| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
22 May 2006 : Column 1486W—continued
Ministerial Cars (Fuel Costs)
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the fuel costs were for ministerial cars used by the Department in each of the last five years. [67006]
Mrs. McGuire: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 27 April 2006, Official Report, column1226W, by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Transport (Dr. Ladyman).
Pathways to Work
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals in (a) West Suffolk constituency and (b) the East of England are participating in the Pathways to Work programme. [72537]
Mrs. McGuire: Our successful Pathways to Work pilots have been acknowledged internationally as the best way of helping people on incapacity benefits back into work quickly. They have resulted in 21,400 Pathways job entries, including over 3,360 from voluntary customers.
West Suffolk constituency is currently not covered by the programme, but our Welfare Reform Green Paper, “A new deal for welfare: Empowering people to work”, sets out our plans to roll out the programme across the whole country by 2008.
Pathways to Work pilots were rolled out in Essex, part of the East of England region, in April 2004. There have been 31,180 starts on the Pathways to Work programme in Essex.
Pension Age
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the cost savings from raising the state pension age to (a) 66 years by 2030 and (b) 67 years by 2040; and if he will make a statement. [70292]
James Purnell: If state pension age was raised from 65 to 66 in 2030 the estimated net savings for that year would be £5 billion. If state pension age increased from 65 to 67 in 2040 the estimated net savings for that year would be £11 billion. Figures are quoted in 2006-07 prices, rounded to the nearest £100 million, and are based on current policy.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the annual savings from raising the women's pension age from 60 to 65 years are in each year from 2010 to 2030; and if he will make a statement. [70293]
James Purnell: The information is in the table.
| United Kingdom, 2006-07 prices | |
| Net savings in pensioner spending (£ billion) | |
| Notes: 1. All figures are given in 2006-07 prices and are based on current policy. 2. Figures are given in £billion, rounded to one decimal place. 3. The figures assume that an increase in the state retirement pension age for women would correspondingly increase the qualifying age for benefits such as pension credit, housing benefits and winter fuel payments. However, there would also be extra costs arising from working age benefits such as incapacity benefit, income support, jobseeker's allowance, bereavement benefits, and housing benefits. The net effect of these changes is shown in the table. 4. The figures cover expenditure on the bigger spending benefits only. Administrative costs, and any revenue effects, have not been considered. Source: The figures are based on DWP long-term projections of United Kingdom benefit spend consistent with the budget report 2006. |
Pension Credit
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners have received telephone calls since September 2003 from (a) the Pension Service and (b) another agency for which his Department is responsible inviting them to explore the possibility that they may be eligible for pension credit, broken down by parliamentary constituency. [64519]
James Purnell: The information is not available in the format requested.
During September 2003 and March 2006, a total of 738,000 calls were made by the Pension Service inviting customers to apply for pension credit.
Note:
Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what elements of (a) service charges and (b) management fees payable by pensioners living in leasehold flats are excluded for pension credit purposes. [68321]
James Purnell: The elements of service charges and management fees payable by pensioners living in leasehold flats that are excluded for pension credit purposes are charges for:
day-to-day living expenses, including in particular the provision of meals, laundry, leisure items, cleaning of rooms and windows (except the cleaning of communal areas or the exterior windows where the claimant or any member of their household is unable to clean them) and transport;
the acquisition of household equipment and the use of such items where the items will become the property of the claimant under an agreement with the landlord;
the provision of an emergency alarm system;
the provision of nursing care or personal care (including assistance at meal times or with personal appearance or hygiene);
general counselling or any other support services;
any services not specified which are not connected with the provision of adequate accommodation; and
charges that are eligible to be met from the claimant's housing benefit.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents in each electoral ward in Bassetlaw receive pension credit. [69802]
James Purnell: The most recent period for which figures are available are in the following table.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have been employed in all forms of the administration of pension credit, savings credit and guarantee credit in each year since 2001-02; and if he will make a statement. [70308]
James Purnell: The information is not available.
Staff employed in the Pension Service administer a range of entitlements, including state pension, over 80 pensions, graduated retirement pension, state earnings- related pension, state second pension, pension credit and winter fuel payments.
Pensions
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the number of females of pension age in the UK who will be in receipt of a full basic state pension in 2006-07; how many were so entitled in (a) 2004-05 and (b) 2005-06; and if he will make a statement. [70287]
James Purnell: The information is provided in the following table:
| Number of females of state pension age with a full basic state pension (million) | |
| Notes: 1. The figures include category B pension paid to widows based on husbands' contributions. 2. Figures are for Great Britain. 3. The full basic state pension as at April 2004 was £79.60 per week. The full basic state pension as at April 2005 was £82.05 per week and the full basic state pension as at April 2006 is £84.25 per week. 4. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000. Sources: 1. Figures for 2004-05 are derived from March 2005 five per cent. sample. 2. Figurers for March 2005-06 and 2006-07 are derived from the DWP micro- simulation model. |
Mr. Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of raising the addition to the basic state pension for those aged 80 years or over from 25p to (a) £2.50 per week, (b) £5 per week and (c) £10 per week, assuming no change in the thresholds for means-tested benefits. [70768]
James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table:
| Weekly rate of age addition | Gross annual cost (£ million) | Net annual cost (£ million) |
| Note: The costs: (a) are in 2006-07 price terms for a 2007-08 policy change and are rounded to the nearest £10 million; (b) have been estimated using the Government Actuary's Department Retirement Pension Model with income related benefit and tax offsets for net costs calculated using the DWP policy simulation model and; (c) are based on the assumption that the increased amounts are flat rate and payable in full to all eligible pensioners in GB and overseas. |
Perfluorooctane Sulphonate
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance the Health and Safety Executive has issued on the use of perfluorooctane sulphonate. [70659]
Mrs. McGuire: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in conjunction with the Surface Engineering Association has issued guidance on the use of perfluorooctane sulphonate in chromic acid plating tanks to prevent the formation of mist containing chromium (VI). This is important for occupational health, because chromium (VI) is an established human carcinogen. Presently no practical alternative mist suppressants are available. The guidance is available on HSE's website.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |