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23 Oct 2007 : Column 243W—continued
Pensions
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensions were paid into the wrong bank accounts in each of the last five years. [157187]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information is not available in the format requested. There are many reasons why pensions could be paid into the wrong bank account. This could be due to departmental, customer or bank error.
Pensions: Carers
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to improve the state pension entitlement of people who stay at home to care for (a) children and (b) elderly relatives. [159069]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: People who are bringing up children or caring for severely disabled people can already protect their state pension through measures such as Home Responsibilities Protection and carer’s allowance credits.
The Pensions Act 2007 makes further changes that will make it easier for people with caring responsibilities to build up state pension provision and will ensure that caring contributions are valued equally with paid contributions. This includes the replacement of Home Responsibilities Protection with weekly national insurance credits for those receiving child benefit for children aged up to 12, approved foster carers and those caring for severely disabled people for at least 20 hours a week. These credits will give entitlement to both the basic state pension and state second pension.
These changes will extend state pension coverage and provide simpler and fairer state pensions for carers, including those people who stay at home to look after children or to care for severely disabled people such as elderly relatives.
Pensions: Expenditure
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the net annual cost for each year from 2008 to 2025 of (a) paying the basic state pension at its current level, increased annually in line with average earnings to (i) all pensioners and (ii) all pensioners who have accrued at least 30 years of national insurance contributions, (b) raising the basic state pension to the current level of the pensions credit guarantee, increased annually in line with average earnings and paying it to (A) all pensioners and (B) all pensioners who have accrued at least 30 years of national insurance contributions and (c) raising the basic state pension to 60 per cent. of median population income, increased annually in line with average earnings and paying it to (1) all pensioners and (2) all pensioners who have accrued at least 30 years of national insurance contributions. [160397]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Social Security Benefits
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number and proportion of people who have moved off jobseeker's allowance onto (a) incapacity benefit and (b) income support in each year since 1997. [159624]
Mr. Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
Social Security Benefits: Chronically Sick
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department provides financial support to terminally ill people without an estate, next of kin or life insurance, to assist them in making personal arrangements for their funerals. [160433]
Mr. Plaskitt: The Department does not provide financial support to people to assist them in making arrangements for their own funerals.
However, where someone has died and there are insufficient funds available for the burial or cremation, help may be available to a third party through the social fund. The person seeking help must have been awarded a qualifying income-related benefit or tax credit and have good reason for taking responsibility for the funeral arrangements. This is to ensure that available resources go to those who are least well off.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) prosecutions and (b) sanctions for benefit fraud there were in the last 12 months for which figures are available, broken down by benefit. [156915]
Mr. Plaskitt: Information is not available regarding the number of benefit fraud sanctions broken down by benefit for both DWP and local authorities. Information is not available for the number of prosecutions by local authorities broken down by benefit. The available information regarding the number of prosecutions by DWP broken down by benefit is in the following table:
| Benefit fraud prosecutions by DWP broken down by benefit 2006-07 | |
| Benefit | Number of cases |
| Notes: 1. The figures do not include General Matching Service cases. 2. There is a potentially some overlap in the figures. For example, someone prosecuted for an offence related to their claim for income support or jobseeker’s allowance may also be counted in the figures for incapacity benefit, housing benefit or council tax benefit. For this reason, the figures cannot be added up to calculate the total number of prosecutions. 3. Figures are for prosecutions not convictions. 4. Although DWP do not administer housing benefit and council tax benefit, cases prosecuted by DWP where the recipient also receives housing benefit or council tax benefit are recorded. 5. Local authorities also prosecute offences where housing benefit and council tax benefit are in payment. However, these are not available broken down by benefit. Source: Fraud Information By Sector computer system. | |
Winter Fuel Payments: Leeds
John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for winter fuel payments were made in the Leeds, West constituency in each year since their introduction. [159860]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information relating to winter fuel payments for the winters of 1997-98 and 1998-99 is not available. The information from winter 1999-2000 is in the following table.
| Leeds, West Constituency | |
| Payments m ade | |
| Notes: 1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the ONS postcode directory. Source: Information directorate 100 per cent. data. | |
Treasury
Air Passenger Duty
Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to announce the opening of the consultation period on his announced changes to air passenger duty. [159300]
Angela Eagle: The Government are currently consulting informally with stakeholders and will publish a formal consultation document at the start of the new year.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect on tax revenue of his recent announcement on changes to the structure of air passenger duty. [159827]
Angela Eagle: Details are set out in the 2007 pre-Budget report and in the pre-Budget report note (PBRN 24) published by HM Revenue and Customs on 9 October 2007 (www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2007/pbrn24.pdf).
Child Benefit
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for child benefit in respect of children living outside the UK that have yet to be concluded originated in each Government office region. [159060]
Jane Kennedy: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Corporation Tax
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what change there will be in the amount of corporation tax a business with profits of £100,000 will pay in the 2007-08 financial year as a result of the measures announced in the 2007 budget. [158457]
Jane Kennedy: The amount of tax payable by an individual company is dependent on the specific circumstances of the company.
Departments: Cost Effectiveness
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what efficiency savings his Department was required to make as part of its Spending Review 2004 (SR04) targets; what efficiency projects have been undertaken in the Department in pursuit of those targets; on what date each was initiated; and how much each was predicted to contribute to the SR04 target. [160540]
Angela Eagle: HM Treasury's plans for delivering its Spending Review 2004 efficiency savings are set out in its Efficiency Technical Note. In addition to publishing its efficiency plans, HM Treasury also regularly publishes its performance against these plans in its Annual Report and Accounts (previously its Departmental Report) (published each spring) and its Autumn Performance Report. These are all available at:
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