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11 Nov 2003 : Column 208W—continued
World Service
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the most recent estimate is of the average daily number of listeners to BBC Radio World Service broadcasts. [136440]
Mr. Mullin: The World Service announced in April 2003 a weekly global audience figure of 150 million, for its 43 language services (including English). Audience figures are measured weekly—as is the case with all international broadcasters—and it is not possible to calculate daily audiences from them. Figures are published once a year.
WORK AND PENSIONS
Annuities
Mr. Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to prevent pensions administrators purchasing annuities; and if he will make a statement. [138138]
Malcolm Wicks: In the vast majority of cases, there is no tax requirement for occupational schemes to purchase an annuity, unlike personal pension plans. Just as the funding of the scheme is stipulated by the scheme rules, so the purchase of annuities is a matter for the administrators. They retain the flexibility of deciding how, when or if this should happen, and do so in consultation with members via the member-nominated trustees.
Care Homes
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what rate of savings credit will be payable to (a) local authority-supported residents of residential care homes with income above the level of the guarantee credit and (b) other residents of residential care homes with income above the level of the guarantee credit; and if he will make a statement. [138038]
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Malcolm Wicks: Pension credit, including the savings credit, is calculated in the same way for residential care residents as it is for others, except that savings below £10,000 are disregarded for those in care homes (£6,000 for others).
Consultancy Contracts
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell) of 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 204W, on consultancy contracts, if he will place in the Library a breakdown by individual contract value of each of the consultancy assignments. [134116]
Mr. Browne: The information requested is not collected in the form requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether those claiming incapacity benefit are entitled to the same range of other benefits as those eligible for income support. [136462]
Maria Eagle: People in receipt of income support, including those receiving both income support and incapacity benefit, are entitled to a range of passported help such as council tax benefit or assistance with NHS charges. For people with income marginally higher than the threshold for income support, help may still be available on the grounds of low income.
Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Jobcentre Plus in London has met its targets for getting people into work in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [136833]
Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Andrew Dismore, dated 11 November 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply direct to your question about whether Jobcentre Plus in London has met its targets in getting people into work in the last year. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- Jobcentre Plus London Region exceeded its job entry points target for the operational year April 2002 to March 2003, the last year for which figures are available. Each successful job entry is given a points score and each Region given a target based on these scores. Details of this points system can be found in the Jobcentre Plus Business Plan 2003 a copy of which has been placed in the House of Commons Library. During 2002/03 Jobcentre Plus London Region achieved 902,193 points against its annual target of 846,085 points.
- I hope this is helpful.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the position is of Jobcentre Plus proposals to reorganise services delivered from (a) Hendon and (b) Edgware Social Security office; and if he will make a statement; [136834]
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- (2) what plans Jobcentre Plus has to change the service provided at Hendon Social Security office through the social fund counter; and if he will make a statement; [136835]
(3) what progress Jobcentre Plus is making in providing premises for the proposed new JCP office to serve clients in Hendon; and if he will make a statement. [136836]
Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Andrew Dismore, dated 11 November 2003:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning service delivery in Hendon and Edgware Social Security offices. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
- North London District, including Hendon and Edgware Social Security offices, is planned to be converted to provide the new integrated Jobcentre Plus service in the operational year 2005/06. Initial plans are currently being formulated and a consultation process with all key stakeholders, including local MPs, will start in the next few weeks.
- At this stage, I cannot confirm the exact locations for Jobcentre Plus offices as this is subject to the current planning and consultation process. Local managers will be happy to discuss any questions you may still have about these plans as part of this consultation process.
- I hope this is helpful.
Maternity Allowance
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for maternity allowance were refused in each of the last three years for which figures are available; what the reasons were; and if he will make a statement. [132801]
Maria Eagle: Maternity benefits are being reformed as part of the Government's drive to improve financial support for pregnant women and parents. The standard rate of Maternity Allowance (MA) was increased to £75 a week from April 2002, and has been increased further to £100 from April 2003.
The available information is in the table.
| Period | MA claims processed(8) | MA awards(9) |
|---|---|---|
| April 2001 to March 2002 | 66,310 | 54,500 |
| April 2002 to March 2003 | 68,225 | 53,700 |
(8) Figures for claims processed are rounded to the nearest five.
(9) Figures for awards are rounded to the nearest 100.
Notes:
1. Accurate figures for claims processed prior to April 2001 are not available.
2. Figures for awards take into consideration late notifications to the system, and may differ from previously published figures.
3. Data are derived from two sources therefore it is not possible to provide an accurate figure for the number of claims that did not result in an award. However, the difference between the figures quoted would be indicative of the numbers involved.
Sources:
1. DWP Central Data Unit, 100 per cent. counts.
2. DWP Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples.
11 Nov 2003 : Column 211W
New Deal
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of public expenditure per full-time job set up under the New Deal programme since 1997. [133162]
Mr. Browne: Jobs are not set up under the New Deal programme as it is not a job creation programme. The New Deal exists to provide people with the confidence and skills necessary to compete in the labour market.
In 2000, we estimated that the average cost of a young person moving into work through the New Deal for Young People was around £4,000. Cost benefit analysis published in June 2003 found that running the New Deal for Lone Parents in 2000–01 resulted in a net exchequer saving of £1,600 for each Lone Parent moving into work. Equivalent estimates of cost per job are not available for the other New Deal programmes.
Redundancy Payments
Mr. Wills: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employers made redundancy payments in excess of the legal minimum in 2002. [134933]
Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
Officials are unaware of any reliable statistics that show how many employers made redundancy payments in excess of the legal minimum in 2002. The latest survey commissioned by the Department for Trade and Industry on employers' redundancy practice showed that in the period October 2000 to February 2001 just under half (48 per cent.) of those employers who had made redundancies in the previous 12 months claimed to have made one or more specific improvements on the statutory entitlement. Over a fifth (22 per cent.) of employers reported that they gave more weeks payable per year of service than the legal minimum, while over a quarter (28 per cent.) said they paid a multiple of the minimum statutory payment.
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