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27 Jan 2004 : Column 346W—continued
EU Enlargement
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what entitlement to pension credit nationals of the EU accession countries will have if they come to live in the United Kingdom. [151069]
Malcolm Wicks: Under European law, a national of a member state must generally enjoy the same access to social security benefits as a national of the state of residence. Entitlement to income-related benefits and pension credit is subject to the habitual residence test, which nationals of the EU accession countries would need to satisfy. This acts as a deterrent to benefit tourism.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed incapacity benefit in each year since 1997, broken down by the condition that enables them to claim this benefit; and if he will make a statement on trends in claims. [148639]
Maria Eagle: The overall number of people claiming Incapacity Benefit (IB) has risen from 2.37 million in August 1997 to 2.4 million in August 2003; this slight increase reflects a number of factors such as demography and changes in the characteristics of those claiming. The rate at which the caseload is increasing has been reduced dramatically and, in recent years, people with mental health disorders are the only broad category of diagnosis not to see a reduction in the numbers claiming.
"Pathways to Work—Helping people into employment", published November 2002, set out a strategy for enabling people on IB to move into work. The first tranche of three pilot areas (Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taff; Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Argyll and Bute; and Derbyshire) went live from October 2003; indications after the first seven weeks are very encouraging, with positive feedback from customers and over 150 people moving back into work. A further tranche of four areas (Gateshead and South Tyneside; Somerset; Essex; and East Lancashire) are on track to go live in April.
The information is in the table.
Notes:
1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands. Totals may not sum due to founding.
2. Numbers are based on 5 per cent. samples, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
3. All diagnoses are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition, published by the World Health Organisation.
Source:
DWP—IAD Information Centre 5 per cent. Samples
27 Jan 2004 : Column 347W
Leak Inquiries
Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list occasions on which his Department has conducted an inquiry into alleged leaks from members of staff since 1997; and if he will list the occasions on which the names of those persons accused of leaking information from his Department have been made public (a) by the Government and (b) by way of another source. [147191]
Maria Eagle: Since April 1997, the Department has conducted an investigation into a suspected leak of sensitive information on 31 occasions.
In line with exemptions 1(a) and 7(b) set out in Part II of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it has been the practice of successive governments not to comment on the outcome of such inquiries in order to safeguard security and investigative arrangements. However, I can confirm that the Department has not made public the name of any individual under investigation. I am not aware of any disclosure by other sources.
Low-income Households
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children (a) in England and (b) in each English region there were in households with income below half of the national average (i) before housing costs and (ii) after housing costs in each year since 1994–95. [148810]
Mr. Pond: The latest available information relating to the financial year 2001–02 can be found in the publication 'Households Below Average Income 1994–05 to 2001–02', a copy of which is available in the Library.
Year-on-year comparisons of this information at a regional level are not advisable as changes are likely to be small in relation to sampling variation. Results for English regions are presented as percentages of children, not numbers; this is because the data does not provide robust estimates of numbers at this level.
Pension Credit
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were in recept of pension credit in Scotland as at (a) 31 October 2003, (b) 30th November 2003 and (c) 31 December 2003. [150399]
27 Jan 2004 : Column 348W
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available for 31 October. The information for 17 October, 30 November and 31 December is given in the table.
| 17 October 2003 | 30 November 2003 | 31 December 2003 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | Individuals | Households | Individuals | Households | Individuals |
| 201,555 | 234,835 | 217,065 | 255,575 | 223,060 | 263,290 |
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest five.
2. Figures relate to the Geographical Government Office Region (GOR) of Scotland.
Pensioner Couples
Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners who receive the basic state pension live together as man and wife but claim two single pension entitlements; what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the Exchequer of such claims compared with the cost if such people claimed only the married persons' entitlement; and if he will make a statement. [150602]
Malcolm Wicks: An individual's entitlement to state pension depends on the national insurance contributions paid during his or her working life. however, for married couples, provision is made for a spouse to become entitled to a state pension based on the other spouse's national insurance contributions. There is no such thing as married persons' entitlements. Therefore, we are unable to provide the information requested.
Pensions
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the annual cost of increasing the state pension in line with the usual UK uprating for UK citizens who reside in countries where their UK state pension is frozen. [150455]
Malcolm Wicks: To bring everyone up to the current rate of State Pension they would receive if they had remained in the UK, but not to pay arrears, could cost around 400 million in 2003–04.
- Note:
- Costs have been calculated using March 2003 Retirement Pension administrative data and the latest HMT Economic Assumptions.
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