Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
8 Oct 2007 : Column 149Wcontinued
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the number of occupational pension schemes in the UK which (a) have completed wind-up and (b) are in the process of winding up; what proportion began wind-up after 2 May 1997 in each case; and what his estimate is of the number of members of such schemes. [154287]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The following information was provided by the pensions regulator.
(a) The number of schemes in the UK that have wound up since 2 April 1997 is 62,814
(b(i)) The number of schemes that have commenced, but not yet completed, winding up is 8,088 with a total membership of 427,456; and
(b(ii)) The number of schemes that have been winding up since 2 May 1997 is 7,804. This is 96.5 per cent. of the schemes at (b(i)). The total membership of these schemes is 411,943. This is 96.4 per cent. of the membership at (b(i)).
Notes:
1. A wound up scheme is one which has notified the pensions regulator that it has completed winding up procedures.
2. A winding up scheme is one which has notified the pensions regulator that it has commenced winding up procedures.
3. The data supplied by the pensions regulator are current as at 3 September 2007. They come from the merger of data derived from old systems (i.e. before 6 April 2005), and have been enhanced and updated with information received via the new scheme returnswhich were introduced as part of the Pensions Act 2004.
4. Total membership includes active, deferred and pensioner members.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many press officers are employed by the Pension Protection Fund. [154722]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: As at 27 July 2007 the Pension Protection Fund has one press officer.
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many press officers are employed by the Pensions Regulator. [154685]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: As at 27 July 2007 the Pensions Regulator has two press officers.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason the Retirement Pension Forecasting Team is no longer able to provide forecasts of additional state pensions; when the situation will be resolved; and how many people he estimates will be affected. [154879]
Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 10 September 2007]: The computer systems used to produce state pension forecasts are being updated to reflect the new state pension rules included within the Pensions Act 2007 and therefore the Pension Service retirement pension forecasting team is temporarily unable to provide a state pension forecast to people who reach state pension age on or after 6 April 2010. We aim to have the system changes in place by autumn 2008.
People reaching state pension age after 2010 who contact the Pension Service retirement pension forecasting team will still be able to obtain personalised information including:
an indication of the current number of qualifying years and how many more are needed to get a full basic state pension under the new rules; and
details of how changes to the state pension rules may affect the individuals state pension position.
This means people can still receive the help they need to plan for their retirement, and the vast majority of customers using these transitional arrangements have been happy with the service provided.
People who reach state pension age before 6 April 2010 can continue to receive state pension forecasts from the retirement pension forecasting team. These forecasts include information on both basic and additional state pension.
Approximately half of the people who use the forecasting on request (either online or by phone) service are affected by the current suspension. Based on previous requests for state pension forecasts in 2005-06 we estimate the suspension will impact 300,000 individuals.
The combined pension forecasting service is also suspended until autumn 2008 and this affects approximately 4 million individuals.
In the meantime the Pension Service are working closely with their IT suppliers to explore ways in which the timetable for reflecting state pension changes in state pension forecasting systems could be advanced.
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in respect of how many pensions the UK Pension Service submitted papers to the International Pension Service in 2006; and, of these, how many people received their overseas pension entitlements within four months. [156411]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This information is not collected or recorded by the Department.
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many personal injury claims by members of the public from local authorities were reported to his Department, in accordance with the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [153857]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the following table:
Personal injury claims against local authorities | |
Financial year of recovery | Number of claims |
Notes: 1. The figures quoted are for personal injury claims made by the public against local authorities. 2. All cases settled prior to 1 January 2005, which showed that there were no recoverable benefits due to the Secretary of State, have been archived, and are therefore not included in these figures. Source: Figures produced by the Compensation Recovery Unit. |
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what criteria were Remploy factories selected for closure. [156492]
Mrs. McGuire: The main selection criteria used by Remploy in proposing which of their factories should close was long-term business sustainability. The Company examined, business by business, which factories had the best opportunity to reach their commercial objectives. Finally, in each location where closure was being considered, Remploy reviewed whether they would be able to support their disabled employees in mainstream employment.
The Secretary of State will make a decision on the future of Remploy, once he receives Remploy's final proposals later this year. Until then, no Government decision will be made concerning Remploy's factories.
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what definition his Department uses of habitual residence for the purpose of claiming benefit; and what definition is used in other European Economic Area States. [154695]
Mr. Plaskitt: Entitlement to income-related benefits requires that a person has a right to reside and be habitually resident in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland (generally known as the Common Travel Area). If a person does not have a right to reside then he or she is treated as not being habitually resident and is not entitled to those benefits. A person who has a right to reside must also show that he or she is habitually resident in the UK unless he or she falls into an exemption category, such as that for EU workers.
The term habitual residence is not defined in UK social security legislation but there is both domestic and EC case law on how that term should be interpreted. In order to determine whether a person is habitually resident, decision makers will, on the basis of the guidelines set out in the case law, consider a variety of factors about the persons circumstances. These include, for example, his or her attachment to and intentions in the UK; his or her reasons for coming here; and whether the person has family in the UK etc. Benefit decision-makers must be satisfied on objective grounds that a person who claims income-related benefits after arriving in the country has genuinely adopted the UK as his or her place of habitual residence.
Where other European Economic Area States use the term habitual residence as a condition of entitlement to benefit, the term should be used in accordance with their domestic law and EC case law.
Mr. Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what evaluation he has made of the abuse of accommodation address agencies by perpetrators of (a) benefit fraud and (b) other criminal activity relating to the responsibilities of his Department. [156593]
Mr. Plaskitt: No such evaluation has been made.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures he has put in place to track the amount of benefits paid erroneously to illegal immigrants. [154286]
Mr. Plaskitt: Illegal immigrants are not entitled to DWP administered benefits. Rigorous checking processes are built into the benefit application systems to ensure that the gateway to the benefits system is secure.
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of successful claims for state retirement pension was made (a) by telephone interview, (b) by personal interview, (c) by post and (d) online in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [156385]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The available information is in the following table.
All state pension applications processed( 1) (successful and unsuccessful) 1 September 2006 to 31 August 2007 | |
Percentage of total applications processed | |
(1) Figures of successful applications are not recorded. Source: Weekly Performance data supplied by pension centres and local service system data August 2007. |
Mr. Ian Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what information is available to the public in the form of leaflets on the switching process between widows pension and state retirement pension. [155752]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The switching process between widows pension and state pension is covered in three leaflets:
State Pensionchoices available to you (code: BR33)
A guide to Bereavement Benefits (code: NP45)
A guide to State Pensions (code: NP46).
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress is being made on reducing the complexity of benefits acting as a barrier to work. [156116]
Mr. Plaskitt: We are committed to removing any barriers to the smooth transition from benefits to work.
We are determined to make work pay and we have increased the minimum income that people can expect on moving into work, thereby removing barriers and improving financial incentives to work.
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what criteria are used by the Pensions Service to dispatch claim forms for winter fuel allowance to people who will be aged 60 by the end of the qualifying week. [156658]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Each year the Pension Service dispatch winter fuel claim forms to customers using the following criteria:
Customers whose 60th birthday falls between the day following the previous years winter fuel payment qualifying week, and the last day of the current years winter fuel payment qualifying week.
Customers within the stated birth range for whom we have an address of at least two lines and a postcode, title, surname and forename, gender, national insurance number and verification level.
Customers who request a claim form
Female customers who are identified as already being in receipt of state pension are automatically entitled to a winter fuel payment and do not need to claim.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many press officers are employed by the Women's National Commission. [154657]
Barbara Follett: No press officers are employed by the Women's National Commission.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to improve work opportunities for disabled people. [156114]
Mrs. McGuire: We have a range of programmes designed to provide help to people with disabilities and in the year to April 2007 these programmes supported more than 50,000 people to get into or retain employment.
We are currently reviewing our employment services for disabled people and intend to consult on our proposals later in the year.
Mr. Spring: To ask the Solicitor-General how many press officers are employed by the Crown Prosecution Service. [154139]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service employs seven press officers at its headquarters. These consist of: four information officers; two senior information officers; and one chief press officer.
Next Section | Index | Home Page |