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30 Jan 2007 : Column 262W—continued


The reduction in recoveries reflected the transfer of child benefit to the then Inland Revenue.

2004-05
Benefit £

Income Support

103,971,529

Retirement Pension

17,035,129

JSA Income Based

13,202,618

Attendance Allowance

11,911,040

Incapacity Benefit

11,647,163

Disability Living Allowance

9,262,766

Invalid Care Allowance

7,210,631

Housing Benefit

3,348,030

Pension Credit

2,921,552

Supplementary Benefit

1,973,086

Invalidity Benefit

1,343,996

Widows Benefit

1 073,049

Carers Allowance

1,010,712

All Others

2,932,698

Total

188,844,000


2005-06
Benefit £

Income Support

100,018,285

Retirement Pension

16,235,280

JSA Income Based

12,482,730

Attendance Allowance

11,261,577

Incapacity Benefit

11,012,089

Disability Living Allowance

8,757,703

Invalid Care Allowance

6,817,464

Housing Benefit

3,165,475

Pension Credit

2,762,251

Supplementary Benefit

1,865,501

Invalidity Benefit

1,270,713

Widows Benefit

1,014,540

Carers Allowance

955,602

Others

2,772,790

Total

180,392,000


In the seven months since April 2006, a total of £123.28 million has been recovered.

In recovering an overpayment of benefit, the Department seeks to do so without causing excessive hardship to our claimants. In a majority of cases, recovery will be an ongoing basis, with the average overpayment taking approximately three years to recover.

In April 2001, the Department initiated the debt programme to bring about increased focus on the management and recovery of benefit overpayments.


30 Jan 2007 : Column 263W

Since then, benefit debt recovery has been centralised in 10 debt centres, and in February 2006 a new computer system was rolled out to support the debt centres.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the level of overpayment of benefits by his Department was in each of the last eight years. [102167]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) on 8 November 2006, Official Report, column 1614W.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what basis payments are made to each of the private sector companies contracted to recover benefit overpayments. [109326]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) on 18 December 2006, Official Report, columns 1575-76W.

Benefits Simplification Unit

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people work in the Benefits Simplification Unit, broken down by civil service grade. [117029]

Mr. Plaskitt: There are currently five staff employed on a full-time basis in the Benefit Simplification Unit, one SEO and four HEOs including a secondee from Citizen's Advice, with additional input from a senior civil servant (Grade 5) and a Grade 7.

Carers

Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if his Department will take steps to develop a joined-up strategy with the Department for Education and Skills to identify and offer support to those carers who are of school age; [102044]

(2) what strategies his Department has for extending and developing support for carers under the age of 25; and if he will make a statement. [102045]

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what strategies his Department has for extending and developing support for carers under the age of 25; and if he will make a statement; [102059]

(2) if his Department will take steps to develop a joined up strategy with the Department for Education and Skills to identify and offer support to those carers who are of school age; [102060]

(3) if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on young carers. [102263]

Mrs. McGuire: The Department already works closely with the Department for Education and Skills to ensure joined-up and consistent policy development for carers of school age.


30 Jan 2007 : Column 264W

Carers between 16 and 25 years of age are eligible for the same range of support from DWP as carers of other ages, depending on their personal circumstances. This includes the full range of social security benefits, including carer's allowance, as well as employment-related support from Jobcentre Plus such as work-focused interviews. We have no plans to create specific arrangements for carers below 25, or to change existing arrangements.

Cold Weather Payments

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of rising fuel prices on the adequacy of cold weather payments; and if he will make a statement; [103276]

(2) what assessment he has made of the potential impact of climate change on the long-term take-up of cold weather payments. [103278]

Mr. Plaskitt: No such assessments have been made.

Departmental Spending

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's spending on (a) each benefit and (b) each programme was in (i) cash and (ii) real terms using 2004-05 prices in each year since 1995-96; what his estimate is of the same figures in each year to 2010-11; and what the total annual change is in each case. [102217]

Mrs. McGuire: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Incapacity Benefit

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many incapacity benefit recipients experienced (a) mental and (b) behavioural disorder in each year since 1992, broken down by type of disorder. [101747]

Mrs. McGuire: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Mr. O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of people who reached the first anniversary in receipt of jobseeker’s allowance in the most recent year for which figures are available were in work (a) one year and (b) two years later; and how many there were (i) in total, (ii) aged 25 to 49 and (iii) aged over 50 years. [114624]

Mr. Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table and represents the minimum numbers and proportions of people who satisfy the given criteria.


30 Jan 2007 : Column 265W
New claims for jobseeker’s allowance, April 2004 to March 2005
Proportion (Percentage) Total Aged 25 to 49 Aged 50 and over

In work six months later

39

672,650

331,960

99,150

In work one year later

43

740,130

366,520

107,540

Notes:
1. Data on employment are available to 26 November 2006. As such, the latest operational year of new claimants for which (a) and (c) are answerable is April 2004 to March 2005, and the latest operational year of claims reaching their first anniversary for which (b) and (d) are answerable is April 2003 to March 2004 (and thus relates to people making a new claim during April 2002 and March 2003).
2. The figures quoted in this response come from data in the National Benefits Database and the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS).
3. Figures in this response are based upon periods of employment measured from the WPLS, which is based on data from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The figures given can only be taken as a minimum for the following (not necessarily comprehensive) reasons:
(i) Some records show that a person started or ended employment at some point in the year, but the exact date on when they started or left their job is unknown, and therefore we do not know if they were employed at the points in time specified in this query.
(ii) If a person’s earnings are sufficiently low that they fall below the lower income tax threshold and so are not required to pay PAYE income tax on their earnings then there is no requirement to inform HMRC of their employment (although some employers declare these jobs anyway).
(iii) These data do not include the self-employed.
(iv) Poor quality personal data may lead to missed matches with benefits data.
(v) No ‘HMRC sensitive and secure’ information is supplied by HMRC (for example, HMRC employees, members of the security services).

National Insurance Numbers

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the total value of welfare benefit claims made by individuals issued with a national insurance number who were referred to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate due to (a) suspicion about their eligibility to work in the UK, (b) the use of false documents and (c) other reasons in each of the last five years. [116598]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average waiting time was for an overseas national to obtain a national insurance number (a) in-country and (b) from abroad in each year since 1997. [116601]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available.

Pensions: Overseas

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what consideration has been given to ensuring that both indexed and frozen pensions of British nationals overseas are treated equally in respect of uprating; [112516]

(2) what plans he has to update the list of countries with which the UK has reciprocal arrangements providing for the uprating of pensions of overseas British nationals. [112517]


30 Jan 2007 : Column 266W

James Purnell: The UK state pension is uprated for UK pensioners living overseas where there is a reciprocal social security agreement or a legal requirement to do so. The domestic courts have said that there are justifiable grounds for the Government not to uprate pensions abroad outside those arrangements.

We have no plans to negotiate any new reciprocal social security agreements.

Unemployment Benefits

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department spent on unemployment benefits in (a) 1997 and (b) the latest year for which figures are available. [102259]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the following tables.

Unemployment benefits expenditure
cash terms (£ million)
1997-98( 1) 2005-06( 2)

Jobseeker’s allowance—income-based

3,418

1,800

Jobseeker’s allowance—contribution-based

475

489

Total

3,893

2,289

(1 )Outturn
(2 )Estimated outturn

Unemployment benefits expenditure
real terms 2006-07 prices (£ million)
1997-98( 1) 2005-06( 2)

Jobseeker’s allowance—income-based

4,201

1,844

Jobseeker’s allowance—contribution-based

584

500

Total

4,785

2,344

(1 )Outturn
(2 )Estimated outturn
Notes:
All figures have been rounded to the nearest million pounds.
All information is consistent with the Budget report 2006.
Source:
DWP expenditure Tables 3, 4 and 7

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