---

14 Jun 2004 : Column 724W—continued

WORK AND PENSIONS

Benefits

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the average payment to a recipient of (a) incapacity benefit and (b) income-based job seeker's allowance. [177965]

Mr. Pond: In November 2003, the average weekly payment of incapacity benefit was £82.84 and the average weekly payment of income-based job seekers allowance was £62.62.

Note:

Figures are subject to sampling variation.

Source:

DWP-IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the (a) costs of administering and (b) actual benefit expenditure for (i) the state retirement pension, (ii) child benefit, (iii) income support, (iv) minimum income guarantee of pension credit, (v) jobseekers allowance, (vi) disability living allowance and (viii) incapacity benefit in the latest year for which figures are available. [177490]

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is in the table.
£ million Nominal terms

Benefit	Administration costs 1998–99 1	Estimated benefit expenditure outturn
2003–04
Retirement Pension (including earnings related)	314	46,467
Minimum Income Guarantee of Pension Credit	n/a	4,544
Income Support	581	10,073
Jobseekers Allowance Contribution Based	51	531
Jobseekers Allowance Income Based	330	2,027
Disability Living Allowance	119	7,589
Incapacity Benefit	375	6,715
2002–03 2
Child Benefit	125	8,945

⁽¹³⁾ The latest figures available for administration costs for the benefits in the table are from the publication, "Social Security Departmental Report: The Government's Expenditure Plans 2000/01–2001/02". Administration costs for main benefits after this date is not currently available in the format requested. The Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its Public Service Agreements (PSA), and by individual Requests for Resources (RfRs), as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts.
⁽¹⁴⁾ This is the latest year for which figures are currently available. Responsibility for child benefit was transferred to Inland Revenue from April 2003.



 
14 Jun 2004 : Column 725W
 

Community Care Grants

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of community care grants was in each of the last four years. [177888]

Mr. Pond: The information is in the table.
Community care grant expenditure £

	Expenditure
2000–01	100.1
2001–02	102.6
2002–03	108
2003–04	117.5

Notes:
1. Figures include expenditure from extra budget allocations for contingency purposes.
2. Figures do not include expenditure recorded clerically.
Source:
DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS)

Correspondence

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the right hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree will be in a position to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire of 21 April, requesting that she meet a delegation of hon. Members to discuss the Working at Height Directive. [178744]

Jane Kennedy: I have written to the hon. Member today.

Disability Discrimination Bill

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the number of people who would be protected from discrimination if the recommendations in paragraphs 79, 88 and 99 of the report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Disability Discrimination Bill were to be accepted; [177653]

(2) when he expects to publish the Disability Discrimination Bill. [177654]

Maria Eagle: We have made no such assessment. We are still considering the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the draft Disability Discrimination Bill, which were published on 27 May 2004. We will respond as soon as possible. The timing of the introduction of the Bill is a matter to be determined by Business Managers in the usual way.

Disability Living Allowance

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are in receipt of disability living allowance; and, of these, what percentage are only in receipt of the care component. [176734]

 
14 Jun 2004 : Column 726W
 

Maria Eagle: The total number of disability living allowance recipients as at 30 November 2003 was 2,558,200. 13.2 per cent. of these are in receipt of the care component only.

Note:

Figure taken from a 5 per cent. sample at 30 November 2003 and rounded to the nearest hundred. From November 2002, the methodology for producing these figures was changed to allow statistics to be published much sooner. This has resulted in a small increase in the reported caseload. This is because some cases which have actually terminated but have not yet been updated on the computer system are now included.

Source:

IAD Information Centre.

Household Incomes

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the change in income resulting from tax and benefit measures was in real terms for the lowest income decile of families in each year since 1997, expressed in each case as a percentage change in relation to 1997 base figures. [175132]

Mr. Pond: The information is not available in the format requested and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

However, as a result of personal direct tax and benefit measures introduced by this Government since 1997, in 2004–05, households in the bottom tenth of the income distribution will have gained, on average, £1,900 a year in real terms.

Incapacity Benefit

Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average weekly payment of incapacity benefit has been in each year since 1997–98. [177552]

Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.
Average weekly amount of incapacity benefit £

November	Average weekly amount
1997	81.07
1998	82.15
1999	82.54
2000	81.73
2001	82.76
2002	82.75
2003	82.84

Note:
Figures exclude 'national insurance credits only' cases.
Source:
DWP Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples.

Income Support

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of women claiming income support. [178228]

Mr. Pond: The number of women claiming income support (as a single person or on behalf of a couple) in Great Britain at November 2003 was 1,393,700. There were an additional 214,000 income support benefit units where there was a male claimant and a female partner.
 
14 Jun 2004 : Column 727W
 

Notes:

1. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to sampling variation. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred. 3. Excludes pension credit cases.

Lone Parents

Ms Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many lone parents in Stoke-on-Trent North have gained work through the New Deal programmes; and if he will make a statement. [177622]

Jane Kennedy: Through the New Deal we have introduced a wide range of initiatives to help lone parents improve their employment prospects by giving them the skills, support and confidence they need to move into work. The New Deal runs alongside other measures which are helping lone parents into work and making work pay for them. These include our National Childcare Strategy; the Lone Parent's Benefit Run-On; the child tax credit and the working tax credit (including the childcare tax credit).

380 lone parents in Stoke-on-Trent North have gained work through the New Deal for Lone Parents since the start of the programme in October 1998. Figures for lone parents who have gained work through other New Deal programmes are not available.

---