| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Mar 2008 : Column 834W—continued
The Department’s Debt Management organisation was established in 2001 and became fully operational in February 2006. Information is not available from Debt Management prior to July 2005.
| Complaints received by Debt Management | |||
| Number of complaints dealt with during initial phone call( 1) | Written complaints cleared | Written complaints received | |
| (1) The number cleared by phone relate to verbal complaints that were dealt with in the first instance by telephone and where the customer was completely satisfied with the outcome of the telephone call. | |||
Pensioners: Income
Mr. Evennett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average annual income of a pensioner household in (a) Bexleyheath
and Crayford and (b) London in the last period for which figures are available. [190727]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Information on pensioner incomes cannot be provided at a lower level than Government office region, averaged over three years. Latest information, based on the Family Resources Survey, relates to 2003-04 to 2005-06. This shows that the average annual net income before housing costs for all pensioner units in London was £15,800 in 2005-06 prices.
A pensioner unit is either a single person over state pension age (SPA) or a couple where at least one member is over SPA.
Pensioners: Poverty
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in (a) Eastbourne constituency, (b) East Sussex and (c) the UK falling below the poverty threshold in (i) 2010, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2014. [192119]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Poverty is a complex and multidimensional issue and, as such, there are many possible measures of poverty.
As no single measure captures all aspects of poverty, the new public service agreement “Tackle poverty and promote greater independence and wellbeing in later life” includes a range of indicators related to low income for pensioners. These are: the percentage of pensioners below 60 per cent. contemporary median income, 50 per cent. median income and 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices, all measured after housing costs.
Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in “Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2005-06 (Revised)”. The data source does not allow us to provide robust numbers for estimates below the level of Government office region.
The proportion of pensioners in low income in the UK and the south east has fallen substantially over the last 10 years. Any current projection of the number of pensioners in poverty in 2010, 2012 and 2014 would be subject to uncertainties around future income growth, changes in the income distribution and individual changes in behaviour in response to policy changes. The Government therefore do not publish forward projections.
Personal Accounts Delivery Authority
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of running the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority in each year until it is replaced by the Personal Accounts Board. [193969]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The cost of running the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority in 2007-08 is expected to be £13.7 million. The Authority is currently reviewing its costs for 2008-09 and beyond in the light of its re-planning exercise and as part of the Department’s budget-setting round.
Personal Care Services: Industrial Health and Safety
Dr. Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the Health and Safety Laboratory will publish its report on health issues for technicians employed in nail bars. [193346]
Mrs. McGuire: The research report, Health and Safety in Nailbars (CWH/07/05), has been cleared for open publication on the research publications area of the HSE website, and it is anticipated that the report will published on the site around the end of April.
Political Impartiality
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) for what purpose his Department records individuals’ political opinions; [177307]
(2) whether his Department records the political opinions of (a) staff and (b) benefit recipients. [179363]
Mrs. McGuire [holding answers 10 and 15 January 2008]: Civil servants are required to act in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Code, and section 4.4 of the Civil Service Management Code. These cover involvement in political activities and may require records to be kept.
The Department for Work and Pensions has no policies or practices which require benefit recipients’ political opinions to be recorded. These will only feature in records where they have been voluntarily included by the individual in conducting their business with the Department and it is necessary for unrelated business reasons that the documents be retained.
Poverty: Children
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the Government's policy is on the elimination of child poverty by 2020; [194955]
(2) whether the Government have amended its target to reduce child poverty by half its 1999 level by 2010. [194956]
Mr. Timms: On 12 March 2008 the Government reaffirmed their commitment to halving child poverty by 2010 and eliminating it by 2020 with the publication of “Ending child poverty: everybody's business”.
“Ending child poverty: everybody's business” sets out the Government's long-term strategy for achieving those targets and is available in the Library.
Television Screens
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many plasma television screens have been purchased by his Department and its agencies, and at what cost, in the last 24 months. [191076]
Mrs. McGuire: The following plasma TV screens have been purchased on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions:
2006-07 FY—three x Plasma TVs—costing £2,263.86
2007-08 FY—nine x Plasma TVs—costing £4,724.66
Information prior to 2006-07 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Unemployment: Dyspraxia
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department provides for (a) adults and (b) graduates who are unemployed as a result of (i) dyspraxia and (ii) other neuro-divergent conditions. [193284]
Mrs. McGuire: Adults, including graduates, living with dyspraxia or other neuro-divergent conditions are able to make use of the mainstream job placing services provided by Jobcentre Plus. For those who cannot be helped by these mainstream services, however, Jobcentre Plus provides a range of specialist disability measures via disability employment advisers and incapacity benefit personal advisers.
People with dyspraxia or other neuro-divergent conditions may make use of the Access to Work programme if they need help with the additional costs caused by their disability, or with travelling to work. They can also be helped by a support worker in a number of ways, for example as a job coach, mentor, advocate or counsellor.
The WORKSTEP programme of supported employment can also provide tailored support to find, and retain, jobs for people with disabilities who face more complex barriers. WORKSTEP provides the opportunity for people to progress to open employment where this is the right option for the individual. Longer-term support continues to be available for those who need it.
New deal for disabled people is a voluntary initiative offered to customers in receipt of a disability or health related benefit. A network of providers offers support and services to those on eligible benefits who want to enter work, with the aim of achieving lasting, paid employment. New deal for disabled people is available to customers across the full range of health conditions and disabilities, including those with dyspraxia or other neuro-divergent conditions.
Our successful Pathways to Work programme, currently available in 40 per cent. of the country, helps people with a range of health conditions and disabilities. Pathways to Work is primarily aimed at new incapacity benefits customers, but is also available to existing benefit customers on a voluntary basis.
People with dyspraxia or other neuro-divergent conditions may also be entitled to a wide range of other benefits.
Winter Fuel Payments
Martin Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will raise the level of winter fuel payments to take account of recent increases in energy prices. [194533]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The winter fuel payment is worth £200 for households with someone aged 60 to 79 and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over. It provides a significant contribution towards the cost of winter heating bills.
Next winter, 2008-09, a one-off additional payment will be made. Households with someone aged 60 to 79
will receive an extra £50 giving them £250 and households with someone aged 80 or over will receive an extra £100 giving them £400.
Winter Fuel Payments: Hampshire
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on winter fuel payments in each local authority area in Hampshire in each of the last five years; how many payments were made in each year; and if he will make a statement. [188585]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The expenditure on winter fuel payments in each local authority area in Hampshire is in the following table.
| £ million | |||||
| Local authorities in Hampshire | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
| Notes: 1. Totals may not sum up due to founding. 2. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant postcode directory. 3. Winter fuel payments cannot be separated from age related payments at local authority level in 2004-05. Therefore for 2004-05 they have been estimated by assuming that the proportion of winter fuel payments expenditure falling to each local authority in Great Britain is the same as the proportion for winter fuel payments and age related payments expenditure combined. | |||||
Winter Fuel Payments: Lancashire
Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency receive the winter fuel payment. [194047]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: In winter 2006-07, 22,070 people in the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency received a winter fuel payment. We expect the number to be similar for winter 2007-08.
Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Source:
Information directorate 100 per cent. data
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |