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24 Feb 2010 : Column 574W—continued
Pensioners: Per Capita Costs
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department has spent on pensioners per capita in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK in each year since 1997. [313339]
Angela Eagle: Complete information is not available. Such information as is available is in the tables.
| Pensioner spending per capita (£, cash) | |||||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Pensioner spending per capita (£, 2 009- 10 prices) | |||||||
| 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Notes: 1. The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for expenditure in Great Britain only. Expenditure in Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest £10. 3. Figures include spending on: state pension; attendance allowance; winter fuel payment; bereavement benefits; widow's benefit; minimum income guarantee; pension credit, over-65s payment and over-70s payment. figures for other benefits, and for these benefits before 2002-03, are not available. 4. Figures are estimated by dividing expenditure on the above benefits by the number of state pensioners in the relevant area. 5. Great Britain benefit expenditure data for all benefits, and local authority and parliamentary constituency benefit expenditure data for some benefits, can be found here: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/expenditure.asp 6. The DWP Tabulation Tool, which gives caseload and expenditure data for some benefits split by local authority, parliamentary constituency and Government office region, among others, can be found here: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp | |||||||
Pensions
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of pensioners receive earnings-related state pensions under (a) the state earnings-related pension scheme only, (b) the state second pension scheme only and (c) both schemes. [317177]
Angela Eagle: The information is in the table
Post Office Card Account
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated cost to her Department is per transaction of Post Office Card Account transactions under (a) the new Post Office Card Account due to be introduced in 2010 and (b) each other benefit transaction method. [317181]
Helen Goodman: The new Post Office card account contract began on 1 October 2009 and the current average cost to the Department for each payment made into a POca is around 50p.
Other payment method costs are: 1p per payment into a bank or other account; £2.00 per cheque; and 55p per payable order.
The costs are made up of contract costs and where appropriate, other costs such as postage, stationery and administration.
Social Security Benefits: Students
Mrs. Dean:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what estimate she has made of the average annual cost of implementing amended deemed income rules to provide for income from student loans
to be disregarded in respect of the entitlement to benefits of those students who suspend their studies because of serious ill health; [311602]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of students who would be affected by the amendment of the deemed income rules to provide for income from student loans to be disregarded in respect of the eligibility for benefits of those students who suspend their studies because of serious ill health. [311606]
Helen Goodman: We are looking with colleagues in other Departments at the position for students who suspend their studies because of serious ill health and who, as a result, have not drawn down their student loan. I will also explore with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, education providers and students' representative bodies, whether we can strengthen the awareness and transparency of the current arrangements.
Information on the number of students that might be affected by such a change to the deeming rules for those who abandon their course is not available as it would depend on the detailed conditions that were set.
Unemployment Benefits
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if she will publish each version of the sanctions regime applicable to (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) incapacity benefit, (c) employment and support allowance and (d) income support which has been in effect for any period since 1997; [313077]
(2) what assessments her Department has made of the effectiveness of alternative sanctions regimes; and if she will publish the reports of those assessments; [313079]
(3) what changes she plans to make to the Jobcentre Plus sanctions regime; [313080]
(4) if she will publish each evaluation her Department has made of the effectiveness of the Jobcentre Plus sanctions regime. [313081]
Jim Knight: Benefit sanctions are aimed at establishing a framework of rights and responsibilities with benefit customers, and encourage positive outcomes by obliging customers in receipt of working age benefits to engage with the support on offer and help them move into employment.
Benefit sanctions have been an integral part of Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) since it was introduced and the detail is set out in the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996.
Since April 2000 the sanction regulations for Incapacity Benefit customers have been set out in various Work Focused Interviews (WFI) regulations: The Social Security (Work-focused Interviews) Regulations 2000 No. 897; The Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2001 No. 3210; The Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2002 No. 1703; The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit Work-focused Interviews) Regulations 2003 No. 2439; and The Social Security (Incapacity Benefit Work-focused Interviews) Regulations 2008 No. 2928, Regulation 9.
The sanctions regime for Employment and Support Allowance customers is set out in The Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 No. 794, Regulation 63.
The Income Support sanction regime was introduced through the Social Security (Work-focused Interviews for Lone Parents) and Miscellaneous Amendments Regulations 2000; The Social Security (Jobcentre Plus Interviews) Regulations 2001; and the Social Security (Jobcentre Plus) Regulations 2002 respectively. Copies of all of this legislation are available in the Library.
The Department continually reviews the effectiveness of conditionality and the associated sanctions regimes across all working age benefits and undertakes research on their effectiveness in supporting customers to move into employment. Published reports on the operation of sanctions are listed on the Department for Work and Pensions website at:
and are available in the House Library.
The 2008 White Paper 'Raising expectations and increasing support: reforming welfare for the future' (CM7506), set out the Government's intention to test a model of escalating sanctions based on the principles set out in the 2008 independent review of conditionality 'Realising Potential: A vision for personalised conditionality and support' by Professor Paul Gregg. The model introduces five stages of sanctions, initially in Progression to Work pathfinder areas, which will allow for more attempts at contact and in depth case reviews with lone parents and partners of certain benefit recipients, and a number of stages before a financial sanction is considered.
Furthermore, the Welfare Reform Act 2009 introduced two new sanctions to the Jobseeker's Allowance. The first is the power to sanction a customer who commits acts of violence or threatening behaviour against Jobcentre Plus staff during the course of a claim for Jobseeker's Allowance. The second is a sanction for Jobseeker's Allowance customers who fail to attend their mandatory appointments as part of the requirements of receiving Jobseeker's Allowance, this change will be implemented from April 2010.
The Welfare Reform Act 2009 also introduced the power to sanction lone parents on Income Support and partners of certain benefit recipients, with younger children, for not undertaking agreed work related activity. The first stage of implementation for these measures will be in October 2010 in the Progression to Work pathfinder Jobcentre Plus districts.
As part of the ongoing review of support for Jobcentre Plus customers with disabilities and health conditions, we are reviewing the current sanctions regime for Employment and Support Allowance customers and we will publish details about any proposed changes in spring 2010.
Unemployment Benefits: Appeals
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much her Department has spent on contesting employment support allowance appeals in (a) the UK and (b) Scotland since 27 October 2008. [317756]
Jonathan Shaw: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Darra Singh. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
Unemployment Benefits: Cancer
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many terminally ill cancer patients (a) in total and (b) normally resident in Scotland have been required by her Department to (i) undergo a medical examination and (ii) attend a work-focused interview since 27 October 2008. [317752]
Jonathan Shaw: The information requested is not available.
Unemployment Benefits: Glasgow East
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals are in receipt of (a) attendance allowance, (b) incapacity benefit and (c) jobseeker's allowance in Glasgow East constituency; and what the average weekly payment was in respect of each such benefit in the latest period for which figures are available. [317248]
Jonathan Shaw: The available information is in the following table.
Attendance allowance, incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance and jobseeker's allowance claimants in Glasgow East parliamentary constituency: May 2009
| Caseload | Average weekly amount (£) | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 and average amounts to the nearest penny. 2. Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance figures do not include employment and support allowance. 3. Attendance allowance totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example, if they are in hospital. 4. Data is published on the Department for Work and Pensions' website at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/ Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study | ||
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