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20 Nov 2003 : Column 1346W—continued

Jobseeker's Allowance

Mr. Purchase: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of unemployed people of working age in receipt of an occupational pension not qualifying for jobseeker's allowance. [140343]

Mr. Pond: The information requested is not available. However, as at May 2003 there were 11,100 people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance who were not receiving any benefit and who had an income from an occupational or personal pension.

Loans

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 18 September 2003, Official Report, column 910W, on loans for those on low incomes, what the average time taken is for (a) applications, (b) decisions and (c) first payments to arrive for crisis loans. [135107]

Mr. Pond: Crisis loans are available to anyone, whether or not they are receiving a benefit, who is facing an emergency or disaster which is threatening their health or safety or that of a member of their family, and who has either no resources or insufficient resources to meet the need.

During 2002–03, 96.7 per cent. of crisis loans applications were processed and paid on the day they were made. Crisis loans are usually paid immediately by girocheque in a Jobcentre Plus or Social Security office. As most payments are for essential items, those made by post are sent first class.

New Deal

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 5 November 2003, Official Report, column 673W, on the New Deal, how many New Deal personal advisers there were in each year since 1997. [138392]

Mr. Browne: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to the hon. Member.

Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Nick Gibb, dated 20 November 2003:



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Non-resident Parents

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether non-resident parents are required to pay child support when paternity is in dispute; and whether the non-resident parent pays the cost of testing to establish paternity, in the first instance. [135993]

Mr. Pond: If parentage is disputed at the outset, in certain circumstances the Child Support Agency can make a presumption of parentage and proceed to enforce a maintenance calculation. Parentage can be presumed where, for example, the alleged father was married to the mother at the time of the child's conception or birth, or where an alleged parent refuses to take a DNA test.

If parentage is questioned after a calculation has been made, the calculation will remain in force. If the alleged non-resident parent turns out not to be the parent of the child the agency makes a full refund of maintenance.

The agency can offer access to DNA tests at a discounted rate. The alleged non-resident parent pays for the test but if they are found not to be the parent of the child the fee is refunded. Where the alleged non-resident parent is unable or unwilling to pay for the test the agency may, in some cases, pay for it in advance. However if the test is positive, the full non-discounted fee will be charged.

Parliamentary Questions

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer the questions tabled on 28 October by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield, concerning the operation of the Social Fund, reference numbers 135577 to 135580, 135582, 135583 and 135616 to 135620. [139919]

Mr. Pond: I have given answers today.

Paternity Pay

Mrs. Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Airdrie and Shotts have benefited from statutory paternity pay since its introduction. [140375]

Mr. Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.

Statutory paternity pay is a new entitlement for fathers whose babies were born or expected on or after 6 April 2003. There are no take up figures available yet.

Pension Credit

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are aged 60 and over in each parliamentary constituency in England, according to 2001 Census data; and how many are claiming Pension Credit. [139811]

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Malcolm Wicks: Information on the number of people aged 60 and over from the 2001 Census, and the number of pensioner households and individuals receiving Pension Credit as at 17 October, 2003 by English parliamentary constituencies has been placed in the Library.









Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 17 November, Official Report, columns 481–2, how many pensioners in Perth were claiming pension credit on the latest date for which figures are available. [140126]

Malcolm Wicks: As at 17 October, 2003 the number of pensioner households receiving Pension Credit in Perth constituency was 2,530.







Mrs. Liddell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the take-up of pension credit in the Airdrie and Shotts constituency. [140368]

Malcolm Wicks: As at 17 October, 2003 the number of pensioner households receiving Pension Credit in Airdrie and Shotts constituency was 3,665.

1.97 million households in Great Britain (around 2.3 million individuals) are already receiving Pension Credit with 1.2 million households, (around 1.4 million individuals receiving more money than they did before. The average award is £47.10 per week.







Pension Schemes

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will introduce a legal requirement on employers to fund pension schemes that would ensure assets do not fall below the discontinuance funding ratio. [137917]

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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" (published in December 2002) and "Working and Saving for Retirement: Action on Occupational Pensions" (published in June 2003). Where a scheme with a solvent sponsoring employer is winding-up the Government believe that the employer should ensure the scheme has sufficient funds, as assessed on a discontinuance basis, to secure scheme members' expected benefits in full. We therefore propose to introduce a requirement to ensure that, in this situation, the debt on the sponsoring employer will be calculated on a full buy-out basis.

More generally, we propose to replace the minimum funding requirement (MFR) for defined benefit schemes with scheme specific funding requirements. Under our proposals it will be the responsibility of each scheme's trustees, working with the sponsoring employer and the scheme actuary, to develop a funding strategy aimed at ensuring that the scheme is able to meet its long-term pension commitments. Where a scheme is not winding-up we do not believe it would be appropriate to introduce a requirement for its funding to meet any prescribed minimum level as assessed on a discontinuance, or any other, basis.

Improving member protection is a Government priority, which is why we are introducing the new Pension Protection Fund. It will enhance protection for pension scheme members and improve confidence in pension provision in general, by ensuring that members of defined benefit schemes will still receive a meaningful retirement income if their sponsoring employer goes bust and the scheme is under funded.

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