| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Jul 2005 : Column 1819W—continued
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will list the countries to which incapacity benefit claimants may move and continue to receive their benefit; and in which countries the benefit continues to be index-linked; [8994]
(2) how many incapacity benefit recipients live outside the UK in a country where they can receive (a) index-linked benefit entitlement and (b) non index-linked benefit entitlement. [8995]
Mrs. McGuire: As at February 2005 there were 9,800 recipients of incapacity benefit (IB) and severe disablement allowance (SDA) living outside the UK. Information on their countries of residence is not available.
IB is uprated in all countries where it can be paid. It is payable to recipients living in European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) countries and Switzerland under the European Community's social security regulations. It is also payable under bilateral social security agreements to recipients who live in the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands or in one of the countries in the following list:
Non-EU/EEA countries where incapacity benefit is payable under bi-lateral agreements
Medical Examination Centres
Roger Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to close medical examination centres; and if he will make a statement. [8181]
Mrs. McGuire:
Following the award of a new medical services contract, the Department and Atos Origin are currently discussing a range of proposals, including an estates strategy that will both improve service standards
20 Jul 2005 : Column 1820W
and secure investment in other areas. Further information will be made available once these discussions have been concluded.
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list medical examination centres in the UK. [10078]
Mrs. McGuire: A list of all the existing medical examination centres in the UK has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria have been used in deciding the programme of closures of medical examination centres. [7515]
Mrs. McGuire: Following the award of a new medical services contract, the Department and Atos Origin are currently discussing a range of proposals, including an estates strategy that will both improve service standards and secure investment in other areas. Further information will be made available once these discussions have been concluded.
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of closure of the medical examination centre in Bolton on the residents of Bolton South East constituency; [7564]
(2) what saving will be obtained by closure of the Bolton Medical Examination Centre; [7565]
(3) how many redundancies will arise from the closure of the Bolton Medical Examination Centre; [7566]
(4) where those living in the Bolton South East constituency will be sent by his Department for medical examinations following the closure of the Bolton Medical Examination Centre; [7567]
(5) when the decision was made to close the Medical Examination Centre in Bolton; [7569]
(6) which (a) organisations and (b) individuals were consulted about the decision to close the Medical Examination Centre in Bolton; [7570]
(7) how many people from the Bolton South East parliamentary constituency have been examined at the Bolton Medical Examination Centre in each year since 1997; and how many were examined elsewhere in each year. [7571]
Mrs. McGuire: Following the award of a new medical services contract, the Department and Atos Origin are currently discussing a range of proposals, including an estates strategy that will both improve service standards and secure investment in other areas. Further information will be made available once these discussions have been concluded.
Available information on the number of incapacity benefit customers from the Bolton South East constituency attending Bolton Medical Examination Centre and other Medical Examination Centres in each year from 1997 to 2005 is set out in the following table:
| Bolton | Others | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 189 | 29 |
| 1999 | 578 | 77 |
| 2000 | 1089 | 74 |
| 2001 | 1341 | 73 |
| 2002 | 1682 | 84 |
| 2003 | 1630 | 56 |
| 2004 | 1462 | 27 |
| 2005 | 686 | 10 |
Notes:
1. Atos Origin have only been able to provide information since 1 September 1998 when they were awarded the Contract.
2. The Others column relates to people who live in the BL1 and BL4 (Bolton South East constituency postcodes) who attended a different medical examination centre as it was more convenient for them to do so.
20 Jul 2005 : Column 1821W
National Insurance
Barbara Follett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment his Department has made of the merits of reducing the lower earnings limit to bring more low-paid workers into the National Insurance system. [12301]
Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 18 July 2005]: Currently the lower earning limit is £82 per week. There are around 1.7 million people with earnings below this level in the UK. Many of these people, particularly women, will benefit from credits or Home Responsibilities Protection that bring them into the National Insurance system.
At the Labour Party National Policy Forum held in July 2004, it was agreed with the trade unions that the Government would carry out a review of the lower earnings limit in determining access to benefits for low-paid workers.
This review is underway and will help inform the national pensions debate. Producing fairer outcomes for women and carers is one of the principles driving reform.
Newtown Office
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will reverse the decision to close his Department's office in Newtown, Powys; and if he will make a statement; [11949]
(2) what assessment he has made of the likely economic effect on Newtown, Powys, of the closure of his Department's facility in the town; and if he will make a statement. [11950]
Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, who will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Leslie Strathie to Mr. Lembit Öpik, dated 20 July 2005:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions concerning the closure of the Jobcentre Plus office in Newtown and the economic effect on the town. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Firstly, I must make it clear that there are no plans to close the Jobcentre Plus Office in Newtown. As David Anderson, the former Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus outlined in his letter to you of 31 March, it is the behind the scenes Benefit Processing work that will eventually transfer to our Processing Centre in Wrexham.
The centralisation of Benefit Processing, at a smaller number of larger sites, will play a crucial role in helping Jobcentre Plus to meet the Government's efficiency challenge and I know that Charles Morse, the District Manager for North West Wales and Powys wrote to you on 27 May detailing the timescales for the transfer of this work.
It is not envisaged that the transfer of Benefit Processing to Wrexham will have an adverse impact upon the wider local economy. Customers will continue to have access to the fully integrated Jobcentre Plus service at Afon House and, through our enhanced Personal Adviser service for customers on inactive benefits, we will continue to target our help at some of our most disadvantaged customers.
Nevertheless, I recognise that the decision to centralise Benefit Processing has led to surplus staff. Unfortunately, it has not proved possible to identify suitable redeployment opportunities for all those staff involved. Consequently, it has been necessary to run a Voluntary Early Release Scheme and in the coming months, as we complete the transfer of work to Wrexham, a number of staff will be leaving Jobcentre Plus under the terms of our scheme.
While the loss of experienced staff is always regrettable, the challenges that Jobcentre Plus has taken up are about providing a better and more efficient service to our customers, and there is no doubt in my mind that the decision to centralise Benefit Processing is the correct one. Charles Morse will continue to keep you fully informed as our plans take shape.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |