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30 Mar 2004 : Column 1333W—continued

Murder Investigations

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total financial cost has been of investigations into the murder of (a) Mr. Patrick Kelly on 10 August 1974 and (b) Mr. Robert Jameson on 17 January 1974, both of Trillick. [162708]

Jane Kennedy: In view of the significant time which has elapsed since these two murders, an estimate of the costs of the associated police investigations could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Organ Retention

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether relatives of those who had coroners' post mortems will be invited to planned memorials for the victims of organ retention in Northern Ireland. [164577]

Angela Smith: The Department is engaged in ongoing discussions with Belfast city council, Derry city council and the Relatives' Reference Group about the location of suitable memorials for those affected by the retention of human organs and tissue. Relatives of those who were affected, whether through coroners' or hospital post mortem examinations, will be most welcome to attend any future service of dedication of the memorials.

Phoenix Natural Gas

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions he has had with representatives of Phoenix Natural Gas on the recent increase in gas prices; and if he will make a statement. [164390]

Mr. Pearson: I have met with the Chairman and Chief Executive of Phoenix Natural Gas to express my deep concerns over proposed gas price increases in Northern Ireland. I have also been in contact with all the parties concerned including the Northern Ireland Authority for Energy Regulation (NIAER), the General Consumer Council (NI), National Energy Action and the Department of Social Development who have responsibility for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Fuel Poverty. I have also met a delegation of NI political representatives from all the major political parties to hear their concerns. I have asked NIAER to carry out an urgent investigation into the proposed increase and the circumstances leading up to Phoenix's announcement on 19 March, and to report to me by 31 March 2004.

Post Mortems

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what procedures relatives will be required to use to obtain tissue from consented hospital and coroner post mortems when the new legislation is implemented. [164576]

Angela Smith: In January 2004 I launched a public consultation document entitled "Post Mortem Examinations—Good Practice in Consent and the Care of the Bereaved". It contains new draft consent forms and guidance, which address relatives' wishes for the return or disposal of tissue. It also takes account of the provisions of the new Human Tissue Bill currently

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before Parliament. The consultation period ends on 27 April 2004 and it is anticipated that the Department will issue final guidance to the HPSS towards the end of 2004. This will be made available to relatives through the Relatives' Reference Group and the Department's web site. It is too early at this stage to say what the new procedures will be but the principle of consent will underpin them all.

Pulmonary Hypertension

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the provisions in Northern Ireland for sufferers of pulmonary hypertension. [164541]

Angela Smith: Pulmonary hypertension is a rare abnormality and is managed within existing specialty areas including cardiology, general medicine, respiratory medicine and in the case of children, paediatrics. Each case is managed individually, with treatment provided appropriate to the patient's particular needs.

Royal Ulster Constabulary

Mr. Beggs: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether the search and log records of the Royal Ulster Constabulary for the night of 17 February 1978 are still held. [162688]

Jane Kennedy: The Police Service of Northern Ireland has carried out a review of the investigation file and HM Coroner's reports relating to the La Mon bombing. However search papers and logs for the night of 17 February 1978 have not been retained within these papers.

Unionist Paramilitaries

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assistance Unionist political parties are giving the police in curbing the criminal activities of Unionist paramilitary groups. [162594]

Jane Kennedy: The Police Service of Northern Ireland does not categorise any paramilitary group as Unionist. The category used is Loyalist. Unionist political parties have publicly stated their support for the police in their efforts to tackle the criminal activities of Loyalist paramilitary groups. Representatives of Unionist parties also sit on the Policing Board and show their further support for the police at community level by participating in the local District Policing Partnerships.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to pay (a) bereavement benefit and (b) invalid care allowance without deductions arising from the payment of both benefits; and if he will make a statement. [164035]

Mr. Pond: It is a basic principle of the social security system that two benefits at a time cannot be paid for the same purpose. Even though the circumstances which give rise to entitlement to Carer's Allowance and Bereavement Benefit are different, they are both

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designed to provide a degree of replacement for lost or foregone income. Carer's Allowance replaces income where the carer has had to give up the chance of working to look after a severely disabled person, while Bereavement Benefit replaces income following the death of a spouse.

Carer's Allowance is therefore not payable, or not payable in full, in addition to Bereavement Benefit. The payment of Bereavement Benefit takes precedence, either extinguishing or reducing the payment of Carer's Allowance. Nevertheless, the income of a person in these circumstances will be at least as high as the rate of Carer's Allowance, and is usually higher. In addition, where the benefit cannot be paid, the person will keep underlying entitlement to Carer's Allowance, which gives them access to the carer premium in the income-related benefits such as Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

We have no plans to change these arrangements.

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many individuals living in (a) York and (b) North Yorkshire were in receipt of (i) state retirement pension and (ii) other benefits in (A) 1997 and (B) each year since then; [162961]

(2) how many claims for benefits and pensions were made by people living in (a) York and (b) North Yorkshire in each year since 1997. [162977]

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Malcolm Wicks: The information requested concerning the total number of claims for benefits or pensions is not available. The available information is in the tables.

Working age claimants of key benefits in York

	Number
November 1997	11,400
November 1998	11,200
November 1999	10,800
November 2000	10,400
November 2001	10,500
November 2002	9,600
November 2003	9,400

Working age claimants of key benefits in North Yorkshire

	Number
November 1997	33,500
November 1998	33,800
November 1999	33,300
November 2000	31,700
November 2001	31,300
November 2002	31,300
November 2003	31,300

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

2. Key benefits are Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), Incapacity Benefit (IB), Severe Disablement Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Income Support and National Insurance credits only (through JSA or IB).

Source:

IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples.

Key benefit recipients over state pension age by benefit combination in York

Benefits	1999(4)	2000(4)	2001(4)	2002(4)	2003(4)
State Pension	27,300	26,900	27,000	27,300	26,700
State Pension and DLA	900	1,000	1,000	1,100	1,100
State Pension and AA	2,200	2,200	2,200	2,400	2,300
State Pension, MIG/Pension Credit	1,800	2,000	2,200	2,100	2,800
State Pension, MIG/Pension Credit and DLA	*200	*200	*200	*200	*300
State Pension, MIG/Pension Credit and AA	1,000	1,000	900	1,000	1,100
Other combinations	*400	*200	*200	*300	*200
All	33,800	33,500	33,700	34,400	34,500

Key benefit recipients over state pension age by benefit combination in North Yorkshire

Benefits	1999(4)	2000(4)	2001(4)	2002(4)	2003(4)
State Pension	90,600	90,200	90,100	90,300	89,500
State Pension and DLA	3,000	3,300	3,800	3,800	4,000
State Pension and AA	8,000	8,500	8,300	9,200	9,200
State Pension and AA/DLA	*100	*100	*100	*100	*100
State Pension and MIG/Pension Credit	6,900	7,200	8,000	8,200	9,900
State Pension, MIG/Pension Credit and DLA	900	1,000	1,100	1,200	1,400
State Pension, MIG/Pension Credit and AA	3,300	3,400	3,600	3,400	4,000
Other combinations	1,300	1,200	1,100	1,100	1,200
All	114,100	114,900	116,000	117,300	119,300

⁽⁴⁾ November.

Notes:

1. Figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variation.

2. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.

3. Numbers less than 500 and marked * are based on very few sample cases and are subject to a high degree of sampling variation.

4. Key Benefits are State Pension (SP), Incapacity Benefit (IB), Attendance Allowance (AA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Pension Credit (PC) and Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA).

5. Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) was introduced from 1999 and was replaced by Pension Credit with effect from 6 October 2003.

Source:

IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples.

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