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Civil Servants (Pensions)
17. Mrs. McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total pension liabilities are of his Department and the agencies for which he is responsible; and if he will make a statement. [83314]
Mrs. McGuire: The pension liabilities of the Department for Work and Pensions and its agencies are not separately identifiable in The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme. This Scheme is an unfunded multi-employer defined benefit scheme and individual departments’ pension liabilities are not available.
The Cabinet
Office: Civil Superannuation Resource Accounts for 2004-05 gave the
total pension liability for The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme
at 31 March 2005 as £84.1 billion. However, a change in the
discount rate used for calculating pension liabilities
that took effect from 1 April 2005 has increased the
liabilities of The Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme to
£94.7
billion.
Pension Reform
18. Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on progress with his plans for pension reform. [83315]
James Purnell: There is a broad consensus around the basic principles of pension reform as proposed in the White Paper. But we are continuing a programme of active engagement with all stakeholders to cement this consensus. That programme will include Parliament, representatives of employers, consumers and the financial sector as well as the general public.
This is in addition to the formal consultation on the White Paper, which closes on September 11(th). We will be publishing a summary of responses once the consultation has closed. We intend to bring forward legislation on Pensions Reform during the second session of this Parliament, subject to approval by the Parliamentary Business Managers.
20. Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely impact of pensions reform on (a) business and (b) future pensioners. [83317]
James Purnell: The White Paper Security in retirement: towards a new pensions system and the accompanying regulatory impact assessment set out the likely impact of our pension reform proposals on key groups including businesses and future pensioners.
New Deal (Leicester)
19. Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the progress of the New Deal in Leicester. [83316]
Mr. Jim Murphy: New deal continues to be a success, with more than 9,000 people helped into work through the new deal programme in Leicester, including 2,750 people in my hon. Friend’s constituency.
"Talk on Trial: Job interviews, language and ethnicity"
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of commissioning the research report entitled “Talk on Trial: Job interviews, language and ethnicity”; and if he will make a statement. [76302]
Mr. Jim Murphy: In February 2004 King’s College London (KCL) was commissioned following a competitive tendering process, to undertake research on whether ethnic minority candidates are disadvantaged in job interviews. The total cost of the research was £160,000. The KCL tender was chosen for three prime reasons: the KCL proposal provided the most innovative and robust set of methods for investigating the issues, the research team included members with a world-class reputation in this field of research, and it offered the best value for money from six tenders submitted.
50-plus Workers
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal advisers there are to assist new deal for over-50s claimants; and how many jobcentres provide facilities for such advisers. [82297]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your question asking how many personal advisers there are to assist new deal for over 50s claimants, and how many jobcentres provide facilities for such advisers. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
There are currently in excess of 800 customer facing Jobcentre Plus offices. Every office delivers the voluntary New Deal 50 Plus programme. An eligible customer, wherever they live will have access to a New Deal Personal Adviser and the full range of support offered by New Deal 50 Plus. Since it was introduced in April 2000, New Deal 50 Plus has been successful in helping over 150,000 older workers into employment.
As at April 2006, there were around 200 dedicated New Deal 50 Plus advisers. In addition there are other advisers trained and skilled to look after this client group.
I hope this is helpful.
John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of people in work aged 50 years and over in (a) the Edinburgh local authority area and (b) Edinburgh, West parliamentary constituency. [82707]
Mr. Jim Murphy: Like all other customers, people aged 50 and over can benefit from the range of services provided by Jobcentre Plus, including access to jobs and help and support to find work.
Additional help is provided to older people who do not find work quickly. New deal 50 plus is a voluntary programme that provides people with advice and guidance from personal advisers, and access to in-work financial help through the 50 plus element of the working tax credit. Since April 2000, the programme has been successful in helping more than 150,000 older workers into employment, including 1,320 people in the city of Edinburgh local authority area and 210 in Edinburgh, West parliamentary constituency. Once in work, new deal 50 plus customers can claim a training grant of up to £1,500 for training of which up to £300 can be used for life-long learning.
People aged 50 and over, including those in Edinburgh, are also eligible for help from new deal 25 plus. People who have been claiming jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) for 18 months and who have not previously participated on new deal 25 plus, are already required to attend the gateway stage of the new deal 25 plus programme. This is a period of up to four months of intensive job search and specialist help and support to improve job prospects. This is followed by the intensive activity period (IAP) which is currently voluntary for people aged 50 and over. The IAP provides further support and pre-work training to help people return to work.
Since April 2004, we have been piloting mandatory participation in the new deal 25 plus IAP for people aged 50-59 who have been claiming JSA for 18 months. Edinburgh was not part of the pilot. However, interim pilot results have been positive and, as announced in our Welfare Reform Green Paper, we intend to commence a phased national rollout.
Between 1979 and the mid 1990s, the number of people on incapacity benefits trebled. Since then, growth in the case load has slowed significantly and, in November 2005, there were 2.71 million people claiming incapacity benefits, a fall of 61,000 over the year. 46 per cent of those claiming incapacity benefits are aged between 50 and state pension age although, between 2000 and 2005, the number of people in this age group fell by 52,000. This has contributed to the overall reduction in the incapacity benefits case load.
We still clearly have more work to do and, like other age groups, people aged 50 and over will be able to benefit from the rollout of the successful pathways to work service across the whole country which will be completed by 2008. Pathways offers new incapacity benefit (IB) customers early support from skilled personal advisers and direct access to a ‘Choices Package’ of employment programmes and clear financial incentives to make work pay. Any IB customer will be able to access the support and help available on a voluntary basis. Pathways is due to rollout in the Edinburgh area in the future.
Through our Age Positive Campaign we are working with employers and others to promote the business benefits of an age diverse workforce and best practice on age in recruitment, training and promotion. In May 2005 we launched the ‘Be Ready’ national information campaign to raise employer awareness of, and ability to adopt, flexible employment and retirement opportunities to support the recruitment and retention of older workers in advance of age legislation due in October 2006.
Accident Victims
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been recovered from accident victims' compensation by way of recoupment of benefits in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [75996]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the table.
| Total amounts recovered by the Compensation Recovery Unit by way of recoupment from damages awarded to accident victims in each of the past three years | |
| Financial year | Amount (£) |
| Note:
The figures in the table are rounded up to the nearest
£. Source: Figures are taken from the
Compensation Recovery Unit's Management Information
Statistics. | |
Under
the provisions of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997,
the compensator—the person who caused the injury or, more
commonly, his insurer—is liable both to pay damages to the
injured
person and to repay benefits to the Secretary of State for Work and
Pensions. (It is not the actual benefits which are recovered, but "an
amount equivalent to" the total benefit payment). In certain
circumstances it will be possible for the compensator to deduct some or
all of the amount he has had to repay to the Secretary of State from
the gross compensation award, a practice known as
"offsetting".
Not all social security benefits are recoverable. Retirement pension and child benefit, for example, are paid for reasons which could have no connection to a personal injury. The benefits which are recoverable are listed at Schedule 2 to the 1997 Act. They are grouped according to the head of damage against which they may be offset: loss of earnings, loss of mobility and cost of care.
Social security benefits are not paid in respect of pain, suffering, personal inconvenience and so on, and therefore no offsetting may be made against the general damages element of a compensation award. If a compensation claim is settled by a payment made up of general damages, the compensator will have to bear the full cost of paying compensation and repaying benefits to the State.
Action for Employment Ltd
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid to Action for Employment Ltd. in each month since they entered into a contract with his Department to encourage benefit recipients to switch from receiving benefit payment from cheque to direct payment. [80829]
Mr. Plaskitt: In order to protect the commercial position of the Department in negotiating future contracts of this nature, it is not policy to disclose the financial arrangements between the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the contractor.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have switched their method of payment of benefits from cheque to direct payment after contact by Action for Employment Ltd., broken down by constituency. [80830]
Mr. Plaskitt: As a result of practical help and support provided by Action for Employment, 19,000 customers switched their method of payment from cheque to direct payment. Action for Employment helped many of these customers to open a bank account for the first time, making a significant contribution to financial inclusion, and supporting the Government’s aim to halve the number of households without bank accounts. We do not have a breakdown by constituency.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what basis Action for Employment Ltd. is paid by his Department for work in connection with encouraging benefit claimants to switch from benefit payment by cheque to direct payment. [80831]
Mr.
Plaskitt: Action for Employment Ltd. were paid by DWP to
provide practical help and support to customers who expressed a wish to
convert their
method of payment from cheque to direct payment but had difficulty in
doing so. To provide best value for the taxpayer, Action for Employment
Ltd. were paid a fee for each customer who was able to successfully
change their method of payment from cheque to direct
payment—including direct payment into a Post Office card
account.
Agency Staff
Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average hourly rate was paid by his Department to each employment agency for staff employed through agencies in 2005-06. [81502]
Mrs. McGuire: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only by incurring disproportionate cost.
Benefit Claimants
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authorities had an increase in the number of (a) pensioners and (b) people claiming (i) jobseeker’s allowance and (ii) income support between 2001 and 2005. [81987]
Mr. Plaskitt: The available information has been placed in the Library.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many residents in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) Somerset received (i) housing benefit and (ii) jobseeker's allowance in 2005-06. [82188]
Mr. Plaskitt: Housing benefit information is not available at parliamentary constituency level; the local authority information has been given instead. As at November 2005, there were 7,270 households in South Somerset district council, and 26,080 households in Somerset in receipt of housing benefit.
As at May 2006, there were 815 people in the Yeovil parliamentary constituency and 3,938 people in Somerset in receipt of jobseeker's allowance. The information is the most recent available for both benefits.
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate of council tax benefit was in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) Somerset in each year since 1996-97; and how many pensioners (i) were entitled to and (ii) received council tax benefit in each year. [82189]
Mr. Plaskitt: Estimates of take-up and entitlement for council tax benefit are not available below national level; the latest available information is in “Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take Up in 2003-04”, a copy of which is in the Library.
Figures for the number of council tax benefit claimants are not available broken down by parliamentary constituency. Figures for pensioners in receipt of council tax benefit are not available prior to 2004. The available information is in the tables.:
| Council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over | |
| Number of recipients | |
| Notes:
1. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a
couple. 2. Caseloads have been rounded to the nearest
10. 3. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult
rebate cases. 4. ‘Aged 60 and over’ is defined
as benefit units where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 and
over. Therefore figures will contain some claimants aged under 60 where
there is a partner aged over 60 years.
Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload
stock-count taken in November 2004 and November
2005. | |
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the percentage of housing benefit claimants renting from private landlords who had benefit shortfalls in Yeovil constituency in each year since 1997-98. [82191]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information is not available at constituency level. The available information is in the table.
| Housing benefit private tenants( 1) whose weekly amount of housing benefit is less than their weekly eligible rent: South West Government Office Region, May 1997 to May 2004 | |||
| May | All housing benefit private tenants (thousand) | Of which have weekly amount of housing benefit less than their weekly eligible rent (thousand) | Percentage of housing benefit private tenants who have weekly amount of housing benefit less than their weekly eligible rent |
| (1
)Private tenants exclude registered social landlords.
Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand and
percentages to one decimal place. 2. Figures are based on a 1
per cent sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling
variation. 3. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended
payment cases. 4. The data refer to benefit units, which may
be a single person or a couple. Source:
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System,
Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 1997 to May
2004. | |||
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on housing benefit for tenants in (a) council properties, (b) housing association property, (c) registered social landlords property and (d) private sector housing in Yeovil constituency in each of the last five years. [82192]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available at constituency level. The available information is in the table.
| Housing benefit expenditure in South Somerset | |||
| Nominal terms in £ million | |||
| Council properties (rent rebates) | Housing association property and registered social landlord properties | Private sector housing | |
| Housing benefit expenditure in South Somerset | |||
| Real terms in £ million (2006-07) | |||
| Council properties (rent rebates) | Housing association property and registered social landlord properties | Private sector housing | |
| Notes:
1. The requested data are not available for Yeovil. However, data have
been supplied in respect of South Somerset, which includes Yeovil, as
the best alternative available. 2. As it is not possible to
split the expenditure incurred on housing association and registered
social landlord properties, a combined figure has been provided. As far
as DWP is concerned, the two are synonymous. 3. All figures
are in £ million, rounded to the nearest thousand
pounds. 4. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management
Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. data and caseload stock
counts have been used to apportion rent allowance expenditure between
housing association/registered social landlord property and private
sector housing in the table. 5. Information has been supplied
for five years beginning in 2000-01 because 2004-05 is the latest year
for which outturn housing benefit expenditure is available.
6. Real terms expenditure has been calculated using Gross Domestic
Product Deflators released by Her Majesty’s Treasury at Budget
2006. 7. The DWP Expenditure Tables, consistent with the
Budget 2006 Report, are published at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp Source: Information has been sourced from local authority claims for housing revenue account subsidy and housing benefit and council tax benefit subsidy. | |||
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