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12 Dec 2005 : Column 1775W—continued
Jobseekers Allowance (Musicians)
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the amount of Jobseeker's Allowance claimed by self-employed musicians since 1998. [36230]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.
New Deal
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many long-term unemployed people have been trained in each month of the new deal 50+ scheme in the Canterbury travel-to-work area. [34137]
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Margaret Hodge [holding answer 8 December 2005]: Information on the number of people being trained through new deal 50 plus in the Canterbury travel to work area is not available. new deal 50 plus is a voluntary programme designed to help people aged 50 or over who have been claiming benefits for six months or more back into the labour market. It is one element of the Government's strategy to address age discrimination and improve the employment prospects of older people. In the constituency of Canterbury, new deal 50 plus has helped around 200 people into work up to August 2005.
Although the new deal 50 plus programme does not contain a training element, personal advisers can refer people on the programme who are interested in training to opportunities offered either by other Jobcentre Plus programmes, or those offered by colleges and other organisations.
Once in work, new deal 50 plus customers can claim a training grant of up to £1,200 for training and development related to the job, and a further £300 for life-long learning.
Pension Credit
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claiming pension credit have (a) enrolled with Jobcentre Plus services, (b) joined welfare-to work programmes and (c) moved into work with Jobcentre Plus support in (i) the UK, (ii)England, (iii) Wales and (iv) Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [34740]
Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 12 December 2005:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question regarding how many people claiming pension credit have enrolled with Jobcentre Plus services, joined welfare-to work programmes and moved into work with Jobcentre Plus support in the UK, England, Wales and Scotland and if he will make a statement. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Unfortunately, I am not able to provide the information you have requested. We are, however, working to identify Pension Credit recipients as a separate customer group in the future.
Pensions
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the total costs in 2004–05 of (a) basic state pension, (b) second state pension and (c) other benefits paid to UK pensioners in other countries of the European Union. [34788]
Mr. Timms: The available information is in the following tables.
| Benefit | Total benefit |
|---|---|
| Basic state pension | 12,042,200 |
| Additional state pension | 77,700 |
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| Benefit | Total benefit |
|---|---|
| Winter fuel payments | 4,535,000 |
Notes:
1.The figures are based on data from the 5 per cent. samples, but they have been adjusted to make their totals consistent with the WPLS data. These figures are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.
2.The data are taken from an extract of PSCS as at 31 March 2005.
3.In certain cases, caseload figures for certain countries are nil or negligible, hence the expenditure has also been suppressed.
4.Certain caseloads produced from the 5 per cent. sample data are under 500 and are subject to a high degree of sampling error, hence the associated expenditure values should only be used as a guide to the current situation.
5.The winter fuel payment estimate includes Gibraltar, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
6.State pension information is recorded on a weekly basis.
7.Total weekly benefit figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred pounds.
Sources:
State Pension—DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data and 5 per cent. samples.
Winter Fuel Payments—DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. data
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of women aged between (a) 40 and 44, (b) 45 and 49, (c) 50 and 54 and (d) 55 and 59 years would receive less than a full basic state pension if from 2006–07 until their retirement it was assumed they made full national insurance contributions. [35374]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is shown in the following table:
Notes:
1.Estimates are based on the Lifetime Labour Market Database2, 2003–04. This is a 1 per cent. sample of the national insurance records.
2.It has been assumed that individuals accrue entitlement to basic state pension between 2003–04 and 2006–07 at the same rate at which they have accrued basic state pension over their working life to date.
3.Every year between 2006–07 and state pension age is treated as a qualifying year for basic state pension.
4.Women who have interacted with the national insurance recording system at some point during their working lives, but who are not estimated to be resident in the UK in 2003–04, are excluded.
5.It is assumed that all women who appear on the Lifetime Labour Market Database 2 in 2003–04 and who are estimated to be resident in the UK, survive until state pension age, and that there is no migration.
6.Figures are given as a proportion of the total number of women in each age group estimated by the Government Actuary's Department to be resident in the UK in 2004.
7.Entitlement to basic state pension is based on women's own national insurance records. Entitlement that may be derived from husband's records is not available.
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Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of paying a full basic state pension, regardless of contributions, to all pensioners aged 75 years or over in (a) 2005–06, (b) 2010, (c) 2020, (d) 2030, (e) 2040 and (f) 2050. [35375]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is in the following table.
| Gross cost | Net of IRBs | Net of IRBs and tax | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 |
| 2010 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.5 |
| 2020 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 |
| 2030 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 1.6 |
| 2040 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| 2050 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
Notes:
1.The policy change is assumed to take place from 2006–07.
2.Gross costs are estimated by the Government Actuary's Department and are consistent with the pre-Budget report 2005 assumptions.
3.Savings in income-related benefit (IRBs) such as pension credit and housing benefit, and potential increases in tax revenue, are estimated using the DWP policy simulation model and April 2006 benefit rates. Savings are assumed to be a constant proportion of the estimated gross cost over time.
4.It is assumed that the rate of basic state pension is uprated in line with prices growth (plus underpin) from year to year.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of men in the UK who will reach the age of 65 years in (a) 2006, (b) 2017 and (c) 2027 will have national insurance contributions of (i) 44 years or more, (ii) 41 to 43 years, (iii) 36 to 40 years, (iv) 31 to 35 years, (v) 26 to 30 years, (vi) 21 to 25 years, (vii) 16 to 20 years, (viii) 11 to 15 years, (ix) 6 to 10 years, (x) 1 to 5 years and (xi) 0 years. [35981]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is in the following table:
(39)Nil or negligible.
(40)High degree of sampling error.
Notes:
1.Figures are shown to the nearest thousand and may not add up due to rounding.
2.Figures exclude people who have interacted with the National Insurance Recording System at some point during their working lives but who are not estimated to be resident in the UK in 2003–04.
3.Figures are based on the Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, which is a 1 per cent. sample of the national insurance records. It is not possible to use this historical information to predict numbers of qualifying years for basic state pension with sufficient accuracy to answer this question for future years as requested. The model used by the Government Actuary's Department to forecast entitlement to basic state pension is based on aggregate level data, that does not permit accurate distributional analysis in the manner requested.
4.Figures refer to the number of qualifying years accrued by men at state pension age in the 2004–05 tax year. For the purpose of this table a year of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) is treated as a qualifying year. (Although strictly HRP acts to reduce the requisite number of qualifying years needed for a full basic state pension (BSP), therefore men and women will not always require 44 and 39 qualifying years respectively).
5.For the reason noted in 2, and others, this table should not be used to infer entitlement to BSP. For example:
The first and second contribution conditions must be satisfied to qualify for BSP. The first contribution condition is satisfied through paid contributions from earnings or by paying voluntary Class 3 contributions during one tax year (either must be equivalent to 52 weeks at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)). Having satisfied this first contribution condition, a person must acquire a further 9 (for women) or 10 (for men) qualifying years through a combination of contributions and Nl credits. This second contribution condition is also known as the 25 per cent. de minimis rule.
The table does not represent any entitlement to BSP that may be derived from a partner's contribution record.
12 Dec 2005 : Column 1779W
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of women in the UK who will reach the age of (a) 60 in (i) 2006 and (ii) 2017 and (b) 65 in 2027 respectively will have national insurance contributions of (A) 44 years or more, (B) 41 to 43 years, (C) 36 to 40 years, (D) 31 to 35 years, (E) 26 to 30 years, (F) 21 to 25 years, (G) 16 to 20 years, (H) 11 to 15 years, (I) 6 to 10 years, (J) 1 to 5 years and (K) 0 years. [35982]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information that is available is in the following table:
'—' nil or negligible
(41)High degree of sampling error
Notes:
1.Figures are shown to the nearest thousand and may not add up due to rounding.
2.Figures exclude people who have interacted with the National Insurance Recording System at some point during their working lives, but who are not estimated to be resident in the UK in 2003–04.
3.Figures are based on the Lifetime Labour Market Database 2, which is a 1 per cent. sample of the national insurance records. It is not possible to use this historical information to predict numbers of qualifying years for basic state pension with sufficient accuracy to answer this question for future years as requested. The model used by the Government Actuary's Department to forecast entitlement to basic state pension is based on aggregate level data, that does not permit accurate distributional analysis in the manner requested.
4.Figures refer to the number of qualifying years accrued by women at State pension age in the 2004–05 tax year. For the purpose of this table a year of Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP) is treated as a qualifying year. (Although strictly HRP acts to reduce the requisite number of qualifying years needed for a full basic state pension (BSP), therefore men and women will not always require 44 and 39 qualifying years respectively).
5.For the reason noted in 2, and others, this table should not be used to infer entitlement to BSP. For example:
The first and second contribution conditions must be satisfied to qualify for BSP. The first contribution condition is satisfied through paid contributions from earnings or by paying voluntary class 3 contributions during one tax year (either must be equivalent to 52 weeks at the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL)). Having satisfied this first contribution condition, a person must acquire a further nine (for women) or 10 (for men) qualifying years through a combination of contributions and NI credits. This second contribution condition is also known as the 25 per cent. de minimis rule.
The table does not represent any entitlement to BSP that may be derived from a partner's contribution record.
12 Dec 2005 : Column 1780W
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