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16 Sept 2004 : Column 1739W—continued
Exceptions Service
Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is given to local job centre offices on responding to inquiries made by recipients of benefits and retirement pension who wish to continue collecting their payments by cash rather than direct payment; what the eligibility criteria will be for those who wish to join the Exceptions Service; and if he will make a statement. [189127]
Mr. Pond: Direct payment is now the normal method of payment. The Department provides Jobcentre Plus staff with the factual information they need to give to customers, in order for customers themselves to choose the account which best meets their needs and circumstances.
All existing customers, not yet paid by direct payment, are being contacted to invite them to provide account details. Customers who advise the Department that they are unable to open or manage an account will be paid by cheque payment.
The cheque payment is only intended for those customers who we cannot pay by direct payment; it is not an alternative payment option.
Hepatitis C
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2004, Official Report, columns 1337–9W, on Hepatitis C, whether the proposed housing benefit and council tax benefit regulations to which he referred have been laid before Parliament. [189321]
Mr. Pond:
The Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2004 (Statutory Instrument 1141 of 2004) were laid before Parliament on 21 April 2004 and came into force on 12 May 2004.
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As a result, payments made under the Hepatitis C Ex-Gratia Payment Scheme to people who are infected with Hepatitis C are now disregarded fully when calculating entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit.
Housing and Council Tax Benefits
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the value of housing and council tax benefit fraud and error detected in (a) each local authority and (b) total in 2002–03. [189122]
Mr. Pond [holding answer 15 September 2004]: The information is not currently available. The Department is currently developing a methodology that will enable us to produce robust estimates of the value of fraud and error detected.
However, the latest report on estimated Fraud and Error in Housing Benefit, April 2002 to September 2003, was published on 12 August. The findings about the overall levels of housing benefit (HB) fraud and error, in 2002–03, are that around £550 million (5.0 per cent.) of HB expenditure within the scope of the Housing Benefit Review (HBR) sample is estimated to have been overpaid due to fraud or error; and a further £150 million is estimated, via the use of a rough extrapolation, to have been overpaid in HB expenditure outside the scope the HBR sampling.
Copies of the report are available in the Library.
Laryngectomies
Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to review the classification of disabled people who have had laryngectomies. [188887]
Maria Eagle: People who have had laryngectomies can qualify for the full range of social security benefits and pensions if they satisfy the rules which govern entitlement. They can also be disabled persons for the purposes of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 if they experience a long-term substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Means-tested Benefits
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of (a) households and (b) people in receipt of means-tested benefits. [186545]
Mr. Pond: The information is in the table.
| Income-related benefit recipients | |
|---|---|
| Claimants | 6,250,000 |
| Total adult beneficiaries | 7,440,000 |
| Total beneficiaries | 10,330,000 |
Notes:
1. The figures are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. samples and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2. Due to the procedures used to remove overlaps between the figures, the figures are rounded to the nearest ten thousand.
3. Council tax benefit data excludes any Second Adult Rebate cases.
4. Housing benefit data excludes any Extended Payments.
5. Income related benefits are classed as income support, income-based jobseeker's allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
6. "Claimants" are benefit units in which the customer and/or partner are in receipt of income related benefits.
7. "Total adult beneficiaries" refers to the sum of all customers and partners in receipt of income related benefits.
8. "Total beneficiaries" refers to the sum of all customers, partners and dependants in receipt of income related benefits.
9. Benefit units may be a single person, couple or family.
10. Overlaps between benefits have been removed.
Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2002. DWP Information Centre, per cent., sample (IS/JSA).
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Myasthenia Gravis
Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on benefit entitlement for those diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. [188633]
Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on benefit entitlement for individuals diagnosed with myasthenia gravis. [189132]
Maria Eagle: We do not pay benefits based on medical diagnosis.
Incapacity benefit is intended to provide a source of income for sick and disabled people of working age who are unable to work.
Entitlement to disability living allowance is based on walking difficulties and/or the need for personal care which results from severe disability. The customer's medical condition is not, necessarily, the key factor. Rather it is the disablement that results from it and the effects of that disablement.
We are ensuring that the benefit system encourages and promotes work where possible. However, we recognise that those with the most severe conditions may never be able to work, and benefits provide security for those for whom work is not an option.
New Deal for Disabled People
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether organisations who have contracts to help deliver the New Deal for Disabled People will be paid for getting unemployed disabled people into work above the targets which those organisations have been set for so doing. [188597]
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Jane Kennedy: Target levels for organisations supporting the delivery of the New Deal for Disabled People are agreed and specified within the Department's contracts with them. Any variation of those contracts is at the discretion of the Department and subject to our agreement through contract re-negotiation.
Pension Collection (Giros)
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will arrange for those pensioners who continue to draw their pensions by way of Giros to have the option of having the Giros sent to the local Post Office where they will be cashed. [189281]
Mr. Pond: Under normal arrangements when customers are paid by cheque, payment is sent to their home address.
Cheques can be paid into bank/building societies as well as being cashed at Post Offices; however, all cheques over the value of £350 have to be paid into a bank/building society account.
Sending cheques directly to the Post Office does not provide the same opportunity for casual agent encashment.
There are no plans in place to change these existing arrangements.
The same outcome would be achieved if customers choose to have their pension or benefit paid by Direct Payment into an account which is accessible at the Post Office. Many current accounts, basic bank accounts as well as the Post Office Card Account offer this facility.
Payment by Direct Payment would also provide customers with additional benefits. Depending on the account they choose, customers will be able to take advantage of all financial services available including:
discounts on some bills paid by direct debit;
a cheque-book and a debit card;
and they will be able to withdraw as much or as little of their money as they want at any one time.
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