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15 Oct 2003 : Column 273W—continued
Child Support Agency
Mr. Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the reasons for (a) taking into consideration tax credit payments for absent parents and (b) not taking into consideration tax credit payments to the parents with care when assessing maintenance payments through the Child Support Agency. [131409]
Mr. Pond: The Government has sought, as far as possible, for the rules providing for the treatment of tax credits in child support to be consistent, simple to understand and to operate fairly for (a) non-resident parents (b) parents with care. The arrangements carried forward into the new child support scheme in relation to new tax credits continue the principles first introduced under Family Credit.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will phase in assessments under the new Child Support Agency system for those who have closed cases with continuing payment obligations under the old system. [131425]
Mr. Pond: No. The phasing arrangements apply to cases which are converted directly from the old scheme to the new scheme. They do not apply to outstanding
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payments from cases which have previously been closed. Where a fresh application is made and there are such outstanding payments, the Child Support Agency is willing to discuss how the arrears are to be paid.
Disability Living Allowance
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the (a) cost and (b) number of beneficiaries of increasing the upper age limit on claiming disability living allowance to (i) 70, (ii) 75 and (iii) 80 years; and what take-up assumptions are made in this calculation. [132377]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Helen Clark) on 15 May 2003, Official Report, column 407–08W. The figures cannot reliably be broken down further by age groups because of the increased uncertainty of modelling entitlement from smaller sample sizes in the available survey data.
Motability Scheme
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the need for people disabled after their 65th birthday to benefit from the Motability scheme. [132374]
Maria Eagle: The Motability scheme helps severely disabled people who are physically unable, or virtually unable, to walk to obtain vehicles on favourable terms by using their payments of the Disability Living Allowance higher rate mobility component, or a War Pensioners Mobility Supplement paid by the Veterans Agency of the Ministry of Defence, to service a leasing or hire-purchase agreement.
The vast majority of people can expect to have some restrictions on their mobility as they get older and it is reasonable to expect them to make provision for this. However, disability is more financially disruptive, in terms of lost opportunity to earn and save, for people who have the very considerable disadvantage of being severely disabled relatively early in life. This is why the Disability Living Allowance mobility component is available only to severely disabled people who claim help with their disability-related extra costs before age 65.
The Government believe that these arrangements are fair and sensible and, in particular, that it is right to give the most help to those who are severely disabled early in life and who may face limited opportunities to work and save. We therefore have no plans to change the upper age limit for claims to Disability Living Allowance.
Specialised Vehicles Fund
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (a) how many grants and (b) how much grant was given to people aged (i) under 65 years and (ii) 65 years and over from the Specialised Disability Fund in the last 12 months; and what plans he has to enable people disabled after the age of 65 years to receive money under the fund. [132375]
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Maria Eagle: There is no Specialised Disability Fund. However, the Department for Work and Pensions sponsors the Specialised Vehicles Funds and the Independent Living Funds.
The charity Motability administers the Specialised Vehicles Funds on behalf of the Department. The funds provide grants towards the cost of specially adapted vehicles for disabled people who are eligible to apply to the Motability Scheme. The information requested is in Table 1.
The two Independent Living Funds make cash payments directly to severely disabled people for the purchase of personal assistance or help with domestic duties to enable them to continue to live in the community. The Extension Fund is a closed fund. However, the1993 Fund, which applies to all new claims made since April 1993, makes payments to people aged 65 or under at the date of claim. The information requested is in Table 2.
There are no plans to extend any of the funds beyond their current provision.
| Aged under 65 years | Aged 65 years and over | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of grants | 1,110 | 76 |
| Total amount of grants(8) | 9.0 | 0.4 |
(8) Rounded to the nearest £100,000
| Aged under 65 years | Aged 65 years and over(9) | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of clients receiving grants | 15,387 | 1,868 |
| Total amount of grants(10) | 164 | 15 |
(9) Over age 65 calculated as at date of payment
(10) Rounded to the nearest £ million
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Affordable Housing
Ms Oona King: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what measures he is taking to ensure that affordable housing made available through planning gain is family-sized accommodation. [132086]
Keith Hill: Planning policies for affordable housing are set out in Planning Policy Guidance note 3, "Housing", and in Circular 6/98, "Planning and Affordable Housing". This sets out how local authorities should plan to meet the housing requirements of the whole community, including those in need of affordable housing and family-sized accommodation. These requirements can be met through several routes, including planning obligations.
On 17 July, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published for consultation "Influencing the size, type and affordability of housing", which set out proposed changes to the current policies on planning for affordable housing. The aim of these updates is to
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improve the match between the housing planned and the needs of the community. The consultation period closes on 31 October.
Draw-down Funding
Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when his Department will advise Medway Council about the arrangements for drawing down the funding which he announced on 30 July. [132205]
Keith Hill: Officials from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister wrote to the Chief Executive of Medway Council, on 7 October setting out detailed arrangements on the next steps for implementing the programme of projects agreed in principle on 30 July.
English Partnerships
Mr. Dawson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what estimate he has made of the impact of English Partnerships decision to focus their resources on housing renewal pathfinder areas and large strategic projects on the regeneration of Luneside East, Lancaster; [131622]
- (2) what estimate he has made of the impact on the Government's regeneration and anti-poverty strategies of English Partnership's decision to focus their resources on house renewal pathfinder areas and large strategic projects; [131623]
(3) what discussions he has had with English Partnerships about their decision to focus their resources on housing renewal pathfinder areas and large strategic projects. [131624]
Keith Hill: I understand that my Hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre recently met the Chief Executive of English Partnerships, along with representatives of Lancaster City Council and the North West Development Agency, to discuss regeneration needs in both Lancaster and Morecambe. English Partnerships is committed to helping the Council secure the regeneration of the most deprived parts of the City. At the Luneside site, the public sector partners will now be working together to draw up revised plans encompassing the acquisition and remediation of the site, and considering at the same time how private sector developers can be drawn into the equation, so that the development strategy can take their aspirations into account. In addition, EP has agreed to fund an initial study focussed on the needs of the West End of Morecambe. It would also be prepared in principle to work with the City Council in supporting a local management team whose aim would be to renew the area through the demolition or upgrading of derelict and vacant housing.
Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
Vera Baird: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what criteria were used to allocate the recent Neighbourhood Renewal Fund monies to local authorities with high levels of deprivation. [131221]
Yvette Cooper: The residual Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) resources of £175 million will be allocated to 26 of the existing 88 local authority areas currently receiving NRF resources. These 26 areas have been
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selected because they are ranked in the lowest 10 areas against two or more indicators that act as a proxy for the achievement of key national floor targets, i.e. they have the furthest distance to travel in order to meet these floor targets. The eligible areas are listed as follows with their allocations for 2004–05 and 2005–06.
| Current NRF recipients alsoeligible for residual NRF | 2004–05 Allocation | 2005–06 Allocation |
|---|---|---|
| Bolsover | 417,624 | 1,044,060 |
| Bristol, City of | 1,013,689 | 2,534,224 |
| Camden | 1,199,468 | 2,998,670 |
| Derwentside | 421,456 | 1,053,639 |
| Easington | 1,260,484 | 3,151,209 |
| Greenwich | 1,103,589 | 2,758,972 |
| Hackney | 3,345,184 | 8,362,959 |
| Halton | 1,116,940 | 2,792,350 |
| Haringey | 1,516,814 | 3,792,035 |
| Hartlepool | 892,071 | 2,230,177 |
| Islington | 1,782,715 | 4,456,788 |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | 2,134,495 | 5,336,238 |
| Knowsley | 2,101,419 | 5,253,547 |
| Lambeth | 688,542 | 1,721,356 |
| Liverpool | 5,724,205 | 14,310,513 |
| Manchester | 5,855,669 | 14,639,173 |
| Middlesbrough | 1,492,501 | 3,731,252 |
| Newham | 3,790,592 | 9,476,480 |
| Nottingham | 2,628,822 | 6,572,056 |
| Salford | 1,546,952 | 3,867,381 |
| Sandwell | 2,288,967 | 5,722,418 |
| South Tyneside | 1,530,285 | 3,825,713 |
| Southwark | 2,249,671 | 5,624,176 |
| Tower Hamlets | 3,020,552 | 7,551,380 |
| Wansbeck | 392,176 | 980,441 |
| Wear Valley | 485,117 | 1,212,793 |
| Total | 50,000,000 | 125,000,000 |
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Vera Baird: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister by what criteria the Borough of Redcar and Cleveland was excluded from the new allocation of monies from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund. [131222]
Yvette Cooper: The Borough of Redcar and Cleveland is not among those 26 of the existing 88 Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) areas that will receive allocations from the residual NRF resources of £175 million for 2004–05 and 2005–06. This is because Redcar and Cleveland is not ranked in the lowest 10 areas against two or more indicators that act as a proxy for the achievement of key national floor targets, i.e. the Borough is not one of the 26 areas that have the furthest distance to travel to meet these floor targets and tackle multiple deprivation.
Vera Baird: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when there will next be an allocation of funds from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to local authorities with high levels of deprivation. [131223]
Yvette Cooper: The £175 million of residual Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) resources announced on 16 September 2003 is the final part of the £975 million provided for by Spending Review 2002 (SR2002) for 2004–05 and 2005–06.
The provision of any new funding will be a matter for consideration as part of Spending Review 2004 (SR2004).
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