| 2004–05 | 1,911 |
| 2005–06 | 1,933 |
18 Sept 2003 : Column 916W
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