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22 Feb 2010 : Column 83W—continued
The protection system ensures that, unlike in 1997, people are not left without a pension even in the event that their employer becomes insolvent.
In total 1,965 people in the North West Government Office Region are receiving compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (data not available at constituency level).
We have also taken forward a radical package of pension reforms in the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2008 which will deliver a fairer and more generous state pension and extend the opportunity of workplace pension saving to millions, many for the first time.
The state pension reforms begin to come into effect from 2010 and will mean around three quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 are expected to qualify for a full basic state pension compared to half without reform.
Support for disabled people and their carers
Since 2001, we have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Chorley will have benefited from these improvements. The Welfare Reform Act 2009 contains powers to increase choice and control for disabled adults, including disabled parents, enabling them to choose how certain state support is used to meet their individual needs. Older and less well-off carers are receiving extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
Cleethorpes
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Cleethorpes constituency, the effects on that constituency of her Department's policies since 1997. [315244]
Jonathan Shaw: DWP leads the Government's response to some of the biggest issues facing the country-welfare and pension reform-and are a key player in tackling child poverty.(1) As the biggest delivery department in the UK, DWP makes a difference to millions of people every day, helping them to lead safer, fairer and more rewarding lives that are free from poverty. We want to give people more choice and control over their lives and are committed to providing greater choice and personalised support to everyone who needs it so they have the opportunity to get into and remain in work. We believe that work works. Even in economically challenging times we know that work works for the most vulnerable and the disadvantaged.
Through Jobcentre Plus, we are promoting work as the best form of welfare for people of working age. Since 1997, the number of people unemployed in Cleethorpes has decreased by 5 per cent. to 2,655, and the number unemployed for more than one year has decreased by 54 per cent. to 295. From May 1997 to May 2009 the number of lone parents claiming income support in Cleethorpes has decreased by 25 per cent. to 980.
Our new deals have helped lone parents, the young unemployed, the long-term unemployed, disabled people, the over 50s and partners of unemployed people to
move from benefit into work. Since their inception over 2.2 million people in Great Britain have found work with the support of the new deal, and 4,130 have been helped in Cleethorpes.
We introduced a target to halve child poverty by 2010-11 on the way to eradicating it by 2020. Poverty is measured using a headline indicator of the proportion of children in households with an income below 60 per cent. of contemporary household median income before housing costs. This is in line with international best practice.
Statistics on the numbers of children living in poverty are not available at the constituency level. But the latest information for the Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region shows that the proportion of children in poverty has fallen from 32 per cent. in 1997 to 26 per cent.(2)
Since 1997 our strategy has been to target help on the poorest pensioners while providing a solid foundation of support for all.
This year we will be spending over £13 billion more on pensioners than if we had continued with the policies that were in place in 1997. Around half of that money will go to the poorest third of pensioners.
In 1997 the poorest pensioners, who received income support, lived on £69 a week (£98 in today's prices). Today pension credit, which was introduced in 2003, means no pensioner needs to live on less than £130 a week, £198.45 for couples. As of May 2009 6,410 pensioners in Cleethorpes are benefiting from pension credit.
In 2007-08 there were 900,000 fewer pensioners living in relative poverty in UK compared to 1998-99 (measured as below 60 per cent. of contemporary median household income after housing costs).
Statistics on the numbers of pensioners living in relative poverty are not available at the constituency level. But the latest data for the Yorkshire and the Humber Government office region show that the number of pensioners in poverty has fallen from 32 per cent. in 1997 to 18 per cent.(3)
Pensioners in the UK also benefit from a range of additional support such as the winter fuel payment which this winter is worth £250 for households aged between 60-79 and £400 for households aged 80 or over. These payments provide vital reassurance to older people that they can afford to turn up their heating during cold weather. Prior to winter 1997-98 less than £60 million was spent helping pensioners meet their fuel bills - this year we will be spending around £2.7 billion on winter fuel payments alone. In 2008-09 22,420 people aged 60 and over benefited from winter fuel payments in Cleethorpes.
We have also taken steps to strengthen and protect the private pensions system to ensure people can continue to have confidence to save for their future through the establishment of the Pensions Protection Fund, the Financial Assistance Scheme and a more powerful and proactive pensions regulator.
The protection system ensures that, unlike in 1997, people are not left without a pension even in the event that their employer becomes insolvent.
In total 2296 people in the Yorkshire and Humber region are receiving compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (data not available at constituency level).(4)
We have also taken forward a radical package of pension reforms in the Pensions Acts of 2007 and 2008 which will deliver a fairer and more generous state pension and extend the opportunity of workplace pension saving to millions, many for the first time.
The state pension reforms begin to come into effect from 2010 and will mean around three quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 are expected to qualify for a full basic state pension compared to half without reform.
Support for disabled people and carers
Since 2001, we have significantly extended and improved civil rights for disabled people in areas such as employment, education, access to goods and services and transport. Disabled people in Cleethorpes will have benefited from these improvements. The Welfare Reform Act 2009 contains powers to increase choice and control for disabled adults, including disabled parents who are entitled to state support, enabling them to choose how certain state support is used to meet their individual needs. This will be trail blazed in up to eight local authority areas from late 2010. Older and less well off carers have gained extra help through the provisions within the National Carers Strategy.
(1) The Department for Work and Pensions was created in 2001 and so information relates to the department and its predecessors.
(2) Based on three-year averages and changes are rounded to the nearest percentage point or 100,000 children between 1997-98 to 1999-2000 and 2005-06 to 2007-08.
(3) Based on three-year averages and changes are rounded to the nearest percentage point or 100,000 pensioners between 1997-98 to 1999-2000 and 2005-06-2007-08.
(4) Regional information about assistance payments received by members from the Financial Assistance Scheme could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Council Tax Benefits and Housing Benefit
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of her Department's expenditure on (a) council tax benefit and (b) housing benefit was paid to (i) tenants renting privately, (ii) tenants renting from a social landlord and (iii) homeowners in the latest period for which figures are available. [316252]
Helen Goodman: In 2007-08 it is estimated that 14 per cent. of council tax benefit expenditure was paid to private tenants, 58 per cent. to social tenants, and 28 per cent. to homeowners.
In 2008-09 one third of housing benefit expenditure was paid to tenants renting privately, and two thirds to tenants in the social rented sector, including local authority tenants.
Sources:
1. Housing benefit: Administrative and financial data from local authorities
2. Council tax benefit: National Statistics estimates of benefit take-up for 2007-08; available 2008-09 data from local authorities does not distinguish by tenure type.
Employers' Liability
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when she plans to announce her decision on the feasibility of a compulsory database for recording details for employers' liability insurance policies. [316832]
Jonathan Shaw: The Government published a consultation document 'Accessing Compensation-Supporting people who need to trace Employers' Liability Insurance' on 10 February 2010. This consultation document discusses the best way of setting up and administering such a compulsory database as well as consulting on an Employers' Liability Insurance Bureau. This would be a compensation fund of last resort and would ensure that more individuals who are unable to trace employers' liability insurance records would receive compensation.
Employment and Support Allowance: Medical Examinations
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what minimum professional qualification is required of those who carry out work capability assessments for her Department. [305266]
Jonathan Shaw: Atos healthcare doctors must be fully registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) without current or previous restrictions, conditions or warnings and hold a licence to practice from the date the GMC issues licences. In addition they must have at least three years post full registration (GMC or EEA-European Economic Area equivalent) experience as a minimum. Alternatively for non-EU graduates, three years post full registration experience in the doctors native country is required. In individual cases, solely at the discretion of the Chief Medical Advisor (CMA), the requirements that no conditions or warnings be attached to registration and that the doctor must have a minimum of three years post registration experience, may be waived.
Atos healthcare nurses must be fully registered (level 1) Registered General Nurses without current or previous restrictions or cautions with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. In addition they must have at least three years post full registration experience. In individual cases, solely at the discretion of the CMA, the requirements that no cautions be attached to registration and that the nurse must have a minimum of three years post registration experience, may be waived.
Atos healthcare doctors and nurses are specifically trained to provide decision making authorities with independent, accurate and authoritative advice and reports on the effects of disability.
The CMA approves Healthcare Professionals to carry out assessments. Approval is dependent on strict recruitment criteria, completion of a course of training in disability assessment medicine approved by the CMA and evidence of satisfactory performance.
Employment: Disabled
Mr. Harper:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2010, Official Report, columns 257-58W, on employment:
disabled, what estimate she has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of disabled people employed (i) full-time and (ii) part-time in the (A) public and (B) private sector in each year since 1997. [317944]
Jonathan Shaw: There are currently 5,819,000 people of working age who declare a disability that corresponds to the Disability Discrimination Act's definition of disability. Of these, 2,783,000 (47.8 per cent.) are in employment. This has increased from 1,975,000 (39.7 per cent.) for the comparable quarter in 1998. Over the same period, the gap between the employment rate for disabled people and the overall employment rate has narrowed from 34.4 to 25.1 percentage points.
The information requested is in the tables.
| Number of people with a Disability Discrimination Act disability in full and part-time employment in the public and private sector | ||||
| Private sector | Public sector | |||
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | |
| Note: The figures given do not add up to 2,783,000 because a small number of cases have missing values for either the full-time/part-time or the private sector/public sector variables. Source: Labour Force Survey, quarter 3, 1998 to 2009. | ||||
| Proportion of working age people with a Disability Discrimination Act disability in full and part-time employment in the public and private sector as a percentage | ||||
| Private sector | Public sector | |||
| Full-time | Part-time | Full-time | Part-time | |
| Note: Percentages do not add up to 100 per cent. because a small number of cases have missing values for either the full-time/part-time or the private sector/public sector variables. Source: Labour Force Survey, quarter 3, 1998 to 2009. | ||||
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