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Retirement Age
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) set retirement age applying to all or most personnel and (b) maximum age beyond which applications for employment will not be considered is in (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies. [186373]
Maria Eagle: The current retirement age for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is 65. Staff can retire at the minimum civil service pension age of 60 if they so wish but can opt to stay until 65. At present DWP also has interim arrangements in place to enable staff who are approaching 65 the opportunity to stay beyond that if they so wish. These arrangements are for grades AA—G6. They do not apply to the senior civil service (SCS) as they are governed by Cabinet Office and have a retirement age of 60. Any changes to the SCS position would have to be implemented by the Cabinet Office and applied to the whole of the SCS within the civil service. These interim arrangements are in place until 31 March 2005 and were developed within the wider context of the Pensions Green Paper and impending age legislation.
As the current retirement age for DWP is 65 we do not recruit individuals over the age of 64 years and 6 months.
These arrangements apply across DWP and its delivery businesses but in the Health and Safety Executive the retirement age for staff differs for different grades. The retirement age varies from 60–62 and depends on length of service when that age is reached.
Stakeholder Pensions
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have taken out stakeholder pensions, broken down by county. [191084]
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Malcolm Wicks: Figures from the Association of British Insurers state that 2,042,864 stakeholder pensions have been sold up to the end of June 2004.
The official distributional breakdown of sales for the 2003–04 tax year will not be available until July 2005.
Such information as is available is in the following table.
Notes:
1. Table compiled from Inland Revenue Statistics (table 7.12)
2. Components may not sum to total due to rounding (figures rounded to the nearest 10,000)
3. The data are derived from a sample of annual returns of information submitted to the Inland Revenue by stakeholder pension providers
4. Tables can be accessed by the public via www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/stats/pensions/menu-by-year.htm#3
Terminal Illness (Benefit Payments)
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that cancer patients are offered specialist benefits advice at diagnosis; and if he will make a statement; [198208]
(2) how many cancer sufferers who have subsequently died from their illness did not receive (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance in each of the last five years for which figures are available; [198209]
(3) how many cancer sufferers without terminal diagnosis are not receiving (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance; [198210]
(4) if he will make a statement on the (a) operation and (b) take-up of the special rules gateway governing eligibility for higher rates of (i) disability living allowance and (ii) attendance allowance for patients with terminal illness; [198211]
(5) what steps his Department is taking to publicise the entitlement link between (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance and (i) carer's allowance and (ii) income support; [198212]
(6) if he will make it his Department's policy (a) to waive the three to six month qualifying period for cancer patients claiming disability living allowance and
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attendance allowance and (b) to permit hospital in-patients to keep their (i) disability living allowance and (ii) attendance allowance for 52 weeks; [198213]
(7) if he will revoke the 28-day linking rule for (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance claimants who are hospitalised; and if he will change the definition of terminal illness from six to 12 months. [198214]
Maria Eagle: The Department has special arrangements that recognise the particular difficulties faced by people who have only a short time to live, whether due to cancer or any other progressive disease. People in these circumstances are awarded attendance allowance or the highest rate of the care component of disability living allowance automatically without having to satisfy a qualifying period, and without having to complete a claim form to demonstrate their care needs. These arrangements ensure that claims are dealt with quickly and sensitively.
In the year ending 31 May 2004 15,800 new claims were awarded under special rules and at the 31 may 2004 88,200 people were receiving either disability living allowance or attendance allowance under the Special Rules. On average it takes less than six days to make an award in these cases.
Advice about benefits is widely available from a range of sources including social security or Jobcentre Plus offices, post offices, doctors' surgeries and other advice agencies to ensure that people who are disabled can make informed decisions about whether or not to claim disability benefits.
Additionally, leaflets explaining the links between disability benefits and carers allowance and income support are sent directly to customers when they are notified about their award of benefit.
Officials have met with Macmillan cancer relief to discuss their report and will be holding further discussions with them about the scope for measures that will help people with cancer to receive benefits advice at the earliest opportunity.
Information is not available on how many people with cancer who subsequently died from that illness did not receive disability living allowance or attendance allowance nor is information available as to how many people with cancer who do not have a terminal diagnosis are not receiving these benefits.
There are no plans to change the definition of terminal illness or the rules governing the payment of disability living allowance and attendance allowance to people in hospital.
Third Party Deduction Schemes
Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether he plans to extend the range of qualifying benefits for third party deductions schemes; and if he will make a statement; [198793]
(2) what representations he has received concerning the modernisation of the third party deductions schemes; and if he will make a statement. [198794]
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Mr. Pond: Third party deductions can be made from income support, jobseeker's allowance and pension credit where people are in specified arrears with their gas, electricity and water bills, and also where they are in arrears with their housing costs and court imposed fines. There are no current plans to extend the range of benefits from which these deductions can be made.
We have recently received representation from The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM) concerning the fuel elements of the third party deduction scheme and we will be meeting with them to discuss the issues raised.
Unemployment (Eltham)
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to reduce unemployment in the constituency of Eltham since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [197643]
Jane Kennedy: As a result of a combination of economic stability and our radical labour market policies, unemployment in Eltham has reduced by 45 per cent. since 1997 and now stands at 1,417, and long-term unemployment by 75 per cent. to stand at 200.
Our New Deal programmes administered by Jobcentre Plus have been a great success, helping 1,780 people in Eltham to find work. We are building on this success, opening up more opportunities for people to find work.
The development of Jobcentre Plus is building on the high quality service already provided by social security offices and Jobcentres by delivering a single, integrated service to all people of working age, with a clear focus on work.
In addition to the New Deal programmes, which are common to Jobcentre Plus, there have been ongoing activities specific to Eltham and the borough of Greenwich, to help local people in to work. Local initiatives have included jobs fairs, recruitment for local stores and employer open days.
Eltham also benefits from the Government's Welfare to Work agenda's 'Action Team initiative' that provides tailored support to disadvantaged customers within the community through an outreach advisory approach.
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