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27 Feb 2007 : Column 1192W—continued
Financial Assistance Scheme
Ms Gisela Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria were taken into account in deciding to use cash costs as a measure of the cost of extending the financial assistance scheme over 50 years. [109860]
James Purnell [holding answer 18 December 2006]: We present the costs of the financial assistance scheme in both net present value terms and in cash terms as is normal accounting practice used in the departmental resource accounts.
Incapacity Benefit
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) fraud and (b) error in incapacity benefit payments in each year since 1997. [101794]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
It is important to note that changes were made to the identification of error in 2004-05. This led to the inclusion of types of official error, valued at an estimated £20 million, which were not previously captured by the sampling.
| Cost of fraud and error in incapacity benefit | ||||
| April to March each year | Fraud | Customer error | Official error | Total |
| Notes: 1. Fraud and error in incapacity benefit is not measured every year. The last full review was in 2000-01. As there has been no measurement in other years, it is assumed that the percentage level of fraud and customer error have remained constant. All of the fraud and customer error estimates are calculated by applying the percentage overpaid in 2000-01 to the annual expenditure on incapacity benefit. 2. Official error in incapacity benefit has been measured in every year since 2000-01. 3. The official error estimates for 2004-05 and 2005-06 differ from those published in the relevant departmental resource accounts, as up to date estimates were not available at the time. 4. As the measurement system is based on the examination of a sample of the incapacity benefit case load, the estimates are subject to a degree of statistical uncertainty. For example, the central estimate of official error in 2005-06 is £90 million, but the range in which we can be 95 per cent. sure that the true value lies runs from £70 million to £120 million. | ||||
Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost per customer was of a personal capability assessment in the most recent year for which figures are available, including any subsequent costs involved in assessing continuing entitlement to incapacity benefit. [119460]
Mrs. McGuire: Information about the cost of medical examinations for incapacity benefits is confidential and cannot be disclosed as to do so may prejudice the commercial interests of the Department and/or its suppliers.
Information about the costs of the specific part of the incapacity benefit administration process requested is not available.
Job Numbers: York
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobs there were in City of York parliamentary constituency in each year since 1992. [106658]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The available information is in the table.
| Jobs in the City of York parliamentary constituency | |
| Number of jobs( 1) | |
| (1) Figures for all years are confirmed apart from 2003 for which only an approximate figure is available. Notes: 1. Information is not available at parliamentary constituency level before 1995. 2. Latest available information is to December 2004. 3. Information is not available for self-employed jobs. Sources: Office for National Statistics Annual Business Inquiry Employee Analysis | |
Jobseekers Allowance: Greater London
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people claimed jobseeker's allowance in (a) Hornsey and Wood Green constituency and (b) each London borough in each of the last five years. [122418]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the following table.
| Number of jobseeker's allowance claimants as at January each year from 2003 to 2007 | |||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Notes: 1. Figures have not been rounded. 2. Figures include clerically held cases. Source: 100 per cent. count of claimants of unemployment-related benefits, Jobcentre PlusComputerSystems | |||||
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