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18 Nov 2003 : Column 788W—continued

Disability Rights Task Force

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received from the Disability Rights Task Force. [137908]

Maria Eagle: The Disability Rights Task Force was set up in 1997 to advise the Government on how best to meet our Manifesto commitment on comprehensive and enforceable civil rights for disabled people. Following its recommendations to Government, it was disbanded in December 1999.

We have already legislated to meet many of the Task Force's recommendations, including:

the Disability Rights Commission Act 1999;


the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001;


the Disability Discrimination (Blind and Partially Sighted Persons) Regulations 2003; and


the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003.

We have also announced that we will take forward other Task Force legislative recommendations in a draft Disability Bill. The draft Bill will be published later this year with the intention that it undergo pre-legislative scrutiny. Following this process, the Bill will be introduced into Parliament.

Disability Living Allowance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled (a) children under 16 and (b) people aged between 16 and 59 receive (i) Disability Living Allowance, (ii) Higher Rate Care Component only, (iii) Middle Rate Care Component only, (iv) Higher Rate Mobility Component only, (v) Higher Rate Care with Higher Rate Mobility Components, (vi) Higher Rate Care with Lower Rate Mobility Components, (vii) Middle Rate Care with Higher Rate Mobility Components, (viii) Middle Rate Care with Lower Rate Mobility Components and (ix) Lower Rate Care with Higher Rate Mobility Components; and how many recipients in each case are part of a household in which another adult under 60 or child also gets Disability Living Allowance at one of the above rates. [139114]

Maria Eagle: The information on the numbers of disabled people receiving the various combinations of Disability Living Allowance is given in the following table.

Disability Living Allowance by age bands and componentsas at 31 May 2003

DLA combination	Under 16	16–59
Higher Rate Care Only	28.6	7.0
Middle Rate Care Only	51.3	38.4
Higher Rate Mobility Only	2.8	186.5
Higher Rate Care and Higher Mobility	40.8	183.9
Higher Rate Care Lower Rate Mobility	33.8	65.9
Middle Rate Care and Higher Rate Mobility	15.2	172.4
Middle Rate Care and Lower Rate Mobility	63.7	193.0
Lower Rate Care and Higher Rate Mobility	0.9	183.4

Note:

Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.

Source:

IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample.

5 per cent. of households with a person under 60 claiming Disability Living Allowance (DLA) have another person under 60 also claiming DLA. It is not possible to break this figure down by the individual components as requested.

18 Nov 2003 : Column 789W

Notes:

1. The information on numbers within households is based on data from the Family Resource Survey (FRS) for 2001–02.

2. The information on benefit receipt taken from the FRS is based on self-assessment and therefore may be subject to misreporting.

3. The estimates are based on sample counts that have been adjusted for non-response. These estimates are subject to sampling error and response bias.

Full-time Carers

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional support has been offered to private individuals who are full-time carers for friends and family since 1997. [136441]

Maria Eagle: "Caring about Carers—A National Strategy for Carers" published in 1999 underlined the Government's commitment to support carers. Carers are entitled to an assessment by their local council to determine their needs as carers and their eligibility for support. Depending on their individual circumstances, carers have access to the full range of social security benefits including Carer's Allowance (CA) (previously Invalid Care Allowance), the Carer Premium in income-related benefits and additional amounts in Pension Credit.

The improvements we have made to the support and benefits for carers on top of the annual upratings of benefits include:

the introduction of the Carers' Grant in 1999 to support local councils in providing short breaks for carers to enable them to continue to care while maintaining their own health and well-being. In response to requests from carers and others, the 2003–04 Carers Grant includes new flexibilities. Local councils can now use as much of the money as they wish in pooled budgets and they can fund more services directly for carers. This offers them the opportunity to support carers in more responsive and innovative ways, and not only through breaks;


strengthening, in 2000, of the right of carers to an assessment of their own needs. Local councils were given a mandatory duty to support carers by providing them with services directly and with breaks from caring. In addition, Direct Payments from local councils were made available to carers to enable them to purchase carers services themselves. Resources for personal social services increased by 20 per cent. in real terms between 1996–97 and 2002–03, an average real terms increase of 3 per cent. a year, and will be increased by an annual average of 6 per cent. in real terms from 2003–04 to 2005–06. In 2001–02, local councils provided help to over 140,000 carers through the adults service and to some 52,000 people (including young carers) through the children's service;


increasing the carer premium by £10 a week above normal uprating;


increasing the CA earnings limit from £50 to £72 a week in 2001. Since then, the earnings limit has been increased each year in line with the rise in the national insurance lower earnings limit and is currently £77 after allowable expenses;


abolishing the upper age limit on claims to CA in 2002, so that carers aged 65 and over can claim the allowance. People in receipt of basic state pension who are entitled to, but do not

18 Nov 2003 : Column 790W

receive CA because of the overlapping benefit rules may be entitled to extra money with their income-related benefits or Pension Credit;


extending entitlement to CA by up to eight weeks after death of disabled person being cared for; and


from April 2003, requiring local councils to make direct payments to carers who have an assessed need and are able to manage the payments (alone or with assistance), and giving local councils discretionary powers to support flexibility in provision of short breaks for carers through the short term breaks voucher scheme.

Carers can find out about the support and benefits available to them through various routes: on-line services such as UK Online, or the Government DWP and carers websites; by telephone via benefits helplines, NHS Direct, carers centres, Carers UK helpline; and booklets/leaflets published by the Government or voluntary sector.

Invalid Care Allowance

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged over 65 years have claimed Invalid Care Allowance and subsequently Carer's Allowance since 28 October 2002 in (a) Glasgow, Anniesland and (b) the United Kingdom. [136942]

Maria Eagle: Information for Great Britain is as follows.

Number of claims received for Invalid Care Allowance and subsequently Carers Allowance since 28 October 2002

	Claims received from people aged 65 and over
Anniesland Glasgow	95
Great Britain	31,450

Note:

Figures are rounded to the nearest five.

Source:

IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent sample

Pension Credit

Mr. Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Argyll and Bute constituency are in receipt of Pension Credit; and what his estimate is of the number of pensioners in the constituency who are entitled to receive Pension Credit. [139526]

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested.

As at 17 October 2003 the number of people receiving Pension Credit in Argyll and Bute constituency was 2,735.

Around 400,000 pensioner households are entitled to Pension Credit in Scotland.

Notes:

1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.

2. Figures are based on 100 per cent. Generalised Matching Service (GMS) data.

3. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.

Source:

IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.

18 Nov 2003 : Column 791W

Profiling

Sir Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research he has commissioned on the use of profiling; and if he will make a statement on the use of profiling within the benefit system. [134931]

Mr. Pond: We have commissioned research to explore the potential in using statistical profiling to allocate work-focused help within the Department's client groups: sick and disabled people, lone parents and unemployed people. This research, which has been carried out by the Policy Studies Institute, is due to be published on 20 November 2003 and a copy of the report will be placed in the Library.

We also commissioned a large-scale literature review to help inform the development of the screening process used in the Incapacity Benefit reform pilots introduced in October 2003. This screening is used to distinguish between those incapacity benefit clients who are likely to make an early return to work and those who are not. This enables us to provide more intensive support to return to the labour market to people in this second group. The report of the review "Screening to identify people at risk of long-term incapacity for work" by Professors Gordon Waddell, Kim Burton, and Chris Main was published in May 2003.

In addition we have commissioned a literature review from the Institute for Employment Research, Warwick university to provide evidence to establish whether customer profiling could be useful to Jobcentre Plus, by using international comparisons from other public employment agencies.

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