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22 Jan 2009 : Column 1682W—continued
National Insurance: Fraud
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of (a) national insurance (NI) numbers in use, (b) unused NI numbers and (c) fake or fraudulently obtained NI numbers in each of the last five years. [245252]
Mr. McNulty: The latest available figures (2007) show a total of 76.8 million national insurance number (NINO) records on the Department’s Customer Information System (CIS). These consisted of:
55.1 million Active accounts—i.e. those showing current or recent use of the NINO.
16.8 million accounts relating to people who are now deceased.
4.9 million Inactive accounts—i.e. those showing no recent activity (and which do not fall into the deceased person account category) such as people who have moved abroad.
Estimates of the number of fake or fraudulently obtained NINOs are not available. DWP has robust checks in place to verify identity prior to the allocation of a NINO and to prevent NINOs being used fraudulently within the benefit system.
Where the Department identifies that a NINO has been used for attempted benefit fraud or may be vulnerable to fraudulent use, the relevant NINO record is annotated accordingly. Any subsequent benefit claim using that NINO would automatically be subjected to close scrutiny and, if appropriate, referral to the Department’s Fraud Investigation Service.
The number of NINO accounts annotated for these reasons over the last five years is in the following table:
| Number of marked accounts | |
| Notes: 1. Each year runs from 1 April to 31 March. 2. The table is derived from management information held by Jobcentre Plus National Identity Fraud Unit. | |
New Deal Schemes
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many participants in the New Deal for (a) Young People, (b) 25 Plus, (c) 50 Plus, (d) Disabled People, (e) Lone Parents, (f) Partners and (g) Musicians entered into work for 13 weeks in each (i) quarter and (ii) year since the scheme's inception; what proportion of participants this figure represented in each case; and if he will make a statement. [246949]
Mr. McNulty: Available information has been placed in the Library.
Pension Credit
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will undertake a review of the regulations governing the way in which the notional return for savings in excess of £6,000 are assessed for those aged over 60 and applying for pension credit. [245478]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 12 January 2009]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope), on 13 January 2009, Official Report, column 578W.
Pensioners: Payments
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners had payment of their pension suspended as a result of their mail being returned by the post office to a Pensions Office in the last 12 months. [247897]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 21 January 2009]: The information requested is not available.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy that pension payments continue to be made in circumstances where mail sent to pensioners is returned to a pensions office at least until the reasons for the return of mail have been established. [247819]
Ms Rosie Winterton:
It is the current policy within the Department for Work and Pensions that if mail that has been sent to our customer is returned, as it appears they are no longer at that address, then inquiries are conducted before any decision to suspend payment is
considered by the decision maker. These inquiries will include; telephoning last known number, a referral to local service and making inquiries of local social services to see if they know of the customer.
Post Office Card Account
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Statement of 13 November 2008, Official Report, columns 965-82, on the Post Office Card Account, for what reason the addition of the ability to make direct debit payments through the Post Office Card Account would have made it more difficult to award the contract to the Post Office without completing the tender process. [245494]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 12 January 2009]: We concluded that the contract for the Post Office card account should be awarded to the Post Office without completing the tender process. In reaching that conclusion, we took into account that the Post Office card account is a simple product—essentially a means of paying benefit—and that it provides an important social service to vulnerable people, particularly in rural and deprived urban areas. Direct debits, and other additional functionality, are already available through the basic bank accounts which can be accessed at Post Office branches. And we hope, over time, that the Post Office will be able to develop accounts with wider features, on a commercial basis.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent progress has been made on finalising the terms and conditions of the Post Office Card Account contract; in what respect the contract will differ from the existing contract; and when he expects negotiations to conclude. [248889]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 19 January 2009]: Good progress is being made with both parties working together towards finalising the terms and conditions of the new Post Office card account contract. Negotiations will be concluded as soon as possible.
We hope that, subject to contractual discussions with Post Office Ltd., the new product will offer some enhancements to the existing Post Office card account. These should include: a simpler opening process for customers; faster clearance of payments into an account; access via cash machines; and the ability to correct mistakes, for example if the customer withdraws more than they intended to and wants the money immediately put back into their account.
Poverty: Children
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many children in (a) the Vale of York and (b) England were considered to be in severe poverty in (i) 1999 and (ii) 2007; [247609]
(2) how many children were estimated to be in relative poverty in (a) Vale of York constituency and (b) England in each of the last three years. [247613]
Kitty Ussher:
There is no official or agreed definition of severe poverty. Child poverty statistics, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of children in
relative poverty at Government office region level or for inner or outer London. This means information for the Vale of York is not available.
Available information is shown in the following table. Statistics based on other thresholds are given in the Households Below Average Income publication, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
| Numbers of children living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of median in 1999-2000, 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07, before housing costs, England | |
| Number (Million) | |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. Small differences should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 3. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. 4. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication “Households Below Average Income” series, which uses net disposable household income, adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. Incomes have been equivalised using OECD equivalisation factors. 6. Number of children have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 children. Source: Households Below Average Income, 2006-07. | |
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children were living in poverty in Glasgow in (a) January 2007, (b) January 2008 and (c) January 2009. [248538]
Kitty Ussher: The information requested is not available.
Our child poverty statistics, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the number of children in poverty at Government office region/national level.
Social Fund: Complaints
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) complaints and (b) requests for a review of decision have been received by the Social Fund in each month since Jobcentre Plus assumed responsibility for handling the initial application process; and if he will make a statement. [241446]
Kitty Ussher: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many (a) complaints and (b) requests for a review of decision have been received by the Social Fund in each month since Jobcentre Plus assumed responsibility for handling the initial application process; and if he will make a statement. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
Jobcentre Plus was introduced on 1st April, 2002 and it assumed immediate responsibility for the Social Fund application process. I have placed the available information in the Library.
Social Security Benefits
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what is the maximum period of time within which (a) benefit claimants are able to make backdated claims for benefit entitlement and (b) for which his Department may seek repayments of overpayments made in error. [247042]
Mr. McNulty: Each benefit has a prescribed time within which a claim must be made in order to establish entitlement—in most cases, three months. With income support and jobseeker’s allowance a claim can be backdated for up to three months in certain circumstances.
There is no time limit to the period that the Department can seek to recover an overpayment, just as there is no time limit on the payment of arrears of benefit where the Department is responsible for an underpayment.
Social Security: Private Sector
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of public regulation of private sector contracted welfare services in each of the next five years. [247210]
Jonathan Shaw: DWP providers are subject to external inspection by Ofsted in England and Estyn in Wales to provide assurance that publicly funded provision is delivering a quality experience to all our customers.
During 2008-09 DWP will pay Ofsted £2,800,051 and Estyn £235,000 for external inspection and inspection related activity. The budget for 2009-10 and beyond has not yet been formally agreed.
Territorial Army
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many members of the Territorial Army have been made redundant from their civilian posts in each year since 2001. [248666]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I have been asked to reply.
This information cannot be provided as there is no requirement for employers or reservists to report redundancies.
UN Convention on Disability Rights
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will undertake to ratify the UN Convention on Disability Rights by spring 2009. [247012]
Jonathan Shaw: The Government’s intention is to achieve ratification of this important convention at the earliest practicable opportunity, and our ambition is to do so in the spring of 2009.
Unemployed: Voluntary Organisations
Andrew Selous:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedures are in place in
each Jobcentre Plus district to arrange for liaison with voluntary agencies for the provision of (a) weekend food and (b) other emergency support for Jobcentre Plus customers who are not in receipt of benefit or assistance from the Social Fund. [241441]
Kitty Ussher [holding answer 9 December 2008]: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what procedures are in place in each Jobcentre Plus district to arrange for liaison with voluntary agencies for the provision of (a) weekend food and (b) other emergency support for Jobcentre Plus customers who are not in receipt of benefit or assistance from the Social Fund. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
There are no such formal arrangements in place between Jobcentre Plus and voluntary agencies. Crisis Loans from the Social Fund exist to meet these needs.
Jobcentre Plus does provide emergency support through our Social Fund and Out of Hours Service. This can be accessed at weekends through third parties such as the police and social services departments where they determine that a crisis loan may help to prevent serious risk to health and safety. Referrals are made to the Out of Hours Service by telephone and our officers may then visit a customer in their home to make a determination of need and make a payment.
Unemployment
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely rate of unemployment in each month of 2009. [248683]
Mr. McNulty: The Government set out their assessment of prospects for the economy in the pre-Budget report. As has been the practice of previous Governments, we do not publish forecasts for unemployment.
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