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23 Feb 2009 : Column 80W—continued
Peers Interests
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Ministers in his Department received representations from (a) Lord Moonie, (b) Lord Taylor of Blackburn, (c) Lord Snape and (d) Lord Truscott in the last seven months. [255234]
Jonathan Shaw: None of the DWP Ministers received representation from Lord Moonie, Lord Taylor of Blackburn, Lord Snape or Lord Truscott in the last seven months.
Pension Credit: Chelmsford
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in West Chelmsford constituency (a) were entitled to claim and (b) claimed pension credit in each of the last five years. [254756]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Estimates of eligibility to pension credit are not available below the level of Great Britain.
The latest estimates of the take-up rates and the number of those entitled to but not receiving pension credit is published in the report “Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2006-07”.
The numbers of claimants in receipt of pension credit in West Chelmsford in each of the last five years are shown in the following table:
Pension Protection Fund
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have claimed pension payments from the Pension Protection Fund in (a) the UK, (b) the North East, (c) Tees Valley district and (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each of the last five years. [245864]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The Pension Protection Fund was set up to up to protect members of eligible defined benefit and hybrid pension schemes when the sponsoring employer experiences a qualifying insolvency event and the scheme cannot afford to pay members’ benefits at PPF levels of compensation. Individuals do not need to make a claim to be eligible for PPF compensation.
The PPF commenced operations in April 2005 and the first schemes transferred to the PPF in December 2006.
As at 30 November 2007 there were 1,167 members receiving compensation from the PPF, with 6,024 members due to receive compensation in future as it falls due. 10 members receiving compensation and 29 deferred members, resided in the North East of England.
As at 30 November 2008 there were 7,703 members receiving compensation from the PPF, with 12,942 members due to receive compensation in future as it falls due. 345 members receiving compensation and 518 deferred members, resided in the North East of England.
A breakdown of the aforementioned figures below regional level is not available.
While in the PPF assessment period, the process which determines whether a scheme transfers to the PPF, the trustees remain responsible for the running of the scheme with benefits being paid to members at PPF levels when they fall due. As at 30 November 2008 there were 121,300 scheme members, across the UK, in the assessment period.
Pension, Disability and Carers Service: Correspondence
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the number of inaccurate letters sent out to pensioners by the Pension, Disability and Carers Service in each of the last five years. [257086]
Ms Rosie Winterton: The requested information is unavailable.
Pensioners: Carer’s Premium
Steve Webb:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants above state pension age currently receive a premium for being a carer; what the cost to the Exchequer is expected to be over the next 12 months of such payments; if he will estimate the cost of making a payment equal to the current carers premium to the pensioner carers of recipients of
attendance allowance or the pensioner recipients of the care component of disability living allowance; and if he will make a statement. [250398]
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 22 January 2009]: Pension credit ensures a guaranteed minimum income for all people aged 60 and over. People who are entitled to carer’s allowance—whether or not carer’s allowance is in payment—may benefit from the additional amount for carers in pension credit. The pension credit standard minimum guarantee of £124.05 for single pensioners (£189.35 for couples) is increased by £27.75 where the additional amount for carers is payable—if both members of a couple are entitled to carer’s allowance the additional amount is doubled.
Approximately 240,000 pension credit claimants had an additional amount for carers in May 2008.
In addition, approximately 20,000 claimants of housing benefit and/or council tax benefit aged 60 or over were in receipt of a carers’ premium in May 2004, the latest available data.
It is estimated that, all else remaining unchanged, the current additional amounts for carers increase the costs of income related benefits by some £300 million in 2009-10.
Information necessary to estimate the cost of making a payment equal to the current carers premium to the pensioner carers of recipients of attendance allowance or the pensioner recipients of the care component of disability living allowance is not available.
Sources:
Pension Credit claimants: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study
HB and CTB claimants: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Annual 1 per cent. sample, taken in May 2004.
Modelling based on the Policy Simulation Model.
Pensioners: Income
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the percentage of pensioners who fall below (a) 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income, (b) 50 per cent. of contemporary median household income and (c) 60 per cent. of the 1998-99 contemporary median household income top rated in line with (i) prices and (ii) earnings in (A) each constituency in Greater London and (B) England. [256756]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in “Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2006-07”.
Latest figures for the percentage of pensioners in Greater London and England who fall below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income, 50 per cent. of contemporary median household income and 60 per cent. of the 1998-99 contemporary median household income uprated in line with prices are shown in the following table:
The data source does not allow us to provide robust numbers for estimates below the level of Government office region. Information on the percentage of pensioners who fall below 60 per cent. of the 1998-99 contemporary median household income uprated in line with earnings is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Pensions: Teachers
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of recipients of pensions under the Teachers’ Pension Scheme were receiving incorrect pension payments when the errors in payments to some public service pensioners were discovered. [255758]
Jim Knight: I have been asked to reply.
Of the estimated 95,000 pensioners referred to in the written ministerial statement made on 16 December 2008, Official Report, columns 111-12WS, just over 20,000 were members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. This equates to less than 4 per cent. of pensioners in the scheme.
Post Office Card Account
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies submitted bids for the Post Office card account successor contract prior to the cancellation of the tendering process. [256114]
Ms Rosie Winterton: Three suppliers submitted bids for the Post Office card account successor contract.
Poverty
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell of 2 February 2009, Official Report, column 849W, on jobseeker’s allowance, if he will estimate the (a) number and (b) proportion of households who have someone in work but where the household was in poverty in each of the last five years. [256113]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 10 February 2009]: The information is shown in the following table.
| Number and proportion of households who have someone in work and have a household income below 60 per cent. of contemporary median income, 2002-03 to 2006-07, before and after housing costs | ||||
| Before housing costs | After housing costs | |||
| Number (million) | Proportion (percentage) | Number (million) | Proportion (percentage) | |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. Small changes 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 is 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 disposable household income, adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using OECD equivalisation factors. 6. Numbers of households have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand households and proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage. Source: Households Below Average Income | ||||
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Cardiff Central of 20 January 2009, Official Report, columns 1406-07W, on poverty, if he will provide the same information for 1998-99. [256155]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 10 February 2009]: The information is shown in the following table.
| Number and risk of working age adults who are not in work living in households with incomes less than 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income, before and after housing costs, Great Britain, 1998-99 | |
| Number/percentage | |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey. 2. Small changes 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 is 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 disposable household income, adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 5. For the Households Below Average Income series, incomes have been equivalised using OECD equivalisation factors. 6. Numbers of adults have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand adults and proportions have been rounded to the nearest percentage. 7. Adults have been classified as workless if they are unemployed or economically inactive. 8. Adults have been classified as being of working age if they are 64 or below for men or 59 or below for women. Source: Households Below Average Income | |
The risk of a working age adult who is working being in a low income household in Great Britain in 1998-99 is much lower at 7 per cent., before housing costs and 10 per cent., after housing costs than for workless
working age adults, where the equivalent proportions are 35 per cent. (before housing costs) and 46 per cent. (after housing costs) as shown in the aforementioned table.
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