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5 Nov 2003 : Column 674W—continued
Pension Advice Surgeries
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his Answer of 12 October 2003, Official Report, column 206W, on pension advice surgeries, if he will break down the number of regular drop-in and appointment surgeries by region. [135926]
Malcolm Wicks: The break down of regular drop-in and appointment surgeries by region is detailed in the table. These surgeries are under constant review with regard to suitability of location, publicity and level of usage. This will enable us to continue to provide a modern delivery that is based on the needs of older people and takes account of their views about how they want to access our services.
| GOR | Appointment only surgeries | Drop-in only surgeries | Appointment and Drop-in | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 5 | 41 | 128 | 174 |
| North West | 30 | 24 | 230 | 284 |
| North East & Humberside | 66 | 45 | 141 | 252 |
| South East | 27 | 154 | 171 | 352 |
| South West | 36 | 78 | 101 | 215 |
| Wales | 27 | 132 | 64 | 223 |
| East Midlands | 12 | 97 | 397 | 506 |
| West Midlands | 17 | 104 | 164 | 285 |
| London | 40 | 112 | 76 | 228 |
| Total | 2,519 |
Pension Credit
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate for the pension credit is in each constituency; and how many people are (a) eligible for and (b) claiming pension credit, broken down by constituency. [135965]
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Mr. Browne: The information is not available in the format requested. Approximately half of all pensioner households across Great Britain are eligible for Pension Credit and stand to gain on average £400 a year. Around 1.9 million Pension Credit awards have already been made to pensioner households across Great Britain as a whole (helping more than 2 million individuals).
The Government have a target for at least 3 million pensioner households to be in receipt of Pension Credit by 2006. We want all those eligible for Pension Credit to take up their entitlement.
We intend to publish monthly reports on the progress of Pension Credit take-on, which will include information on the number of applications. The first such report will be published later this month.
Pensions
Ms Atherton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures the Government plans to introduce to regulate contribution holidays by occupational pension schemes. [135826]
Malcolm Wicks: Government proposals for regulating occupational pension schemes are set out in the documents "Simplifying the taxation of pensions: increasing choice and flexibility for all" (December 2002) and "Working and Saving for Retirement: Action on Occupational Pensions" (June 2003) Cm 5835. These do not contain specific proposals regarding contribution holidays. However, our proposed simplified tax regime for approved pension schemes would abolish the rules that currently require approved occupational pension schemes to run off their surplus funds or lose their full tax exempt status.
We also propose to replace the Minimum Funding Requirement, now widely regarded as inadequate, with scheme-specific funding arrangements intended to ensure that the level of contributions is sufficient to meet a scheme's long-term pension commitments. Trustees and employers, with the scheme actuary's advice, will develop and agree the funding strategy for their scheme in line with this objective.
SchlumbergerSema Doctors
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time spent by SchlumbergerSema doctors on an individual personal capability assessment was in each year since 1997 (a) broken down by region and (b) in the UK as a whole; and if he will make a statement. [134194]
Maria Eagle: Doctors are encouraged to spend as long as required to carry out an appropriate assessment. Some types of disabling conditions will take longer than others to assess, depending on the nature of the disability .
The available information is in the table.
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| Region | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 39.0 | 41.2 | 39.2 | 37.7 |
| Eastern | 40.0 | 40.0 | 37.4 | 37.6 |
| London | 38.8 | 37.5 | 33.7 | 36.6 |
| North East | 35.9 | 32.9 | 32.4 | 34.8 |
| North West | 38.1 | 36.3 | 32.8 | 33.2 |
| Scotland | 39.8 | 38.8 | 37.2 | 39.5 |
| South East | 37.6 | 36.9 | 34.4 | 35.6 |
| South West | 37.7 | 36.3 | 35.3 | 38.0 |
| Wales | 35.5 | 34.5 | 33.9 | 35.6 |
| West Midlands | 40.7 | 41.0 | 38.4 | 37.4 |
| Yorks & Number | 34.2 | 35.7 | 36.0 | 35.9 |
| National | 37.8 | 37.1 | 35.2 | 36.3 |
Notes:
The information requested is not available for the period 1997 to 1999
The timings given in the above table relate to the average time the doctors spend interviewing and assessing the customer and completing the report.
Source:
SchlumbergerSema
Winter Fuel Payment (Wansdyke)
Dan Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate (a) how many people in Wansdyke constituency are eligible for the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 and (b) how many people in Wansdyke constituency received it in 2002–03. [136332]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. However, such information as is available is as follows.
The number of people in Wansdyke parliamentary constituency who received a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2002–03 was 19,940 made up of 8,965 men and 10,975 women. We expect similar figures for 2003–04.
- Notes:
- 1. Figures are taken from the Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter
- Fuels Payment 2002/03 exercise 100 per cent. data
- 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
- Source:
- IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
Child Poverty
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what action he is taking to tackle the problem of children living in substandard housing conditions as part of the target to eliminate child poverty. [136446]
Keith Hill: The Government are very aware of the links between housing conditions, health and poverty. Children of low income parents (those on means tested benefit) are more likely (38 per cent. of such households, 760,000 households in all) to live in homes that do not meet the decent home standard than other children (25 per cent.).
That is why the Government are committed to making all social housing decent by 2010 and has made a long-term commitment to eliminate child poverty by
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2020. Improving sub-standard housing conditions is an integral part of the Government's child poverty strategy.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister target is that by 2010 all social housing will be made decent and that 210,000 more households will be supported to ensure their homes are made decent. Good progress has already been made—between 1997 and 2001, nearly half a million the numbers of non-decent social sector homes have been reduced. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has also helped around 120,000 vulnerable households in the private sector to make their homes decent.
In March 2003 the draft Housing Bill was published. It includes the following proposals that will benefit poor and vulnerable households by targeting housing condition problems which will in turn address child poverty issues:
- Housing Health and Safety Rating System—this new system will target health and safety hazards in the home and provide a better basis for enforcement. It will replace the current Fitness Standard.
Licensing of higher-risk Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs)—These house some of the most vulnerable people. The definition includes Bread and Breakfast (B&B) accommodation for homeless families. This mandatory national licensing scheme will improve controls on about 120,000 HMOs, to improve basic facilities and management standards.
Council Housing Stock
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what the average level of council tax is for (a) those councils that have transferred council housing stock and (b) those councils that have maintained control of council stock. [133767]
Keith Hill: Tabled as follows is (a) the average Band D council tax for 2003–04 for those authorities that have completed Large Scale Voluntary Transfers (LSVTs) of housing, and (b) the average Band D Council Tax for 2003–04 for those authorities that have not completed a LSVT.
An LSVT is defined as the transfer of more than 499 properties to a single Registered Social Landlord. No data are available for smaller transfers of housing stock.
| Authorities completing a LSVT | Authorities not completing a LSVT | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner London boroughs | 824 | 636 | 718 |
| Outer London boroughs | 899 | 902 | 901 |
| Metropolitan districts | 988 | 960 | 671 |
| Unitary authorities | 946 | 961 | 958 |
| Shire districts | 147 | 155 | 151 |
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