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7 Jun 2004 : Column 12W—continued
Council Tax Benefit
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to make available information about council tax benefit eligibility during pension credit assessments. [176226]
Malcolm Wicks: The Pension Service actively promotes awareness of council tax benefit. People who apply for pension credit using the telephone application line are advised that they might be able to receive help with their council tax and are asked whether they would like to be sent a form. Similar questions about council tax benefit are included in the paper application form for pension credit. The local service of the Pension Service promotes awareness at the local level and will help people fill in their council tax benefit claim form. We are considering how to streamline the process further and how the Pension Service can play a greater role in maximising pensioners' income through council tax benefit take-up.
Disability Discrimination Act (Advertising)
Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department plans to spend on advertising the introduction of new requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. [176471]
Maria Eagle: The current forecasted expenditure for advertising media to publicise the introduction of the October 2004 duties of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is £856,662. This advertising is part of a programme of wider communications activity, the total cost of which is forecasted to be £2,545,570.
Compensation Payments
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many compensation payments were made to members of the public by his Department and its agencies in each year since 1997–98, broken down by (a) amount paid and (b) reason for payment. [172896]
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Mr. Pond:
The Department for Work and Pensions operates a discretionary, non-statutory scheme providing financial redress for maladministration. Since 1997
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financial redress made by the Department and its Agencies have been authorised in the categories set out in the following tables.
(a) Amount of financial redress authorised by category 1997–98 to 2002–03
| Type of payment | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss of Statutory Entitlement | 2,124 | 1,813 | 1,748 | 2,035 | 2,219 | 4,039 |
| Actual Financial Loss | 1,400 | 4,215 | 2,700 | 2,290 | 2,172 | 1,660 |
| Compensation for Delay | 1,938 | 1,541 | 4,112 | 5,769 | 6,537 | 2,575 |
| Consolatory | 110 | 664 | 575 | 758 | 835 | 773 |
(b) Number of payments authorised by category 1997–98 to 2002–03
| Type of payment | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss of Statutory Entitlement | 3,080 | 1,882 | 1,660 | 3,233 | 2,912 | 2,764 |
| Actual Financial Loss | 4,741 | 8,782 | 8,143 | 7,199 | 8,243 | 7,607 |
| Compensation for Delay | 5,371 | 6,347 | 220,418 | 16,646 | 39,620 | 10,955 |
| Consolatory | 497 | 4,645 | 5,211 | 7,553 | 9,811 | 9,725 |
Notes:
1. The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001. Figures for earlier years relate to the former Department of Social Security.
2. Figures for amounts paid are rounded to the nearest thousand.
3. Loss of statutory entitlement may occur where an individual has lost benefit or some other entitlement as a result of official error.
4. Payments in respect of actual financial loss are made to recompense individuals who have suffered some financial loss or incurred expenses or as a direct result of maladministration.
5. Payments for delay are made in the form of interest and are intended to restore the value of payments that have been excessively or unreasonably delayed.
6. Consolatory payments are made where individuals have suffered gross inconvenience, gross embarrassment or severe distress in consequence of maladministration.
Free Television Licences (Warrington)
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Warrington North are receiving free television licences. [176412]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
The number of households with at least one resident aged 75 or over in the Warrington North parliamentary constituency is 4,815. These households would therefore be eligible to receive a free TV licence.
Notes:
1. Number is rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Any residence found to have four or more occupants is not included in these figures as it is assumed to be a Residential Care or Nursing Home. 3. Parliamentary constituencies have been allocated using the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, WFP data Winter 2003–04 100 per cent. sample.
Passive Smoking (Entertainment Industry)
Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the health and safety impact of passive smoking on the health of employees in the entertainment industry; and if he will make a statement. [176634]
Jane Kennedy: None. The Government's Scientific Committee on Tobacco and Health (SCOTH) is currently undertaking a review of the scientific evidence generated since 1998 on the ill health effects of second-hand smoking. The findings of that review are expected shortly.
All employers, including those in the entertainment industry, have a duty under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. This duty extends to risks arising from second-hand smoking. Free guidance published by the Health and Safety Executive provides advice to employers on introducing effective smoking policies in the workplace. The guidance recommends that policies should give priority to the needs of non-smokers who do not wish to breathe tobacco smoke.
Pension Credit (Mortgage Assistance)
Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which mortgage lenders' interest rates his Department takes into account when it sets the standard interest rate for mortgage assistance under pension credit. [176207]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is as follows:
Nationwide
Britannia
Yorkshire
Portman
Coventry
Skipton
Chelsea
Leeds and Holbeck
Derbyshire
West Bromwich
Norwich and Peterborough
Cheshire
Principality
Newcastle
Dunfermline
Nottingham
Stroud and Swindon
Cumberland
Lambeth
Scarborough
National Counties
Leek United
Furness
Notes:
1. Information provided to DWP in May 2004. 2. The standard interest rate is calculated by the Financial Services Authority and published monthly by the Office for National Statistics in "Financial Statistics", Table 7.1L
Pensioners
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were living in poverty in each of the last 25 years. [175070]
Malcolm Wicks: Poverty and social exclusion are complex and multi-dimensional issues, affecting many aspects of peoples' lives—including their living standards, health, housing, the quality of their environment and not just low income. The fifth annual "Opportunity for All" report (Cm 5956) sets out the Government's strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and presents information on the indicators used to measure progress against this strategy.
Between 1979 and 1996, there was growing inequality between the richest and poorest pensioners. Our efforts since 1997 ensure that Government money is targeted and as a result income growth for pensioners has been much more evenly spread.
By 2002–03, there were 1.8 million fewer pensioners in absolute low income measured against a 1996–97 baseline. Over the same period the number of pensioners in relative low income (on an after housing costs basis) has fallen by half a million. These figures are for 2002–03 and so do not yet reflect the effects of the pension credit.
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Further information showing the proportion and number of pensioners living in low income households going back to 1979 can be found in the publication, "Households Below Average Income 1994–95 to 2002–03", a copy of which can be found in the Library.
Notes:
1. The estimates are taken from the Department for Work and Pensions' publication, "Households Below Average Income" (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. There is no consistent time series using a single data source over the last 25 years for the number of pensioners below low income thresholds. A consistent time series is only available from 1994–95. 2. Absolute low income in the answer is measured using the number of pensioners living in households with equivalised incomes less than 60 per cent. of the 1996–97 median income held constant in real terms using the 'before housing costs' income measure reported in HBAI. 3. '60 per cent. of median' is the most commonly used measure of low income and is linked with the PSA target on child poverty. HBAI also classifies households in low income using differing fractions of mean and median income, and reports figures both on a before and after housing costs basis. 4. The income measure used is mean weekly net (disposable) equivalised household income, consistent with HBAI conventions. Income is adjusted to reflect the composition of the household, and is net of income tax, national insurance contributions and council tax.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of pensioners aged over 80 years receive the age addition to their pension. [175231]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is that there are 2,574,600 State Pension recipients aged 80 and over who are also in receipt of the age addition. This represents 95.3 per cent. of all State Pension recipients over the age of 80.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample taken from the Pension Strategy Computer System as at 30 September 2003.
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