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21 Oct 2004 : Column 908W—continued

Incapacity Benefit

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of (a) incapacity benefit and (b) severe disablement allowance beneficiaries have also been in receipt of at least one of (i) occupational pension, (ii) personal pension and (iii) permanent health insurance from their employer in each year since 1997. [192994]

Maria Eagle: The information is not available.

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed both incapacity benefit and income support in each year since 1995. [193003]

Mr. Pond: The information is in the table.
Working age claimants of Incapacity Benefit (IB), Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) or National Insurance credits only, and Income Support

Thousands
May 1995880.2
May 1996956.9
May 19971,030.8
May 19981,071.5
May 19991,110.7
May 20001,157.5
May-011,224.7
May-021,237.7
May-031,273.8
May-041,269.5



Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Working age claimants are men aged 16–64 and women aged 16–59.
3. Numbers are taken from a 5 per cent. sample and are subject to a degree of sampling error.
4. Working age client group dataset excludes a small number of IB claimants who are over State Pension Age (SPA), plus Income Support claimants above SPA (whether or not they have a partner under SPA)
5. Figures cover individuals claiming both IB/SDA and IS. There will be some additional cases where a person claims IB/SDA with their partner claiming IS on behalf of the benefit unit; the number of such cases is unknown.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. samples



 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 909W
 

Incapacity/Severe Disablement Benefit

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average length of time was before new incapacity benefit claimants saw doctors employed by or contracted to the Department for a medical assessment in relation to the receipt of incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance in each year since 1997. [191694]

Maria Eagle: Information about medical referrals in individual cases is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Depending on a claimant's condition, initial referrals for personal capability assessments are made from between three and 10 weeks from the date of claim. Upon receipt of a referral from Jobcentre plus, Medical Services have an actual average clearance time target of 32 working days to complete their part of the examination process. This will include a doctor carrying out a medical assessment where appropriate.

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of those going on to incapacity benefit in each year since 1997 had a claim for incapacity benefit or severe disablement allowance rejected in the previous two years, broken down by (a) age and (b) region. [191697]

Maria Eagle: The information is not available.

Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of (a) incapacity benefit and (b) severe disablement allowance in each year since 1997. [191698]

Maria Eagle: The information is in the table.
Cost of incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance 1997–98 to 2003–04
Nominal terms (£ million)(23)

Incapacity benefitSevere disablement allowance
1997–987,412999
1998–997,251984
1999–20006,7901006
2000–016,7661014
2001–026,7491040
2002–036,764959
2003–04(24)6,715932


(23) Consistent with Spending Review 2004 figures, published in Table 3 of the Benefit Expenditure Tables on the DWP website.
(24) Estimated outturn figures provided for 2003–04
Source:
Departmental Accounts, various years, and Spending Review 2004 estimates.


Industrial Injuries Benefits

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women have been awarded industrial injuries benefits as a result of contracting asbestos-related diseases in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [190258]

Jane Kennedy: The available information on the number of men and women awarded industrial injures benefits as a result of contracting asbestos-related diseases is in the table.
 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 910W
 

Number of men and women awarded industrial injuries benefits as a result of contracting asbestos-related diseases

MenWomen
19941,17525
19951,28540
19961,29520
19971,04020
19981,10535
19991,24535
20001,35530
20011,47550
20021,86575
2003 (25)2,145100


(25) Provisional data
Note:
Figures are first diagnosed assessments and are a 100 per cent. count rounded to the nearest 5 to ensure anonymity.


Job Vacancies (York)

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many unfilled job vacancies there are at York Jobcentre; and how many there were at the same date in each year since 1996. [191219]

Jane Kennedy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, David Anderson. He will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from David Anderson to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 21 October 2004:


Unfilled vacancies recorded at York Jobcentre between1996 and 2000

Number
1996960
19971,020
19981,430
19991,120
20001,390



Source:
NOMIS National Statistics.



 
21 Oct 2004 : Column 911W
 

Unfilled vacancies recorded at the Jobcentre Plus office after 2001

Number
20012,750
20023,620
20034,300
20045,140



Source:
DWP Vacancy Database, Management Information.


Pathways to Work Pilots

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the progress of the Pathways to Work pilots. [192153]

Jane Kennedy [holding answer 20 October 2004]: I refer my hon. Friend to the oral answer my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State gave my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, North-West (Mr. Best) on 11 October 2004, Official Report, columns 1–5.


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