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7 Jun 2004 : Column 78W—continued
Carers
Dr. Palmer: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will increase the amount which carers are allowed to earn without affecting their benefit. [177325]
Maria Eagle:
We want to encourage carers to combine work and caring where possible. Carers are able to earn £79 a week, after allowable expenses. These expenses can include tax, national insurance contributions and half of the contributions to an occupational pension scheme.
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as, in some cases, help with cost of substitute care. It is therefore possible for a carer to earn well in excess of £79 per week and be entitled to carer's allowance. The earnings limit moves each year in line with the lower earnings limit for national insurance purposes.
Child Support Agency
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what date has been set for all existing Child Support Agency assessments to be made using the new assessment criteria system. [176463]
Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Answer I gave the hon. Member for Castle Point (Bob Spink) on 18 December 2003, Official Report, column 1092W.
Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what plans he has to re-examine the use of statutory rates of interest for child support departures or variations where a parent has assets; [177406]
(2) what evidence he has collated to support his Department's assumption that the assets of non-resident parents have achieved the long-term sustainable interest rate of 8 per cent., net of tax, during the last five years. [177408]
Mr. Pond: We have no plans to re-examine the use of the statutory rate of interest in such cases. We are satisfied that the use of this rate provides a reasonable and simple basis for ensuring that children receive maintenance which reflects the financial standing of the non-resident parent.
Circus Performers (North-West)
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many vacancies he estimates there are in the North West for (a) tightrope walkers, (b) jugglers, (c) stilts performers, (d) unicyclists and (e) other circus performers; and if he will make a statement. [177131]
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Jane Kennedy: The information requested is not available by specific occupational type or area. However, a search of the Labour Market System on 27 May 2004 revealed that there were four vacancies nationwide for people with circus skills. Of these one, for a circus skills assistant, was in the Manchester area.
Jobcentre Plus provides high quality services to employers, helping them to fill job vacancies quickly and effectively with well-prepared and motivated employees. Jobcentre Plus handles over 10,000 job vacancies every working day and takes vacancies from all employers as long as the work complies with current legislation.
Correspondence
David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when a letter will be sent to the hon. Member for Walsall, North in reply to his letter of 28 April, addressed to the Chief Executive, The Pension Service, regarding a constituent, ref. RFE/BRLPR/2747BWY. [176465]
Malcolm Wicks: The hon. Member's letter dated 28 April 2004 addressed to the Chief Executive of the Pension Service was received on 30 April. The Pension Service wrote to the hon. Member on 6 May advising that they had arranged for the correspondence to be forwarded to the Group Finance Director.
The Group Finance Director endeavours to reply to correspondence within 20 working days of receiving that correspondence. A reply was issued on 27 May 2004.
Council Tax Benefit
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much money was claimed in council tax benefit in each year since 1997, broken down by region. [176736]
Mr. Pond: The information is in the table.
| Government office region | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 | 2001–02 | 2002–03 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North East | 139.1 | 144.1 | 151.7 | 155.5 | 160.7 | 170.9 |
| North West | 367.1 | 373.9 | 380.8 | 383.0 | 394.0 | 402.8 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 204.9 | 213.2 | 217.3 | 221.6 | 231.9 | 242.1 |
| East Midlands | 139.0 | 146.7 | 154.2 | 159.7 | 164.9 | 183.0 |
| West Midlands | 229.5 | 233.0 | 243.8 | 252.5 | 267.1 | 282.0 |
| East of England | 161.1 | 167.5 | 176.1 | 182.1 | 191.4 | 209.0 |
| London | 399.3 | 383.6 | 380.1 | 389.3 | 414.9 | 436.1 |
| South East | 216.0 | 221.1 | 230.0 | 234.6 | 246.7 | 267.7 |
| South West | 157.6 | 163.5 | 169.1 | 172.7 | 178.6 | 192.2 |
| Wales | 94.1 | 103.3 | 108.2 | 119.0 | 123.7 | 130.8 |
| Scotland | 287.0 | 302.7 | 306.6 | 310.0 | 315.6 | 321.5 |
| Total | 2,394.7 | 2,452.6 | 2,517.8 | 2,579.9 | 2,689.3 | 2,838.1 |
Notes:
1. All expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million.
2. Expenditure figures for 1997/98 to 2001/02 are final outturn figures supplied by local authorities in 'final audited' subsidy claims. The figures for 2002–03 are the latest available estimated outturn figures, provided by local authorities in their 'initial final' subsidy claims, and are subject to revision in the 'final audited' claims.
3. Figures are total yearly amounts paid to beneficiaries, regardless of the source of funding. They include payments subsidised by DWP, those funded through local authorities Housing Revenue Accounts, spending financed by the National Asylum Support Service and benefit spending financed from local authorities' general funds.
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Income Support
Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many income support claimants there were in each Jobcentre Plus district in England in the latest month for which figures are available; and what funds are available in each district for (a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans. [176265]
Mr. Pond: There are no separate budgets for budgeting loans and crisis loans, but a combined gross loans budget for both. The 2004–05 district budgets for community care grants and for gross loans (organised by Government Office Region) are available in the Library.
The income support information is in the table.
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to sampling variation.
3. November 2003 figures exclude income support MIG claimants who transferred to pension credit with effect from October 2003.
4. November 2003 figures are slightly higher than the publication due to the addition of clerical cases which were not available at the time of publication.
5. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
6. Jobcentre Plus is reorganising from 90 districts in Great Britain to 74 between April 2004 and April 2006. Since the figures in the table are at November 2003, the districts shown are prior to reorganisation, when there were 71 Jobcentre Plus districts in England.
Source:
DWP Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample
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