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9 Jun 2004 : Column 475W—continued
WORK AND PENSIONS
National Insurance Numbers
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many national insurance numbers (a) have been issued in each year since 1992, (b) have been extinguished in each year since 1992 and (c) have been current in each year since 1992. [177533]
Mr. Pond: The information is as follows:
| Total allocated | Total deleted | Increase per year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992(42) | 9,765,000 | 21,000 | 9,744,000 |
| 1993(42) | 3,292,000 | 19,000 | 3,273,000 |
| 1994 | 1,057,000 | 15,000 | 1,042,000 |
| 1995 | 1,008,000 | 16,000 | 992,000 |
| 1996(43) | 979,000 | 55,000 | 924,000 |
| 1997(43) | 1,018,000 | 58,000 | 960,000 |
| 1998(43) | 1,027,000 | 38,000 | 989,000 |
| 1999(43) | 1,023,000 | 61,000 | 962,000 |
| 2000(43) | 996,000 | 182,000 | 814,000 |
| 2001 | 928,000 | 100,000 | 828,000 |
| 2002 | 1,082,000 | 4,000 | 1,078,000 |
| 2003 | 1,142,000 | 4,000 | 1,138,000 |
| Up to 30 April 2004 | 411,000 | 1,000 | 410,000 |
(42) The allocation of Child Reference Numbers (CRN's) commenced in May 1992. From that date to February 1993 Child Benefit Branch allocated NINO's for all children hence the large number of created records during this period.
(43) High number of deletions due to Data Cleaning Project which targeted duplicate NINO's/invalid NINO's.
Note:
These figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
Health and Safety Executive
Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of the Health and Safety Executive's employees based in offices outside London travel to work by car; and how many HSE offices have green travel plans in place. [176720]
Jane Kennedy: The information about travel to work is not available.
There are no green travel plans in place at present for any of HSE's offices. A green travel plan for HSE's London Headquarters will be published shortly. A plan will be put in place at HSE's Merseyside Centre when HSE moves to its new PFI building next year. Further travel plans for HSE field offices will be implemented thereafter.
Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the capital cost is of the new headquarters of the Health and Safety Executive in Bootle; what the anticipated revenue costs in its first full year of operation are; and what the current building's annual revenue costs are in Bootle. [176721]
Jane Kennedy:
The capital cost of the new headquarters of the Health and Safety Executive in Bootle, procured under the Private Finance Initiative, is £58.3 million (2003 prices) comprising £57 million on construction which is being met by the contractor and £1.3 million land purchase. The anticipated revenue costs in its first full year of operation from 2005 are £7.4 million (2005 prices). The annual revenue costs of current buildings in Bootle are £4.4 million (2004 prices).
9 Jun 2004 : Column 476W
Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Health and Safety Executive North West region spent on casual staff in the region in financial year 2003–04. [176723]
Jane Kennedy: Expenditure on agency staff in the financial year 2003–04 in the North West Division was £143,352.
Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proposals the Health and Safety Executive will be bringing forward to introduce workplace-based parking charges. [176726]
Jane Kennedy: The Health and Safety Executive has no current proposals to introduce workplace-based parking charges.
Andrew Bennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make the Health and Safety Executive deputising allowance and day subsistence allowances inflation-proof; and what these allowances are (a) per hour and (b) per day at present. [176727]
Jane Kennedy: It is not the Health and Safety Executive's policy to directly link deputising allowance and day subsistence to inflation.
Deputising allowance is paid at a rate of 6 per cent. of the maximum of the pay range for the relevant higher job band, converted to an hourly rate. Pay range maxima are subject to annual negotiation with HSE Trade Unions. The rate of inflation influences the negotiations.
Day subsistence is a flat rate allowance based on the levels of average expenditure incurred by members of staff when they are away from their office on official business. These rates are reviewed annually with HSE Trade Unions.
The rate payable depends on the duration of absence:
£4.90 for over 5 hours
£9.30 for over 10 hours
£14.20 for over 12 hours.
Household Incomes
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of children in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median income (a) before and (b) after housing costs (i) on the old equivalence scale and (ii) on the proposed new equivalence scale in the latest year for which figures are available. [177557]
Mr. Pond: The information is in the following table.
| Number (million) | |
|---|---|
| McClements Equivalisation (60 per cent. median) | |
| Before Housing Costs | 2.6 |
| After Housing Costs | 3.6 |
| OECD Equivalisation (60 per cent. median) | |
| Before Housing Costs | 2.9 |
Notes:
1. The Households Below Average Income (HBAI) presents statistics on the proportion of children in low income households on both the McClements and modified OECD equalisation scales.
2. The modified OECD equivalence scale focuses on income before housing costs. We are adopting this income equalisation scale for the new long-term child poverty measure from 2004–05 so we can credibly benchmark our performance internationally.
3. The existing PSA to reduce by a quarter the number of children living in low income by 2004–05 uses the McClements Equivalence scale, and reports both before and after housing costs.
4. The Government recognises the continuing interest in results for income after housing costs. HBAI, a National Statistics publication, will continue to publish results both for income before housing costs, and for income after housing costs. These will also continue to be published in "Opportunity for all". Copies of both documents are available in the Library.
Source:
Family Resources Survey.
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Pensioners (Benefits)
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of pensioners not claiming each means-tested benefit for which they are eligible, broken down by (a) benefit and (b) Government region. [177526]
Mr. Pond: The information is not available in the format requested as estimates by government region are not available.
The latest national estimates of the number of pensioners in Great Britain who are eligible, but not receiving income related benefits relate to financial year 2001–02. These cover the minimum income guarantee, housing benefit and council tax benefit and are published in the DWP report entitled "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2001–02". A copy of the publication is held in the Library.
Pensions
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many schemes with insufficient assets to secure their guaranteed minimum pensions have expressed an interest to (a) his Department and (b) other Government bodies in having their state pension fully reinstated; how many schemes have been treated as qualifying for this; how many schemes have had their state benefits reinstated; and how many members of these schemes have received their reinstated benefits. [177559]
Malcolm Wicks: A member of a contracted-out defined benefit occupational pension scheme that winds up with insufficient resources to secure accrued benefits in full may have their state scheme rights restored by a process known as "deemed buyback", operated by the Inland Revenue. In order to qualify both the scheme and the member must meet certain conditions.
To date, the Inland Revenue have had 59 schemes express an interest in "deemed buyback". Of these schemes, 33 have formally requested calculations and the Inland Revenue have agreed that all 33 schemes meet the qualifying conditions. Eight of these have been issued with the calculations necessary to allow the scheme to determine whether each member meets the criteria. The Inland Revenue are working with the remaining 25 schemes to finalise the required details before calculations can be issued.
9 Jun 2004 : Column 478W
It is individual scheme members who qualify for "deemed buyback" and it is the decision of the member whether to have their state scheme rights re-instated.
Trustees use the calculations issued by the Inland Revenue as part of the process to determine whether individuals can apply for "deemed buyback". As yet no-one is receiving reinstated benefits.
Mr. Leigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority expects to have in place a fully developed risk model that targets schemes where funds may be at risk as recommended by the Committee of Public Accounts in its 15th Report of 2002–03. [177254]
Malcolm Wicks: In the light of the recommendations of the Committee of Public Accounts, the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra) has been seeking, within the framework of its statutory powers and obligations, to refocus its resources on issues that present a real risk to members' benefits. In October 2003, Opra published revised guidance to scheme professionals on the reporting of breaches: statutory whistleblowers (scheme auditors and actuaries) are now expected to consider the nature and impact of any breach they identify before deciding whether or not to make a report to the authority. In May 2004, Opra also issued revised guidance to non-statutory whistleblowers. Copies of Opra's latest guidance to both statutory and non-statutory whistleblowers (Opra Note 1 and Opra Note 6, respectively) are available in the Library.
On 11 February, the Government published the Pensions Bill 2004, which proposes to replace Opra with a new regulatory body—The Pensions Regulator—from April 2005.
The Bill provides that the Pensions Regulator, in accordance with the recommendations of the 15th Report of 2002–03 of the Committee of Public Accounts will have statutory objectives to protect the benefits of members of work-based pension schemes and to promote, and improve the understanding of, the good administration of such schemes. The proposals contained within the Pensions Bill will enable the Pensions Regulator to target its resources on the areas that pose the greatest risk to members' benefits.
The new Pensions Regulator will begin operating its risk model from the organisation's inception, and will develop it as its information base improves. To prepare the ground, the Department is currently working with Opra to identify the information and analysis needed to give effect to a fully risk-focused approach as quickly as possible.
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