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21 Dec 2004 : Column 1738W—continued
Pensions
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of how many people living in England and Wales are in a private pension scheme. [206191]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of people currently contributing to a private pension scheme in England is 12.5 million. The number of people currently contributing to a private pension scheme in Wales is 650,000.
1. Those people "contributing" are members of a private pension scheme and either themselves or their employer are currently contributing to the scheme.
2. All figures are estimates and are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). 2003–04 is the latest year for which data is available.
5. The figures include those contributing to either an occupational pension or a personal pension. Where individuals contribute to both an occupational and a personal pension scheme they have been counted only once.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median income of (a) a single pensioner and (b) a pensioner couple in (i) gross and (ii) net terms was on the latest date for which figures are available, broken down by (A) income from state benefits, (B) income from occupational pensions, eEarnings and (E) other income. [206388]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is in the following tables:
| Singles | Couples | |
|---|---|---|
| Net income (AHC) | 122 | 242 |
| Gross income | 168 | 291 |
As many pensioners are not in receipt of these different sources of income, the median value is often zero. The total median income can not be broken down by income sources so that the components sum to the total.
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The following table provides the median incomes from different sources for those pensioners in receipt.
Notes:
1. Source Table A, B and C: The Pensioners' Incomes Series 2002–03 which is based on data from the Family Resources Survey.
2. Incomes are presented as pounds per week. Figures for incomes are given in 2002–03 prices and rounded to the nearest pound.
3. The Pensioners'; Incomes Series analysis is for Pensioner Units, which are either:
Single pensioners (i.e. people over state pension age) or pensioner couples (i.e. married or cohabiting pensioners where the man is over state pension age.)
4. AHC stands for "after housing costs".
5. State benefits are taken as the sum of incomes from the state pension, income related benefits and disability benefits.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates are neither making a private pension contribution nor contribution to a state second pension, broken down by numbers of (a) self-employed people, (b) employees earning less than the lower earnings limit, (c) unemployed people and (d) non-contributors. [206420]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 6 November 2004, Official Report, column 426W.
Poverty (Northern Ireland)
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when poverty statistics prepared by his Department last included the relevant information for Northern Ireland. [206557]
Mr. Pond: Information for Northern Ireland was last included in "Households Below Average Income—An analysis of the income distribution for 1994–95 to 2002–03" (HBAI) published in March 2004.
Copies are available in the Library.
Public Sector Pensions
Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether occupational pensions for public sector workers, including guaranteed minimum pensions, built up before 6 April 1988, will have all the increases needed to keep up with inflation added directly to pensioners' additional state pension. [206597]
Malcolm Wicks:
Occupational pension schemes which "contracted out" their members from the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) up to April 1997 are required to pay those members a guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) once state pension age is reached. For GMPs accrued before 6 April 1988, there
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is no requirement for the occupational pension scheme to index the GMP to protect its value against inflation. Such protection is generally provided through SERPS. However, in certain cases, for example where state pension is frozen for an overseas pensioner, inflation proofing will not be provided. In such cases, public service pension schemes pay indexation increases on the whole occupational pension under scheme rules, even though this is not required by the contracting-out legislation.
Return to Work
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many previously long-term sick people have returned to work during the last 12 months. [206187]
Maria Eagle: This information is not available, however based on incapacity benefits administration data and the "Destination of Benefit Leavers Summary Report" published in February 2004, it is estimated that approximately 300,000 people leave incapacity benefits for work in each year.
A copy of the report is available in the Library.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on recent action by Jobcentre Plus to enhance incentives to return to work after receipt of benefits. [204654]
Mr. Pond: We recognise that people on benefits face a variety of barriers on returning to work and have already introduced a range of measures designed to help people overcome them.
On the 25 October 2004, we introduced an improved job grant for customers receiving jobseekers allowance aged 25 and over, and all lone parents and people of any age receiving income support or an incapacity benefit who are moving into full time work.
For lone parents the job grant replaces the lone parent's benefit run-on. For the first time access has also been extended to partners of eligible benefit recipients who take up work of 24 hours a week or more which takes the household off benefit.
The improvements to the job grant include an increase to £250 in the amount payable to those with children with other customers receiving £100. In addition, the qualifying period of benefit receipt has been reduced from 52 weeks to 26 weeks.
Job grant can be paid in addition to other work incentives providing the qualifying conditions are met. housing benefit and council tax benefit extended payments, mortgage interest run-on, the adviser discretion fund, and tax credits, are all designed to encourage customers by providing a smooth transition from benefits into work.
In addition we are piloting other initiatives in particular areas, for example the lone parent in work credit of 40 a week for the first 52 weeks in full time work was extended to a further nine jobcentre plus districts from 25 October.
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Senior Women
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women there are in senior positions in his Department. [205799]
Maria Eagle: On 30 September 2004 there were 81 women out of 240 in the Senior Civil Service Grades within DWP.
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