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29 Oct 2007 : Column 752W—continued


Discrimination: Age

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to combat ageism in the workplace; how many legal claims have been made against employers relating to ageism in the last five years, broken down by (a) age and (b) sector; and if he will make a statement. [160869]

Mr. McFadden: I have been asked to reply.


29 Oct 2007 : Column 753W

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1031) came into force on 1 October 2006. These regulations outlaw unjustified age discrimination in employment and vocational training. Provisions relating to occupational pensions came into force on 1 December 2006. The regulations give individuals important new rights, extend existing rights and speed up removal of traditional barriers. Figures on the number of legal claims made against employers relating to ageism in the last five years are not currently available as the regulations have only been in force since 1 October 2006. These will be provided by the ETS in its annual report. ETS does not routinely collect information on the age and sector of claimants, but BERR does carry out periodic surveys of employment tribunal findings. The last was carried out in 2003 (DTI/Pub 7531/0.9k/08/04/AR. URN 04/1071). The next survey is due to be carried out in 2008 and will include among other things information on the age and sector of claimants.

Employee Assistance Programme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance he has issued to employers on financial arrangements for employee assistance programmes; what recent steps he has taken to promote the programme to employers; and what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on employee assistance programmes. [151249]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 23 July 2007]: No discussions have taken place with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on employee assistance programmes and the Government have not published guidance to employers on financial arrangements for employee assistance programmes. No promotional activity has taken place.

Employers' Liability: East Midlands

Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of companies in the East Midlands with invalid or insufficient liability insurance. [161447]

Mrs. McGuire: I refer to the answer given to the hon. Member’s question dated 18 October 2006 and recorded in Hansard under reference 30 October 2006, Official Report, column 11W.

HSE remains unaware of any complaints in the East Midlands concerned with deficiencies in ELCI policies. There have been no prosecutions brought by HSE in the East Midlands under the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 since the previous answer.

Employment

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will give a breakdown of the number of people in employment in the UK who were (a) UK citizens, (b) citizens of other EU states and (c) citizens of non-EU states in each year since 1971. [155993]


29 Oct 2007 : Column 754W

Caroline Flint: The following table provides the information requested. Data are only available back as far as spring 1995 broken down by nationality. The figures quoted are based on population estimates published in 2003. A note placed in the Library in response to PQ/07/157946 provides a broader context for changes in employment since 1997.

Quarter spring UK nationals non UK, EU nationals non-EU nationals

1995

24,760,000

440,000

420,000

1996

25,000,000

420,000

430,000

1997

25,310,000

450,000

510,000

1998

25,450,000

500,000

550,000

1999

25,780,000

500,000

530,000

2000

26,050,000

510,000

610,000

2001

26,210,000

540,000

660,000

2002

26,270,000

560,000

730,000

2003

26,470,000

550,000

800,000

2004

26,530,000

590,000

890,000

2005

26,620,000

650,000

900,000

2006

26,500,000

750,000

1,050,000

Quarter 2 2006(1)

26,520,000

750,000

1,070,000

Quarter 2 2007(1)

26,350,000

980,000

1,110,000

(1) Quarter 2 for years 2006 and 2007 have been used in place of summer quarters as after spring 2006 seasonal quarters are no longer available. For periods after 2006 we only have calendar quarters available. Calendar quarters do not have as extensive a time series available. Spring quarters cover months March to May, Quarter 2 covers April to June.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000.
2. These figures are subject to seasonal variation and fluctuate to some extent from quarter to quarter.
3. As these figures are based on a sample survey they are also subject to sampling variability.
4. It should be noted that the nationality question in the LFS is an undercount because:
it excludes those who have not been resident in the UK for six months
it excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent
it excludes people in most other types of communal establishments (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites, etc.)
it is grossed to population estimates that only include migrants staying for 12 months or more.
Source:
Labour Force Survey, Q2 1997, Q2 2007.

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) UK nationals and (b) foreign nationals were employed in the UK in (i) 1997 and (ii) the most recent period for which figures are available; what those figures are as a percentage of those in employment in the UK; and what the percentage change in each of these figures was in the relevant period. [158012]

Caroline Flint [holding answer 15 October 2007]: The following table provides the information requested, as well as information on employment rates. As shown, the employment rates of both UK nationals and foreign nationals have improved during the period. The employment rate for UK nationals is higher than that of foreign nationals but the gap is closing.

The total number in employment in the UK in 2007 is shown to be 28.4 million. This figure is based on estimates made in 2003 of the population in 2007 because these are the latest estimates available for use in
29 Oct 2007 : Column 755W
respect of particular categories of the labour force such as migrants. The Labour Market Statistics release produced by the Office for National Statistics shows the total employment level to be 29.10 million. This figure is based on estimates made in 2005 of the population in 2007, the latest estimates which can be used for the total employment level.


29 Oct 2007 : Column 756W

The increase in the number of foreign nationals in employment in the UK since 1997 is shown to be 1.1 million. This figure differs from the figure of 0.8 million given in PQ/07/154368 for reasons set out in the answer to PQ/07/157946. A note placed in the Library in response to PQ/07/157946 provides a broader context for changes in employment since 1997.

Employment level (million) Percentage of those in employment Employment rate (Percentage)
UK nationals Foreign nationals Total UK nationals Foreign nationals UK nationals Foreign nationals Total

1997

25.4

1.0

26.4

96.3

3.7

73.2

60.6

72.6

2007

26.3

2.1

28.4

92.7

7.3

74.8

67.6

74.2

Net change

1.0

1.1

2.1

-3.7

3.7

1.6

7.0

1.5

Percentage change

3.8

115.0

7.9

-3.8

99.3

2.1

11.6

2.1

Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 100,000.
2. These figures are subject to seasonal variation and fluctuate to some extent from quarter to quarter.
3. As these figures are based on a sample survey they are also subject to sampling variability.
4. It should be noted that the nationality question in the LFS is an undercount because:-
it excludes those who have not been resident in the UK for six months
it excludes students in halls who do not have a UK resident parent
it excludes people in most other types of communal establishments (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites, etc.)
it is grossed to population estimates that only include migrants staying for 12 months or more.
Source:
Labour Force Survey, Q2 1997, Q2 2007.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of how much would be needed on average in each of the next 50 years in (a) net present value and (b) cash sum terms in order for the Financial Assistance Scheme to pay 90 per cent. of the (i) core and (ii) expected pensions of all those eligible for support; and if he will make a statement. [160738]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The ‘core’ pension as defined by the financial assistance scheme standardises some pension features for ease of administration and to protect the public purse. For example, payments start from 65 rather than scheme pension age and no indexation is provided. The cash and NPV costs of paying 90 per cent. of core pension are in the following table and sum to approximately £10 billion in cash terms.

We do not have the data to estimate accurately an ‘expected’ pension. Schemes that qualify for the financial assistance scheme have very different scheme rules, for example, on indexation and revaluation (particularly for pre-1997 pension accruals), and it is not possible to make precise estimates of these differences.

In the Government response to the report by the parliamentary ombudsman on occupational pensions (Trusting in the Pensions Promise, June 2006), we estimated the total cost of meeting expected pensions at between £13 billion and £17 billion in cash terms to reflect this uncertainty.


29 Oct 2007 : Column 757W
90 per cent. core pension
Cash (£ million) Net present value (£ million)

2007

14

14

2008

36

34

2009

44

39

2010

44

37

2011

52

41

2012

65

48

2013

78

54

2014

90

59

2015

101

63

2016

112

66

2017

125

69

2018

142

74

2019

155

76

2020

166

77

2021

178

77

2022

193

79

2023

204

79

2024

214

78

2025

227

78

2026

239

77

2027

250

76

2028

262

75

2029

271

73

2030

276

71

2031

282

68

2032

287

65

2033

290

62

2034

290

59

2035

290

55

2036

287

51

2037

284

48

2038

280

45

2039

274

42

2040

267

38

2041

259

35

2042

251

32

2043

242

29

2044

233

27

2045

223

24

2046

213

22

2047

203

20

2048

193

18

2049

183

16

2050

172

14

2051

162

13

2052

152

11

2053

142

10

2054

132

9

2055

122

8

2056

112

7

2057

103

6

Notes:
1. All figures are displayed in £ million, rounded to the nearest £1 million.
2. Net present value is calculated according to HM Treasury Guidance.

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