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15 Sep 2008 : Column 2094W—continued
New Deal Schemes: Disqualification
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions have been applied to claimants on each New Deal scheme during their (a) first, (b) second, (c) third and (d) fourth or more time of involvement with the scheme for their (i) first, (ii) second and (iii) third or more offence. [223319]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 10 September 2008]: The information is not available.
Pension Credit
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were granted backdated pension credits going back further than three months (a) in England, (b) in London and (c) in the London Borough of Sutton in the last year for which figures are available. [214373]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: All the information requested is not available; such information as is available is in the following table. Precise information on the time customers take to claim pension credit (known as backdating) is not routinely collected. The information in the following table estimates the possible maximum extent of backdating by examining the difference between the date of first payment and the date at which entitlement begins. In some cases where payment starts after entitlement the delay will be due to processing times, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompanies claims for pension credit.
| Estimates of pension credit claims backdated for more than three months in England and London, 2006-07 | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Estimates have been rounded to the nearest 10,000. 2. Estimates at local authority level are not sufficiently robust for publication. 3. Care should be taken when interpreting the table. The Department does not routinely collect information on backdating periods and these estimates have been produced by comparing information on the date entitlement starts and the date pension credit is put into payment. Estimated backdating periods therefore include unknown periods of time that are due to processing, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompany every claim for pension credit. 4. Estimates cover the 2006-07 financial year May 2006 to February 2007. Source: Experimental Statistics of Pension Credit on flows. | |
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent by his Department on backdated payments of pension credit in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [216060]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Precise information on the time customers take to claim pension credit (known as backdating) is not routinely collected, nor therefore is expenditure on backdating. Expenditure on backdating has been estimated using information on average awards and backdating periods. Backdating periods have been estimated by comparing information on the date entitlement starts and (the date pension credit is put into payment. In some cases where payment starts after entitlement the delay will be due to processing times, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompanies claims for pension credit. In 2006-07 around 60 per cent. of all successful new claims were backdated for three months or less (this includes cases with zero backdating). The information that is available is in the following table.
| Expenditure on pension credit backdating | |
| Total expenditure (£ million) | |
| Notes: 1. Care should be taken when interpreting the table. The Department does not routinely collect information on expenditure on backdated payments and it has been estimated using information on average awards and backdating periods. Backdating periods have been estimated by comparing information on the date entitlement starts and the date pension credit is put into payment. Estimated backdating periods therefore include unknown periods of time that are due to processing, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompany every claim for pension credit. 2. All figures are consistent with the 2008 Budget Report. 3. Estimates are rounded to the nearest £10 million. 4. Pension credit was introduced in October 2003, so expenditure figures are only available from this date. Source: Experimental Statistics of Pension Credit on flows and DWP Accounting Systems | |
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of pension credit claimants who will be affected by the change in the limit on backdating claims for pension credit from 12 to three months; and if he will make a statement. [216061]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 May 2008, Official Report, column 1700W, to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander).
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department from changes to the backdating of pension credit from 12 to three months in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement. [216062]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green (Lynne Featherstone) on 21 July 2008, Official Report, columns 862-63W.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of pension credit recipients received backdated payments (a) in total and (b) for a period covering (i) up to three months, (ii) between three and six months and (iii) between six and 12 months, broken down by (A) guarantee credit and (B) savings credit in each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement. [219205]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information is not available in the format requested. Precise information on the time customers take to claim pension credit (known as backdating) is not routinely collected. The information in the following table estimates the possible maximum extent of backdating by examining the difference between the date of first payment and date at which entitlement begins. In some cases where payment starts after entitlement the delay will be due to processing times, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompanies claims for pension credit.
| Estimates of the number of claims for pension credit guarantee credit (GC) and pension credit savings credit (SC) by backdating period between 2003 and 2006 | ||||||||
| Thousand | ||||||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |||||
| Months | GC | SC | GC | SC | GC | SC | GC | SC |
| Estimates of the proportion of claims for pension credit guarantee credit (GC) and pension credit savings credit (SC) by backdating period between 2003 and 2006 | ||||||||
| To the nearest 5 per cent. | ||||||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |||||
| Months | GC | SC | GC | SC | GC | SC | GC | SC |
| Notes: 1. Estimates of the number of guarantee credit and savings credit claims by length of backdating cannot be added together to obtain total pension credit claims by length of backdating because some households receive both guarantee credit and savings credit. 2. Estimates of the number of claims by length of backdating period have been rounded to the nearest 10,000 cases. 3. Estimates of the number of claims backdated as a percentage of annual onflows have been rounded to the nearest 5 percentage points. 4. Care should be taken when interpreting the table. The Department does not routinely collect information on backdating periods and these have been estimated by comparing information on the date entitlement starts and the date pension credit is put into payment. Estimated backdating periods therefore include unknown periods of time that are due to processing, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompany every claim for pension credit. 5. Pension credit was introduced in October 2003. About 1.8 million minimum income guarantee cases were transferred to pension credit at this time which explains the large number of on flows in 2003. 6. Estimates cover financial years for example April 2006 to March 2007, with the exception of 2003, which covers October 2003 to March 2004. 7. Estimates for 2007 have not been included as data are available only for the first quarter of that year. 8. Due to rounding the numbers of successful claims by period of backdating may not sum to the total number of successful claims. 9. Due to rounding the percentage of onflows by period of backdating may not sum to 100 per cent. 10. Onflows measure the total number of spells on benefit that commenced within a quarter. They do not include flows where people have moved out of one geographical area and into another while remaining on the benefit. 11. Estimates of the number of claims backdated 0 to 3 months include those with zero backdating. Source: Experimental Statistics of Pension Credit on flows. | ||||||||
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average sum received in backdated pension credit was (a) in total and (b) per month for pension credit recipients who received backdated payments for a period covering (i) up to three months, (ii) between three and six months and (iii) between six and 12 months in each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement. [219206]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: Precise information on the time customers take to claim pension credit (known as backdating) is not routinely collected. Backdating periods have been estimated by comparing information on the date entitlement starts and the date pension credit is put into payment. In some cases where payment starts after entitlement the delay will be due to processing times, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompanies claims for pension credit. In 2006-07 around 60 per cent. of all successful new claims were backdated for three months or less (this includes cases with zero backdating).
The information that is available is in the following table.
| Estimates of the average total amount of pension credit backdated by period of backdating , 2003 - 06 | ||||
| £ | ||||
| 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | |
| Notes: 1. Estimates of the average amount of backdated pension credit have been rounded to the nearest £50. 2. Care should be taken when interpreting the table. The Department only holds information on the date entitlement starts and the date pension credit is put into payment. The length of backdating period has been estimated by comparing these dates. Estimated backdated periods therefore include processing times, evidence gathering and verification work which routinely accompany every claim for pension credit. 3. Estimates exclude cases where pension credit was not backdated. 4. Pension credit was introduced in October 2003. 5. Estimates cover financial years, for example April 2006 to March 2007, with the exception of 2003, which covers October 2003 to March 2004. 6. Estimates for 2007 have not been included as data is available only for the first quarter of that year. 7. On-flows measure the total number of spells on benefit that commenced within a quarter. They do not include flows where people have moved out of one geographical area and into another while remaining on the benefit. Source: Experimental statistics of pension credit on flows. | ||||
Post Office Card Account
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his letter of 9 July to the right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling what (a) EU and (b) UK legislation creates a legal requirement for a competitive tender to be held for the successor to the current Post Office card account. [223287]
Mr. Timms [holding answer 10 September 2008]: The legislation that creates a legal requirement for a competitive tender to be held for the successor to the current Post Office card account is EU Directive 2004/18/EC, enacted in the UK as “The Public Contracts Regulations 2006”.
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