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12 Sep 2007 : Column 2098W—continued
Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although figures are shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown.
Work and Pensions
Departments: Press
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to which periodicals his Department subscribes. [153186]
Mrs. McGuire: A list of periodicals and newspapers to which DWP subscribes through its Library and Information Service has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Departments: Training
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on (a) staff and (b) communication training in the last 12 months. [153188]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department for Work and Pensions spent £16 million on staff training from July 2006-June 2007.
Included within this figure is the cost of training in communication provided to the Department’s staff. To separately identify this expenditure would be of a disproportionate cost.
Disabled: Low Incomes
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the proportion of households with at least one disabled person that have an income of less than 60 per cent. of the median. [153585]
Mrs. McGuire: The information requested is available in the Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2005-06 (revised), table 3.6 on page 31. This is available in the Library.
Employment: Greater London
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people gained employment from jobcentre referrals in each London constituency in each of the last five years; [153643]
(2) how many people gained employment from jobcentre referrals in each London borough in each of the last five years. [153644]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information requested is not available.
Employment: Standards
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what means the Government’s target of an 80 per cent. employment rate was arrived at; and what research his Department has carried out into the reduction in the number of claimants on (a) incapacity benefit, (b) jobseeker’s allowance and (c) lone parent benefit needed to meet the target. [152806]
Mr. Plaskitt
[holding answer 26 July 2007]: The long-term aim of an employment rate equivalent to 80 per cent. of the working age population reflects analysis of historic and international labour market performance and an assessment of the potential for
further narrowing the employment rate gap between different groups in the labour market and the overall average. It was set in the context of the Government’s commitment to extend the opportunity to work to all, the modern definition of full employment, as outlined in our Welfare Reform Green Paper “In work, better off” Cm7130, published on 18 July 2007.
The Department’s analysis has suggested that realising the 80 per cent. aim will require: a reduction of one million in the number of incapacity benefit claimants; 300,000 more lone parents in employment; and one million more older people in work.
Incapacity Benefit: Beverley and Holderness
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Beverley and Holderness were registered for incapacity benefit in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [155226]
Mrs. McGuire: The available information is in the following table.
| Number of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants in Beverley and Holderness parliamentary constituency | |
| Quarter ending | Number |
| Notes: 1. February 1997 to February 1999 (inclusive) numbers are uprated to WPLS totals and rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. February 2000 to February 2007 (inclusive) numbers are rounded to the nearest ten. 3. February 1997 to February 1999 (inclusive) numbers are based on a five per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 4. These figures should be used as a guide to the current situation only. Source: DWP Information Directorate five per cent sample and 100 per cent Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study | |
Incapacity Benefit: Finance
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average cost was of dealing with a single incapacity benefit claimant in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [155228]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department accounts for its administrative expenditure by strategic objective as set out in its public service agreements (PSA) and by individual requests for resources (RfRs) as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts, and not by benefit. Information on administrative expenditure by strategic objective is available in the annually published Departmental Report, copies of which are available in the Library.
Jobcentre Plus: Doctors
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many doctors are contracted to Jobcentre Plus to assess incapacity benefit applicants, broken down by each local benefits agency; and if he will make a statement. [154864]
Mrs. McGuire: Medical services are provided to DWP under contract by Atos Healthcare. Doctors carrying out incapacity benefit assessments are engaged by Atos Healthcare not Jobcentre Plus.
Atos Healthcare does not keep data on the number of doctors performing incapacity benefit assessments by local benefit office.
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the terms of contract are for doctors contracted to Jobcentre Plus with respect to incapacity benefit assessments; and if he will make a statement. [154865]
Mrs. McGuire: Medical services are provided to DWP under contract by Atos Healthcare. Doctors carrying out incapacity benefit assessments are engaged by Atos Healthcare not Jobcentre Plus.
Doctors engaged by Atos Healthcare have a range of contracts, including employed full-time, employed part-time and sessional contracts.
Official Visits: Jobcentres
Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job centres he has visited since his appointment; and which job centres he plans to visit before 8 October 2007. [152646]
Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 26 July 2007]: Since his appointment on 29 June the Secretary of State has visited one Jobcentre Plus office, that visit was on 20 July to Neath Jobcentre Plus office.
The Secretary of State is keen to visit other offices and services within the DWP network and arrangements are being made.
Pensioners: British Overseas Territories
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners entitled to the UK state pension whose pensions are frozen because they have retired outside the UK live in each of the British Overseas Territories. [155279]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The latest available information is in the following table.
| Number | |
|
Falkland Islands and dependencies (south Georgia and south Sandwich Islands) | |
| (1) Less than 10 Source: Pensions Strategy Computer System, August 2007 | |
Pensions: Divorce
Jeremy Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provision is afforded to divorcees who, at the age of 60, are unable to claim an enhanced pension based on their ex-husband’s national insurance contributions because those husbands are not drawing pensions. [154963]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: A person who is divorced when they reach state pension age can use their former spouse’s national insurance contributions to help boost their basic state pension regardless of the age of the former spouse and whether or not they are drawing a state pension. However, where a person has been divorced more than once before state pension age, only the national insurance record of the last spouse may be used.
Pensions: Females
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate how many women aged (a) 60, (b) 61, (c) 62, (d) 63, (e) 64, (f) 65, (g) 66, (h) 67, (i) 68 and (j) 69 are currently receiving state pensions, based on their own contributions, that are based on a contribution record of between 60 per cent. and 98 per cent. [155045]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not available. The following table shows those women who are in receipt of a basic state pension of between 60 per cent. and 98 per cent. as at the September 2006 rate, which was £84.25 per week, either based on their own national insurance record or a combination of their own and their husband’s national insurance record. The data are taken from a 5 per cent. extract of the Pension Service Computer System, therefore figures are subject to a clear warning that there is a degree of sampling variation.
| Age | Number of females |
| Notes: 1. Data are taken from a 5 per cent. extract of the Pension Service Computer System, therefore figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall case load from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 3. Figures include cases residing abroad where the rate of state pension would not be uprated each year. Source: DWP Information Directorate. | |
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons the national insurance contributions of women who have remarried are not fully taken into account in determining their state pensions. [155050]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The individual’s national insurance record is taken fully into account when determining his or her state pension entitlement.
Pensions: Postal Services
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pension cheques destined for pensioners living in (a) Orkney and Shetland, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK were posted to the wrong address in each of the last five years. [154858]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is not available.
The Pension Service makes every effort to issue cheque payments to pensioners at their last verified address. Where cheques do go to an incorrect address, this may be for a variety of reasons, such as the customer moving and inadvertently omitting to let the Pension Service know of their change of address.
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