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28 Feb 2008 : Column 1786W—continued
The lower than expected average differences for Grades 6 and 7 in the outer London pay area are because a larger proportion of salaries are lower down the pay scale for this group than elsewhere.
| Table 2: Estimated total additional cost of pay areas in 2006-07 | ||||
| £ million | ||||
| Grade | SLPZ | Outer London | Inner London | Total |
| Table 3: Estimated total additional cost as a percentage of total paybill | |||
| Percentage | |||
| SLPZ | Outer London | Inner London | Total |
In addition to these pay areas, DWP pays a location based recruitment and retention addition (RRA) to staff based on a number of Scottish islands:
Orkney (Kirkwall);
Shetland (Lerwick); and
Outer Hebrides (Stornoway).
In 2006-07 an estimated 106 staff were eligible for payments at a total cost of some £125,000.
(b) DWP does not pay bonuses on the basis of geographical locations.
(c) DWP does not have any incentive packages in place that is based on any particular geographical locations.
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Departmental employees were paid (a) over £60,000 and (b) over £100,000 per annum, inclusive of bonuses, in the most recent financial year for which figures are available. [173106]
Mrs. McGuire: The information is in the following table:
| Number of employees | |
| Note: The number of employees shown as being paid over £60,000 does not include those being paid over £100,000. | |
The table gives figures for the number of employees who were paid over £60,000 and over £100,000 (gross) in total during the financial year April 2006 to March 2007. The figures in the table include bonus payments to employees. The award of performance bonuses, which are used to help drive performance, are dependent on achievement of business objectives, and relative to performance of others within the same pay band.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) loans, (b) lump sum payments, (c) grants, (d) crisis loans and (e) budgeting loans have been made by his Department to people in each region in each month since January 2000. [174730]
Mr. Plaskitt [holding answer 17 December 200 7 ]: The available information on Social Fund awards based on Government Office Regions has been placed in the Library.
Disability Living Allowance
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what checks are made on the immigration status of applicants for disability living allowance who declare themselves to be British; and if he will make a statement. [174752]
Mrs. McGuire: The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the acting chief executive of the disability and carers service, Mrs. Vivien Hopkins. She will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Vivien Hopkins, dated 11 January 2008:
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what checks are made on the immigration status of applicants for disability living allowance who declare themselves to be British; and if he will make a statement.
The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Acting Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
I can confirm that where an applicant to Disability Living Allowance declares themselves to be British, they have a National Insurance Number and there is nothing in the information we hold or the customer has provided to contradict the declaration they have made, we enquire no further about their immigration status.
In order to get a National Insurance number applicants have to undergo rigorous checks in respect of their nationality and right to remain in the United Kingdom. This includes document validation.
I hope this reply is helpful.
Disability Living Allowance: Mentally Ill
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the rights of people with mental illnesses to claim the higher level of mobility benefit under the disability living allowance. [176006]
Mrs. McGuire: Our records show that we have received a small number of recent representations relating to the rights of people with mental illnesses to claim the higher rate mobility component.
Disability Living Allowance: Sight Impaired
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) blind and (b) partially sighted people are claiming disability living allowance mobility component. [178954]
Mrs. McGuire: The information is not available in the format requested. At May 2007 there were 61,420 people in receipt of the mobility component in disability living allowance whose main disabling condition was that they were blind or they were deaf and blind.
EU Grants and Loans
Mr. Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people employed in his Department work on administering EU structural funds, and what the cost of such staff was in 2006-07.[176043]
Mr. Plaskitt: In 2006-07, 46 people were employed in the Department for Work and Pensions on administering EU structural funds, and the running costs related to these staff were £2.2 million.
Health and Safety Executive: Manpower
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many inspectors were employed by the Health and Safety Executive in 2006-07; and how many are expected to be employed in (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09. [173798]
Mrs. McGuire: At 1 April 2007, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) employed 1,439 inspectors and it estimates that it will employ approximately 1,400 by 31 March 2008. HSE should be able to provide an estimate of the number of inspectors it expects to employ in 2008-09 following confirmation of its resource settlement for the period April 2008 to March 2011
Housing Benefit
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people had their (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit claim backdated by more than three months in each of the last five years; [175242]
(2) how much was spent on backdating of (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit claims for those whose claims were backdated by (i) less than three months and (ii) three months or more in each of the last five years. [175243]
Mr. Plaskitt: Prior to April 2007 no information was collected from local authorities on the number of people or the amount of backdating paid out to housing benefit and council tax benefit claimants.
Following the introduction of a new data source, this information will become available in the future but at the moment there are insufficient data to estimate the number of people or the amount spent on backdating.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what measures have been put in place to ensure that the proposed reduction in backdating of housing benefit claims and council tax benefit claims does not have an adverse impact on vulnerable households. [175244]
Mr. Plaskitt: We have worked to ensure that people can gain access to housing benefit and council tax benefit quickly and simply by allowing combined claims with DWP administered benefits, creating new opportunities to claim benefits via third sector partners and enabling local authorities to take telephone and electronic claims.
This current package will build on these existing measures to simplify the claims process for pensioners further by allowing people who apply for pension credit by telephone to also claim their council tax and housing benefit at the same time, without the need to
submit a claim form. These measures will reduce the need for backdating for all claimants, including those in vulnerable households.
Incapacity Benefit
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of applicants for incapacity benefit underwent a face-to-face assessment as part of the process to approve their claim in each year since 1997. [173911]
Mrs. McGuire: Information about the proportion of applicants for incapacity benefits who underwent a face to face assessment and data prior to September 1998 is not available. The available information is in the following table.
| Number of medical examinations for incapacity benefits | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. The figures cover recipients in all age groups. 2. The figures represent all medical examinations and include repeat assessments—not just assessments for new claims. | |
Jobseeker’s Allowance
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if an applicant for job seeker’s allowance (JSA) is to be fast-tracked on to the new gateway from day one of their application, what duration that applicant must have spent previously claiming JSA. [178997]
Mr. Plaskitt: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 10 January 2008, Official Report, column 718W.
Occupational Pensions
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the aggregate size of contributions to pension funds was in each year since 1997. [175053]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information requested is as follows.
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