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30 Oct 2006 : Column 10W—continued
The maximum allowance for Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) is £7,000 in each tax year (stocks and shares only). The lower capital limit (working age adults and pensioners) capital is broadly equivalent to the ISA allowance. The upper capital limit (working age adults only) is broadly equivalent to twice the annual ISA allowance.
Jobcentre Plus
Mr. Leech: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether there are plans to close Chorlton Jobcentre Plus; [93383]
(2) what discussions have taken place in his Department on the possible closure of Chorlton Jobcentre Plus. [93384]
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.
Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 30 October 2006:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking whether there are any plans to close Chorlton Jobcentre Plus and what discussions have taken place in his Department on the possible closure of Chorlton Jobcentre Plus. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
There are two Jobcentre Plus sites at Chorlton:
The Benefit Delivery Centre which processes benefits for the Manchester area. This is in the implementation stage and planned to be fully operational in March 2007. There are currently no plans for closure of this site.
Chorlton Jobcentre which provides a customer-facing service.
We are currently reviewing our Jobcentre network, including Chorlton Jobcentre, to ensure that our services are delivered efficiently. Any site identified as a potential closure is referred to the Minister of State for consideration. If the Minister gives permission to proceed, a full consultation will take place with local stakeholders.
Lindsey Harman, the District Manager for Greater Manchester Central will be more than happy to discuss any further concerns you may have, and I have asked Lindsey to keep you informed of developments.
Liability Insurance
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of companies in the East Midlands with invalid or insufficient liability insurance. [95183]
Mrs. McGuire: Research conducted for Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2003 indicated that less than 1 per cent. of companies had failed to take out employers' liability (compulsory) insurance (ELCI). The research was carried out to investigate allegations that companies were having problems in obtaining ELCI, because of difficulties in the cost and availability. Due to the low overall level of reported non-compliance no attempt was made to assess regional differences.
With regard to insufficient ELCI, the law is specific about conditions in ELCI insurance policies. HSE is not aware of any complaints concerned with deficiencies in ELCI policies, nor of any prosecutions brought by HSE under the ELCI Act on the grounds of insufficiency.
Muslim Council of Britain
Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much (a) financial support and (b) support in kind his Department and its agencies have given to the Muslim Council of Britain in each year since 1997. [96277]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was formed in June 2001 from the Department of Social Security (DSS), the Employment Service (ES) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). Any financial information would only be available from that time.
The Department for Work and Pensions has provided neither financial support nor support in kind to the Muslim Council of Britain.
National Insurance Numbers
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many national insurance numbers there were in each year since 1997; [75845]
(2) how many national insurance numbers were issued in each year since 1997. [76200]
Mr. Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
| Total approximate national insurance numbers in issue in each year between 1997 and 2006 | |
| Number (Million) | |
In order to maintain the integrity of the system (and for benefit purposes) NINOs are not removed. For example, they are retained after a person dies or moves abroad. This is because individuals who move abroad may at some point have a call upon contributions paid whilst in the UK. In the case of deceased individuals, a partner may make a claim for a contributory benefit, which is dependant on the contribution record of the deceased individual. This means that the number of accounts held on the system accrues as NINOs are allocated each year to all UK children who reach 16 years and persons from abroad requiring a NINO are added.
| Total national insurance numbers issued between 1997 and 2006 | |
| Number | |
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the basis of which criteria locations were chosen for contact centres for interviews for new national insurance numbers. [95897]
Mr. Plaskitt: Customers wishing to obtain a new national insurance number are required to attend an interview at a Jobcentre. The Jobcentres providing these services were selected on the basis of historical information on where the largest volumes of applications were made, taking into account the suitability of premises available.
New Deal
Mr. Boswell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of participants in the New Deal for Lone Parents (a) have disabilities and (b) are parents; what action is being taken to improve the ability of persons with more than one such potential impediment to get into work; and if he will make a statement. [96604]
Mr. Jim Murphy: At the end of February, there were 63,370 participants on New Deal for Lone Parents, of which, 5.6 per cent. (3,590) declared themselves as disabled. Since the start of the programme in 1998, 4.3 per cent. of those starting New Deal for Lone Parents have declared themselves as disabled, and of the 457,850 lone parents helped into work through the programme, just over 4 per cent. were disabled. All participants on New Deal for Lone Parents are parents.
All New Deal for Lone Parent advisers receive disability awareness training, and if a lone parent needs extra support because of a disability or health condition, they can be referred to a Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Adviser (DEA). DEAs support recently disabled people, or those whose health condition or disability has deteriorated and who need employment advice. They can refer people, where appropriate for occupational health assessments, or to access to work advisers, as well as the full range of Jobcentre Plus disability programmes. In addition, DEAs support people who encounter barriers in the workplace associated with disability, and also provide advice and support to employers regarding the employment and retention of disabled people and those with health conditions.
Pension Credit
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of administering pension credit in each year from 1996-97 to 2006-07. [96318]
James Purnell: The information requested is not available.
I refer the hon. Member to the response I gave him on 18 April 2006, Official Report, column 431W.
Pensioner Incomes
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the Pensioner Prices Index was in each year from 1976-77 to 2006-07. [96313]
John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 30 October 2006:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question, what estimate has been made of the Pensioner Prices Index in each year from 1976-77 to 2006-07 (96313).
The Retail Prices Index (RPI) covers the expenditure of UK private households only, excluding the top four percent by income and those pensioner households where the head of the household is retired and economically inactive and where at least three-quarters of the household income is derived from state benefits.
Since 1969, RPI pensioner indices have been compiled on a quarterly basis for these pensioner households excluded from the RPI (separately for one and two pensioner households). These indices are based on the spending patterns of these specific households, and contain some pensioner specific items such as OAP bus and rail fares. They exclude items such as canteen meals, which are not relevant due to very small expenditure levels. They also exclude housing costs on the grounds that the price indicators used in the RPI would overstate the price increases experienced by these pensioners, because no allowance is made for rebates e.g. on council tax and local authority rents.
Table 1 shows the RPI Pensioner Indices for 1976 - 2006 based on January 1987 = 100.
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