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Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the effect on projected expenditure for the basic state pay as you go pension if all those currently contracted out from the state scheme were to return for the next (a) 10, (b) 20, (c) 30, (d) 40 and (e) 50 years. [9947]
Mr. Timms
[holding answer 5 July 2005]: While there would be an impact on future state pension expenditure if those currently contracted out were to contract back
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in, it would be on the state second pension and not the basic state pension. The effect of such a move is shown in the table.
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the likely effect of the proposed closure of the social security office in Aberystwyth upon delivery of his Department's services; and if he will make a statement; [10338]
(2) what timetable has been set for the proposed closure of the social security office in Aberystwyth. [10342]
Margaret Hodge:
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
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Letter from Lesley Strathie to Mr. Mark Williams, dated 7 July 2005:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning the proposed closure of Aberystwyth Social Security Office. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
I know that David Anderson, the former Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, wrote to you on 11 May, about our proposed changes to service delivery in Aberystwyth. In his letter David set out in detail the background to these changes and the benefits that the new integrated Jobcentre Plus service would bring to our customers.
We have considered the effects on service delivery and expect that through the better use of IT and telephony we will be making our services more accessible than ever. The new integrated service will be delivered from the site of the current Jobcentre, and the enhanced Personal Adviser service for customers on Incapacity Benefit and Income Support, will enable us to increase the help we offer to some of our most disadvantaged customers.
In terms of timescales, we currently plan to introduce the new service in Aberystwyth by the end of this year. At this point, although the Social Security Office will close to the public, we will continue to process benefits at this site until the work is eventually transferred to our Benefit Processing Centre in Llanelli.
We have not set a date for the closure of the Social Security Office as detailed planning for the transfer of Benefit Processing work is still continuing. However, nationally, we aim to complete the migration of this work to our network of Processing Centres by March 2008 and as local timescales become known, I have asked Pam Sutton, the Jobcentre Plus District Manager for West Wales, to ensure that you are kept fully informed.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether approaches have been made to the (a) Pensions Protection Fund and (b) Financial Assistance Scheme in respect of former Training and Enterprise Council pension schemes; [8749]
(2) whether applications have been made to the (a) Pensions Protection Fund and (b) Financial Assistance Scheme in respect of any former Training and Enterprise Council pension schemes. [9323]