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13 July 2009 : Column 70W—continued


13 July 2009 : Column 71W

The following table shows the latest available information for National Insurance numbers that have been rejected due to the use of fraudulent documents.

National insurance number applications rejected due to fraudulent documents being used in support of such applications

2004-05

548

2005-06

748

2006-07

595

2007-08

654

Notes:
1. Each year runs from 1 April to 31 March.
2. Information is not available for 2008-09.
Source:
Jobcentre Plus.

National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much funding her Department has provided to the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse in each of the last five years. [285553]

Jim Knight: Although my Department works closely with the National Treatment Agency, we have not provided any funding in the last five years,

New Deal Schemes

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) maximum and (b) average duration of the test trading scheme element of the New Deal was in England in the last 12 months. [274343]

Jim Knight: The maximum duration of the test trading scheme element of the new deal in the last 12 months was 26 weeks. The average duration of the test trading scheme element of the new deal was 18 weeks.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what restrictions are in place on New Deal early entry; and in what areas they apply. [283593]

Jim Knight: There are no such restrictions in place. Where an adviser feels a customer is particularly disadvantaged in the labour market and unlikely to find work without more intensive support, they will offer voluntary early entry access to additional help delivered either through stage three of the new jobseekers' regime and flexible new deal process where introduced, or the existing new deal gateway. Either way, the customer receives intensive support from their own personal adviser and access to a wide range of employment and training related opportunities.

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether any existing New Deal providers in flexible New Deal 1 areas have (a) reduced and (b) withdrawn service provision since 29 May 2009. [283595]

Jim Knight: The transition arrangements agreed with the new deal providers to ensure provision is kept in place to 25 September 2009 are continuing. There has been no reduction of new deal provision since 29 May 2009. There have been no notified changes of services by new deal providers outside of the above agreements.

No new deal providers in the flexible new deal phase 1 areas have withdrawn the services they provide since 29 May 2009.


13 July 2009 : Column 72W

There are no new referrals to new deal provision from 29 June 2009 in phase 1 areas, but providers are continuing to provide a service to support those customers already on the provision. Customers who would have been referred to new deal will now be referred to stage 3 of the jobseeker's regime.

Pathways to Work

Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people she expects to participate in Pathways to Work in each year from 2008 to 2015. [266114]

Jim Knight: Official statistics on the number of participants in Jobcentre Plus and provider-led pathways to work are available up to January 2009. The figures are to be found at annex A in the report "Jobcentre Plus Pathways to Work Official Statistics", June 2009 and annex A in "Provider-Led Pathways to Work Official Statistics", July 2009. These reports can be accessed at:

Copies of these two reports have been placed in the Library.

With the exception of those placed in the support group, all new employment and support allowance customers are required to participate in pathways to work. Those in the support group can volunteer for back-to-work support through pathways to work, as can existing incapacity benefits customers.

Forecasts for the numbers of people expected to reach the main phase of employment and support allowance are available for the years 2009-10 and 2010-11. These can be viewed in table C1: Numbers receiving benefits, 1991-92 to 2010-11 at:

A copy of the table has been placed in the Library.

These will next be updated at the pre-Budget report. Figures beyond 2010-11 are not provided. Final spending plans for departmental expenditure limits will be set in relation to the final annually managed expenditure forecasts at the time of the next spending review.

These forecasts do not take into account the measures announced in the December 2009 White Paper, Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future. From 2010, all existing incapacity benefits customers will receive personalised back-to-work support, based on the pathways to work model, when they are migrated from incapacity benefits to employment and support allowance.

Pension Credit

Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the cost to the public purse of raising the level of pension credit to ensure that no pensioner receives an income below the poverty line. [271597]

Angela Eagle: No single measure captures all aspects of poverty-as a result PSA 17 includes a range of indicators related to low income for pensioners. These are relative low income (below 50 and 60 per cent. contemporary median household income), and absolute low income (below 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices), after housing costs
13 July 2009 : Column 73W
are taken into account. The low income threshold varies for each household to take into account variations in both the size and composition of a household. For example, the threshold for a single pensioner living alone is different to that of a single pensioner living with grown-up children. However, in both cases they would be entitled to the same amount of pension credit.

The information requested in the question is not available. Furthermore, raising the value of guarantee credit for couples to the level of the 60 per cent. threshold would be insufficient to ensure that no pensioner remains below that threshold because of those pensioners who do not take up the benefits to which they are entitled.

It is not possible to predict in advance the value of low income thresholds. Any projection of the median for the population as a whole would be subject to uncertainties around future income growth, changes in the income distribution and individual behavioural responses to policy changes.

From 6 April 2009 the pension credit standard minimum guarantee increased by the largest amount since it was introduced in 2003. It increased to £130 a week for single pensioners or £198.45 for a couple. The Government are committed to tackling pensioner poverty and are continuing to promote take-up of benefits by those who are entitled.

Pension Credit: Lancashire

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in each parliamentary constituency in the Lancashire County Council area received (a) pension credit and (b) winter fuel payment in the latest period for which figures are available. [282072]

Angela Eagle: The information requested is in the tables.

Households in receipt of pension credit in Lancashire by parliamentary constituency-November 2008
Constituencies wholly or partially in Lancashire Households in receipt

Blackpool, North and Fleetwood*

6,660

Burnley

5,120

Chorley

4,270

Fylde

4,380

Hyndburn

4,600

Lancaster and Wyre

4,250

Morecambe and Lunesdale

5,240

Pendle

4,800

Preston

5,170

Ribble Valley

3,040

Rossendale and Darwen*

4,520

South Ribble

3,730

West Lancashire

4,890



13 July 2009 : Column 74W
Number of winter fuel payment recipients 2007-08 (final run)
Constituencies wholly or partially in Lancashire Total winter fuel payment recipients

Blackpool, North and Fleetwood*

25,800

Burnley

17,380

Chorley

21,600

Fylde

25,970

Hyndburn

17,510

Lancaster and Wyre

24,980

Morecambe and Lunesdale

22,660

Pendle

17,590

Preston

16,110

Ribble Valley

23,740

Rossendale and Darwen*

18,210

South Ribble

21,840

West Lancashire

20,950

Notes:
1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
3. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
4. The constituencies included are those wholly or partially in Lancashire as defined by the most up to date postcode directory. '*' denotes those constituencies not wholly in contained in Lancashire. (Makerfield parliamentary constituency was excluded as only one postcode which might have pension credit or winter fuel payments living within it was within Lancashire.)
Source:
DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data

Pensioners

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the proportion of pensioners receiving less than 90 per cent. of the 1997 levels of expected and accrued pensions in Financial Assistance Scheme annuities; and if she will make a statement. [283703]

Angela Eagle [holding answer 3 July 2009]: This information is not available in the form requested.

Pensioners: Poverty

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in (a) Merseyside and (b) Crosby were in relative poverty in each of the last five years. [282531]

Angela Eagle: Statistics on relative poverty, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in relative poverty at Government office region level, inner London and outer London. Therefore, information for Merseyside and the Crosby constituency is not available.

Latest information for the North West Government office region, is based on three-year averages and provided in the following table.


13 July 2009 : Column 75W
Table 1: Number of pensioners falling below various thresholds of median household income, after housing costs, North West Government office region
m illion

Below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income Below 50 per cent. of contemporary median household income

2001-02 to 2003-04

0.3

0.1

2002-03 to 2004-05

0.3

0.1

2003-04 to 2005-06

0.2

0.1

2004-05 to 2006-07

0.2

0.1

2005-06 to 2007-08

0.2

0.1

Notes:
1. Three survey year averages are given for regional statistics as regional single year estimates are subject to volatility.
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 pensioners have been rounded to the nearest hundred thousand people.
Source:
These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income, sourced from the Family Resources Survey.

Petrol: Planning Permission

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2009, Official Report, column 1057W, on petrol: storage, which local authority granted planning permission against Health and Safety Executive advice. [285535]

Jonathan Shaw: Pembrokeshire county council granted planning permission for the construction of an industrial unit at Waterston Industrial Estate, Milford Haven within the development proximity zone of a large-scale petrol storage site. The Health and Safety Executive had advised the local authority against the granting of permission for this development on safety grounds.


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