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28 Feb 2005 : Column 910W—continued
Benefits
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioner households received (a) free TV licences, (b) winter fuel payment, (c) pension credit and (d) council tax benefit in (i) Lancashire and (ii)Chorley in 2003–04. [217594]
Malcolm Wicks: TV Licensing, which administers free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, is not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over with entitlement to the winter fuel payment in 2003–04 was 63,590 in Lancashire and 5,065 in the Chorley constituency. These households would be eligible for free TV licences.
Information on the number of households in Lancashire and Chorley that received a winter fuel payment in 2003–04 is in the Library.
The most recent numbers of households and individuals receiving pension credit in Lancashire and Chorley are set out in the following table:
| Households | Individuals | |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 54,275 | 66,270 |
| Chorley | 3,920 | 4,795 |
Notes:
1.Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
2.Pension credit—individuals comprise claimants and partners and may contain a small number of partners aged under 60.
3.Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS directory.
4.The Pension credit figures are for December 2004.
5.Council tax benefit (CTB) data for pensioners can only be taken from an annual 1 per cent. sample. To provide these statistics at a lower than regional level would be subject to a high degree of sampling variation. Therefore county level figures for Lancashire are not available.
6.Parliamentary constituency level statistics are not available for CTB, therefore Chorley data cannot be supplied.
Source:
IAD Information Centre.
The information on council tax benefit (CTB) is not available in the format requested.
Mr. Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Bridgewater constituency were in receipt of means-tested benefits in (a) 1997 and (b) 2004. [217344]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available.
Income-related benefits include income support, housing benefit and council tax benefit and jobseekers allowance (income based). Housing benefit and council tax benefit figures are not available at constituency level.
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Income support, jobseekers allowance (income based) and pension credit (from October 2003) data are available by parliamentary constituency as shown in the following table.
| IS/JSA(IB)/PC(GC) beneficiaries aged 60 and over | Bridgewater parliamentary constituency |
|---|---|
| May1997 | 3.1 |
| August 2004 | 3.5 |
Notes:
1.Figures are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. samples and subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2.IS/JSA(IB) figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3.Pension credit is guarantee credit only.
4.Beneficiaries are all claimants and partners aged 60 or over. This includes claimants aged under 60 where there is a partner aged 60 or over.
New Deal
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost is of a job obtained through the new deal since it commenced. [214847]
Jane Kennedy: The average cost of helping an individual into work through new deal is £3,258.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what role the new deal is playing in north-east Wales in progress towards his targets for full employment. [218083]
Jane Kennedy: The new deal has played a vital role in achieving one of the highest employment rates on record. Nearly 9,000 people have been helped into work through the new deal in north-east Wales, including more than 1,500 in Wrexham.
The employment rate in north-east Wales has risen by more than 6 percentage points since 1997 and by over 8percentage points to nearly 77 per cent. in my hon. Friend's constituency.
Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people living in the Greater London area have participated in the new deal for disabled people. [218204]
Jane Kennedy:
The available information is that a total of 8,940 people in the London Jobcentre Plus Region have started the new deal for disabled people since the start of the programme in July 2001.
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Pensions
Mr. John Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the financial assistance that will be available to people who have been affected by the wind-up of their pension scheme. [218375]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer to the written ministerial statement on the Financial Assistance Scheme, I gave on 22 February 2005, Official Report, column 16WS.
John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension service surgeries have been (a) cancelled and (b) earmarked for cancellation in Scotland as part of his Department's efficiency programme. [217080]
Malcolm Wicks: No local service information points, previously termed surgeries, have been cancelled nor are there any current plans to cancel local service information points as a direct result of the Department's efficiency programme.
At a local level, information points are subject to constant evaluation to ensure their viability and effectiveness. This means that information points may be withdrawn or be relocated depending on changing demands in the locality. The fact that an information point is useful today does not mean that it always will be. This is not new, is not related to the efficiency challenge and will continue to be a feature of the Pension Service local service operations.
The Pension Service will continue to meet the needs of customers by providing a wider range of different service offerings within information points (either on our own or in conjunction with our partners) supported by the telephony service offered by our pension centres and the face to face service offered by local service and partners.
Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many women received a state pension on the basis of their own contributions in (a) 1997 and (b) each year since 2001, broken down by region and county; how many of these pensions were (i) 50 per cent. or less, (ii) 75 per cent. or less and (iii) 75 per cent. or more of the basic pension rate. [216218]
Malcolm Wicks: The available information is set out in the tables. Information prior to 1999 cannot be broken down by region or county.
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1.Numbers are taken from a five per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2.Numbers are rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands.
3.Totals may not sum due to rounding.
4.Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
5.Numbers also refer to women who are receiving a basic state pension based on their own contribution record which is increased by using the contribution record of their husband or former husband. Numbers do not include women entitled to a basic state pension based on their own record which is then increased when they meet the conditions for a category D pension.
6.Category A basic state pension rates:
March 2000—£66.75;
March 2001—£67.50;
March 2002—72.50; March 2003—75.50; and
March 2004—£77.45.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample as at 31 March for the years shown
28 Feb 2005 : Column 918W
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