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7 Mar 2008 : Column 2871W—continued
Widows: Bereavement Benefits
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the eligibility criteria are for who may receive widow’s benefits on the death of a husband; and whether there is a cap on the number of wives who may do so. [188267]
Mr. Plaskitt: Bereavement benefits are available to men and women determined by their deceased spouse or civil partner’s national insurance contributions.
The bereavement payment is a tax-free lump sum payment of £2,000. It is payable if the surviving spouse or civil partner is under pension age when they are bereaved or if they are over state pension age and their late spouse or civil partner was not entitled to a category A state pension.
The bereavement allowance is payable for a maximum period of 52 weeks from the date of bereavement. It is a weekly benefit payable to widows, widowers and surviving civil partners who are aged between 45 and state pension age.
Widowed parent’s allowance is payable to a widow, widower or surviving civil partner who has a dependent child or qualifying young person (aged from 16 to 20).
We do not recognise polygamous wives for the purpose of contributory benefits based on a husband’s contributions, because the legislation provides that there can only be one spouse.
Winter Fuel Payments
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households (a) with more than £100,000 annual income and (b) in each household income decile have (i) one member and (ii) two members in receipt of (A) £100 a week, (B) £150 a week, (C) £200 a week and (D) £300 a week winter fuel payment. [189136]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the format requested.
An annual winter fuel payment of £200 is paid to a person aged 60 or over living at home (£100 if they share a home with someone else eligible for a winter fuel payment—this may be a spouse, partner, sibling or friend). £300 is payable to a person payments are available to almost all people aged 60 or over. Eligibility is not based on income; they were designed to give older people reassurance that they could turn up their heating in winter.
In 2005-06, the latest year for which details are available, Winter Fuel Payments were made to around 100,000 households containing pensioners with equivalised total annual income above £100,000.
The available information on the distribution of winter fuel payment by income decile is given in the following table.
| £ million | |
| Equilivalised income decile (after housing costs) | Number of households containing pensioners in receipt of winter fuel payments |
| Notes: 1. Data are provided on an after housing costs basis, which is our preferred measure for Pensioners. 2. These statistics employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication ‘Households Below Average Income' (HBAI) series, which uses disposable household income, adjusted (or “equivalised”) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. These figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors. 3. The figures are survey based and based in part on imputed information. In 2005-06, WFPs were made to 8.2 million households. Source: Family Resources Survey 2005-06. | |
Winter Fuel Payments: Eltham
Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people received a winter fuel payment in (a) Eltham constituency and (b) Greenwich borough in the most recent period for which figures are available. [192696]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In winter 2006-07, 14,360 people in Eltham constituency and 32,070 people in the borough of Greenwich received a winter fuel payment. We expect the numbers to be similar for winter 2007-08.
Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned, by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Source:
Information directorate 100 per cent. data.
Northern Ireland
Drinking Water
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many litres of bottled water were purchased by his Department in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [191255]
Mr. Woodward: The following table shows the Northern Ireland Office's (excluding its agencies) expenditure the last three financial years on the provision of bottled water and ancillary services related to the provision, for example the supply of dispensers and cups.
| Expenditure (£) | |
Information on the number of litres acquired is not held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Department is now committed to progressively reducing the usage of bottled water.
International Development
Basra Development Commission: Standards
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2007, Official Report, column 730W, on Basra Development Commission: standards, whether the Commission is now fully functional; and what detailed objectives have been agreed for the Commission. [191947]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Basra Development Commission (BDC) was announced by Barham Saleh, the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister, and the Basra Provincial Council, at the third Basra Development Forum on 12 December 2007.
The Commission brings together national, regional and international business knowledge to provide advice on how to increase investment and economic growth in the province. It will serve as a high level advisory body championing inward investment and local business development, but not as a direct delivery agent. Michael Wareing, international CEO of KPMG, has been appointed as co-chair of the Commission. The other co-chair is Munadil al Miyahi, chair of the Basra Provincial Council’s Economic Development Committee. Four other Iraqi Commissioners have now been confirmed by the Government. The full Commission met for the first time in Basra on 19 February.
The next step for the Commission is to formulate a Basra Economic Development Strategy, to establish Working Groups and a Youth Unemployment Task Force to consider taking forward priority areas of work, and to lead gatherings for potential investors in Basra. The first will be an ‘Invest Basra’ conference in Kuwait, March 12-13. The purpose of the conference is to bring external investors together with individuals and companies offering serious investment opportunities in Basra province.
Ghana: Money
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2008, Official Report, column 721W, on Ghana: money, what the exchange rate was on each transfer; how many Ghana new cedis were received for each; what commission was paid on each transfer; which exchange institution or bank was used for each; and what the purpose was of each. [192692]
Gillian Merron: Pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2008, Official Report, column 721W, the exchange rates used and cedi equivalents for transactions are noted in the following table.
Standard Chartered Bank is used for all transactions, with transfers from sterling to Ghana new cedis agreed on a no commission basis. Each payment was used to fund local expenditure through the DFID Ghana office.
| Value (£) | Exchange rate (GHS to £) used | Amount in new Ghana cedis (GHS) | |
Kosovo: Electricity
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the availability of supply of (a) electricity and (b) water in Kosovo; what assessment he has made of such availability in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [192247]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: There is near-universal access to electricity, and the proportion of the population with an indoor water tap has risen from 64 per cent. in 2002-03 to 84 per cent. in 2005-06. However, power is frequently interrupted and water quality is uneven.
Donors who are working to improve the quality of power and water supplies in Kosovo include the World Bank, the European Commission and the USA.
The Kosovo Poverty Update 2007, prepared by the World Bank and Statistics Office of Kosovo gives detailed figures for access to water and electricity going back to 2002-03. These are the earliest readily available figures. It is available at:
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTKOSOVO/Country% 20Home/21541686/KosovoPAvol1.pdf
Kosovo: Internet
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of (a) the number of internet users in Kosovo and (b) the availability of access to internet services; and if he will make a statement. [192264]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Very little data are available on internet access and usage in Kosovo.
According to the UNDP Human Development Report 2006, 75 per cent. of young people report using the internet. This report is available at:
Mozambique: Money
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2008, Official Report, column 722W, on Mozambique: money, what the exchange rate was on each transfer; how many Mozambiquan metacais were received for each; what commission was paid on each transfer; which exchange institution or bank was used for each; and what the purpose was of each. [192691]
Gillian Merron: Pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2008, Official Report, column 722W, on Mozambique, the exchange rates and amounts received were as follows:
| Value (£) | Mts | Rate | |
No commission was charged. All transactions were undertaken by Standard Bank as this is DFID Mozambique’s Corporate Banking Service Provider. The purpose was to pay for locally incurred costs of running the DFID Mozambique office.
Uganda: Money
Mr. Scott: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2008, Official Report, columns 723-24W, on Uganda: money, what the date was of each transaction; which exchange institution or bank was used for each; and what the purpose was of each. [192690]
Gillian Merron: Over the past six months the DFID Uganda office has made four transactions through Barclays Bank Uganda above the value of £25,000 where US dollars were sent from the Department’s headquarters in the UK to Barclays Bank Uganda, and were converted to Ugandan shillings in-country. The converted money was used where local payments in shillings are required, for example: local staff salaries; suppliers; utility bills; office rental costs; office supplies; transport and maintenance.
| US dollars ($) transformed to shillings | Equivalent in £ | Exchange rate ($ to s hs.) | Commission( 1) | |
| (1) DFID Uganda has negotiated with its bankers not to charge commission on any of its transactions as we do not receive interest from the money in its accounts. | ||||
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