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4 Nov 2008 : Column 272W—continued
The pension centres deal with the following geographic areas:
Social Security Benefits Agency: Expenditure
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost to the public purse of the Benefits Agency was in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [228622]
Mr. McNulty: The Benefits Agency ceased to exist in 2002.
Information concerning the cost to the public purse of the Department for Work and Pensions is available in its 2008 Departmental Report (Cm 7401), copies of which are in the Library.
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were prosecuted for crimes relating to benefit fraud in (a) West Chelmsford constituency and (b) the Chelmsford local authority area in each of the last five years. [232774]
Mr. McNulty: The information is not available.
Social Security Benefits: Industrial Disputes
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what contingency plans he is considering to ensure the efficient and effective operation of benefit payments for the duration of planned industrial action by civil service unions; [230005]
(2) what assessment he has made of the effect on his Department’s published performance targets of planned industrial action by civil service unions; and if he will make a statement; [230006]
(3) what assessment he has made of the effect on pension and benefit recipients of planned industrial action by civil service unions; [230007]
(4) what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department’s budget of planned industrial action by civil service unions; and what adjustments will be necessary to ensure that his Department’s budgets balance. [230008]
Mr. McNulty: Our contingency plans, which are flexible and proven, include prioritising our resources to ensure that our top priority—to make payments to our customers—is maintained throughout any strike action by staff. We will also maintain access to our services by telephone and wherever possible face to face.
Ninety-eight per cent. of DWP customers receive automated payments. Customers, including pensioners, job seekers, benefit claimants and those who rely on child maintenance payments will continue to receive the payments on which they depend.
The flexible nature of our business delivery and our business continuity planning will enable us to minimise the impact of industrial action on published performance targets.
Short-term periods of industrial action do not have any significant impact on the Department’s budget.
State Retirement Pensions
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals received late payment of their state pension during the last 12 months in (a) Eastbourne constituency, (b) East Sussex and (c) the UK. [229998]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals received a late payment of their deferred state pension in each of the last 12 months. [231852]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available.
State Retirement Pensions: Hillingdon
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals received late payment of their state pension in (a) the London Borough of Hillingdon and (b) Uxbridge constituency in the last 12 months. [231724]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available.
State Retirement Pensions: Overseas Residence
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many state pension recipients live outside the UK. [231841]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The latest estimate of the number of UK state pensions paid to pensioners living outside the UK is approximately 1,090,000.
Source:
Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, 100 per cent data, February 2008
Vocational Training: South Yorkshire
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of employment training funding provided to training providers in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) Rotherham and (c) Barnsley was (i) spent on training and (ii) retained as cash, profits of charges by the training provider over the last five years. [231293]
Mr. McNulty: The information requested is not available.
This is primarily a matter for the individual providers. The Department awards contracts which stipulate a given level and quality of provision at an agreed price which represents value for money and providers are expected to deliver against the terms of those contracts.
Mr. Illsley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how much has been allocated, and to which organisations, by the Government on employment training in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) Rotherham and (c) Barnsley in each of the last five years; [231294]
(2) which training providers have provided services paid for by employment training funding in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) Rotherham and (c) Barnsley in each of the last five years; [231295]
(3) which training providers received employment training funding in (a) South Yorkshire, (b) Rotherham and (c) Barnsley in the last five years. [231316]
Mr. McNulty: The following table provides details of the providers, in each of the locations requested, that have received employment training funding from the Department in the last five years and the estimated contract values for the providers in the South Yorkshire district. Some of the values represent a number of different contracts held by individual providers.
The Department does not hold central records of employment training funding allocated to individual towns and could provide this information only at disproportionate cost.
| South Yorkshire | Rotherham | Barnsley | |
| Providers | Contract(s) value (£) | Providers | Providers |
Winter Fuel Payments
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 29 September 2008, Official Report, column 2402W, on winter fuel payments, what estimate he has made of the value of the winter fuel payment in 2008-09 for a 60 to 79 year-old, expressed as a percentage of the average annual energy and gas bill. [232964]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Actual expenditure data on the average annual energy and gas bill for 2008-09 are not available. However, based on fuel price changes to September 2008 it is estimated that the winter fuel payment of £200 plus the additional payment of £50 for 2008-09 would make up around 20 per cent. of the average annual energy and gas bill.
Notes:
1. Household energy expenditure on energy is taken from the 2006 Family Spending Survey for 65-74 year olds, uprated by changes in the price of fuel and light to September 2008
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 per cent.
Winter Fuel Payments: Hillingdon
Mr. Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how much he expects to pay to pensioner households in (a) the London Borough of Hillingdon and (b) Uxbridge constituency in winter fuel payments in 2008-09; [231802]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of households in (a) the London Borough of Hillingdon and (b) Uxbridge constituency which will receive the (i) £250 and (ii) £400 winter fuel payment in 2008-09. [231803]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Expenditure in 2006-07 on winter fuel payments in (a) the London borough of Hillingdon was £7.3 million and in (b) the Uxbridge constituency was £2.4 million. Forecasts of benefit expenditure are not produced below national level.
It is not possible to derive a forecast for 2008-09 using 2006-07 outturn data because the benefit rates for winter fuel payments have changed for 2008-09 and because adequate caseload data are not available.
Notes:
1. Expenditure figures have been rounded to the nearest £100,000.
2. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
3. Please note that a small number of these households receive amounts higher than the usual rate for their age group, where the household includes more than two individuals each entitled to payments at half of the usual household rate.
Source:
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