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4 Nov 2004 : Column 421W—continued
Child Support Scheme
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place the latest New Child Support Scheme Progress Report in the Library. [193666]
Mr. Pond: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 28 October 2004, Official Report, columns 55–57WS.
Citibank
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether there is an agreed maximum time that Citibank may take to process (a) State Pension payments and (b) other benefit payments; on how many occasions the agreed time has been breached; and if he will make a statement; [192016]
(2) how many outstanding (a) state pension payments and (b) other benefits are awaiting processing by Citibank; [192017]
(3) how long on average Citibank are taking to process (a) pension payments and (b) other benefits; and what the average length of time taken was in the five years prior to the awarding of the contract for payments to Citibank. [192021]
Mr. Pond: The Department of Work and Pensions has a contract with Post Office Ltd. (POL) for the provision of the Post Office card account at post offices. POL in turn has a contract with Electronic Data Services (EDS) and Citibank for the provision of the banking element to these services. In line with all other major banks, Citibank receive payment data on the second day of an overall three day BACS cycle and have the payment information credited to Post Office card accounts by 9.00 am on day three of the cycle. There have been no occasions identified when Citibank have breached this timescale. The only State Pension payments and other benefits awaiting processing by Citibank are those within the BACS cycle. The three-day BACS timescale for Citibank to process payments has been in operation in the five years prior to the awarding of the contract for the Post Office card account.
We are unable to make any comment on accounts run by Citibank other than the Post Office card account.
4 Nov 2004 : Column 422W
Correspondence
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Chief Executive of the Pension Service expects to reply to the letters to him of 18 May and 3 August from the hon. Member for Basingstoke on behalf of his constituent, Mrs. F. Hughes. [193080]
Malcolm Wicks: A reply was sent to the hon. Member on 27 October 2004.
Council Tax Benefit
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pensioners (a) were in receipt of council tax benefit in 1997 and (b) are in receipt of council tax benefit. [190616]
Mr. Pond: The information is in the table.
Notes:
1. Caseload figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample and subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place and caseloads to the nearest thousand.
3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any Second Adult Rebate cases.
4. "Beneficiaries" are all claimants and partners aged 60 or over.
5. No figures on the number of recipients of council tax benefit have been produced since the introduction of pension credit.
Sources:
1. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1997 and 2003.
2. Office for National Statistics mid year population estimates 1997 and 2003.
Jobcentres (North Wales)
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many clients attended each Jobcentre not due for closure in North Wales in each of the last 10 years. [196207]
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. Chris Ruane, dated 4 November 2004:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning how many clients attended each Jobcentre not due for closure in North Wales in each of the last ten years. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
I am unable to state the exact number of callers to each of the Jobcentres staying open covering the last ten years. Information showing the monthly average number of clients registering for Jobseeker's Allowance in each of the last ten years ending in
- August is shown in the table attached. Separate records are not available for some of the very small sites, and their figures are included in their parent office within the same chain of
- management. Each of these customers is expected to attend the Jobcentre every fortnight for an interview about their job search activity and they represent most of the traffic into the offices.
Work is currently in progress to develop options for Flexible Service Delivery in the locations where offices will close. This work will, of course, be undertaken in partnership with MPs, Assembly Members and other relevant stakeholders to tailor these options to meet the needs of the local community.
Pension Credit
Mr. Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of how much money available for pension credit has not been claimed because of non-take up by pensioners. [195813]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available. The most recent available estimates of the amount of money unclaimed by pensioners entitled to the main income-related benefits relate to the financial year 2001–2002 and cover the Minimum Income Guarantee (which Pension Credit replaced in 2003), Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. These estimates are published in the Department's report: "Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-up in 2001–2002", a copy of which is in the Library.
Pensioners
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of pensioners receive an income from their own investments or savings. [195252]
Malcolm Wicks: The latest available information shows that, in 2002–03, 86 per cent. of pensioner units in Great Britain were in receipt of some private income on top of state benefits (92 per cent. of pensioner couples and 82 per cent. of single pensioners.)
66 per cent. of all pensioner units had some private pension (occupational and/or personal pension) income, of which, 61 per cent. of all pensioner units received an occupational pension income and 9 per cent. some income from a personal pension.
72 per cent. of all pensioner units had income from private investments. However, half of all pensioner units receiving investment income receive less than £4 per week, and only a small number of pensioners receive large amounts of income from investments (roughly 5 per cent. have investment income of over £150 per week).
1. The FRS, and hence the Pensioners' Incomes Series 2002–03, does not reflect the situation of roughly 280,000 pensioners in care homes.
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham received (a) winter fuel payments and (b) free television licences in 2003. [194418]
Malcolm Wicks: In winter 2003–04 there were 20,500 households in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham which received the winter fuel payment.
The number of households with at least one resident aged 75 or over in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham is 9,165. Each of these households would therefore be eligible for a free TV licence.
2. Any residence found to have four or more occupants is not included in these figures as it is assumed to be a residential care or nursing home.
3. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) men and (b) women living in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham are in receipt of the state retirement pension; what percentage of the borough's population these figures represent; and how many pensioners living in the borough are in receipt of the additional payments made to pensioners over the age of 80 years. [194419]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of men and women living in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham who were in receipt of state pension as at 31 March 2004 and the percentage of the borough's population these figures represent is in the table:
| Recipients of state pension in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham | Percentage of the London borough of Barking and Dagenham population | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 8,500 | 10.6 |
| Women | 15,600 | 18.1 |
| All | 24,100 | 14.5 |
Notes:
1. State pension recipient figures relate to people getting any state pension (basic or additional) or graduated retirement benefit who reside in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham.
2. Population figures are taken from mid-2003.
3. The population data source is the Office for National Statistics.
4. Figures for state pension recipients and age addition are from a 5 per cent. sample and are rounded to the nearest hundred.
5. The additional winter fuel payment figure represents a 100 per cent. sample rounded to the nearest five.
6. Figures for state pension recipients and age addition payments are obtained from a 5 per cent. sample of cases and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variation.
7. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant Office for National Statistics postcode directory.
Source:
1. IAD information centre, 5 per cent. sample for state pension and age addition figures.
2. IAD information centre, 100 per cent. sample for winter fuel payment figure.
As at 31 March 2004, there were 6,800 state pension recipients in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham over the age of 80 in receipt of the age addition to state pension.
4 Nov 2004 : Column 426W
In winter 2003–04, the total number of pensioners in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham who received the additional winter fuel payment for those aged 80 or over was 5,965.
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