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17 July 2008 : Column 657W—continued
State Retirement Pensions: Bexley
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pensioners in Bexley receiving the 25 pence age allowance. [218518]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: As at November 2007, there were 9,700 state pension claimants aged 80 or over receiving the age addition in the local authority area of Bexley.
1. Data are taken from five per cent. extracts of the Pensions Strategy Computer System, therefore figures are subject to a degree of sampling variation. They are also adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload from the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.
2. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 100.
3. Local authorities are allocated using the Office for National Statistics postcode directory.
State Retirement Pensions: Eligibility
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many British nationals over state pension age failed the habitual residence test when resuming a residence in the UK in (a) 2004, (b) 2005, (c) 2006 and (d) 2007. [219543]
Mr. Plaskitt: The available information is in the following table.
| Number of British nationals over state pension age who have passed or failed the habitual residence test in relation to pension credit | ||
| Passed | Failed | |
| Note: Some of those recorded as passing the test may have previously failed it. Records do not show when the test has been applied to the same person on a previous occasion. Source: DWP management information. | ||
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons the habitual residence test is applied to older British nationals who are returning to live in the UK. [219546]
Mr. Plaskitt: Everyone claiming income-related benefits when arriving or returning to the UK is required to show that they are habitually resident in this country and have a settled intention to remain. The habitual residence test is applied irrespective of age.
However, returning British nationals re-establishing their ties with the UK may be able to satisfy the test immediately.
Swimming: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department is contributing to the £140 million fund announced on 6th June 2008 to encourage local authorities to offer free swimming. [219730]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department has committed £22 million towards the £140 million fund over the period of the 2007 comprehensive spending review.
Vaccination: Compensation
Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many payments have been made under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme in each year since its inception; and for which vaccines the payment was awarded in each case. [216559]
Mrs. McGuire: The number of payments made under the Vaccine Damage Payments Act 1979, in each financial year since 1979 is listed in the following table.
The Department does not hold information about the specific vaccines linked to a successful vaccine damage payment claim. Claimants are asked to specify on the claim form all the vaccinations the disabled person received. However, as many vaccinations can be given in close proximity to each other it is not always possible to state categorically which vaccine caused the adverse reaction. Where a payment is made disability is not attributed to any specific vaccination.
Defence
Afghanistan: Detainees
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many visits have been made by personnel from his Department to detainees transferred from the custody of British forces to the government of Afghanistan in each month since December 2007; and what the purpose of each visit was. [214375]
Des Browne: Records show that, since December 2007, UK armed forces personnel have made nine visits to see Afghan detainees transferred to the custody of the government of Afghanistan, normally seeing several detainees in one visit. The visits are broken down by month as follows:
| Month | Number of visits |
The purpose of the visits was to check on the welfare and status of the detainees.
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the level of enhancement provided by the British armament package to the operational abilities of the Mastiff in Afghanistan. [218485]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I am withholding details as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Armed Forces: Fuels
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what planning assumptions his Department made regarding the unit cost of principal hydrocarbon fuels used by HM Armed Forces in determining its budget allocations for (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09. [219233]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The final Defence Corporate Planning Assumptions used when setting budget allocations for 2007-08 and 2008-09 were as follows:
| Propulsion fuel prices | ||
| £ per cubic metre | ||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Armoured Fighting Vehicles
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the user capability statement of the MOD Mastiff is; and what role it is to perform in Afghanistan. [218484]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Mastiff is used to provide armoured protection for troops. I am withholding further details as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured vehicles have been provided out of the future rapid effect system budget. [218491]
Defence Equipment
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average cost of equipping an individual serviceman or woman is with (a) basic, (b) specialist and (c) personal kit. [218498]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The approximate cost of basic uniform issued to service personnel during their recruitment stage is shown as follows:
| £ | |||
| Army | RAF | RN | |
| (1 )Includes mess dress. (2 )Includes tropical clothing. (3 )Includes RAF Blues. | |||
There are hundreds of specialist trades across the three services and well over 1,000 items of specialist equipment. It is therefore not possible to provide an average cost of specialist kit. The cost of the personal kit issued to all those deploying on operations, which includes enhanced combat body armour and Mk6a helmet, is approximately £2,500.
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