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22 Mar 2010 : Column 38W—continued
A local child poverty indicator-including constituency level information-has been developed that captures the number and proportion of children in families in receipt of out of work benefits, or in receipt of tax credits where their reported income is less than 60 per cent. of median income. Details can be found via the HMRC website:
The measure enables local partners to make an assessment of the level and geographical distribution of income deprivation in their area and focuses local partners on taking action to help raise family incomes.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of children in postcode areas L20, L21 and L22 were living in poverty in each year since 2000. [322636]
Helen Goodman: Estimates of poverty, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in poverty at Government office region level. Therefore, information for the postcode areas L20, L21 and L22 are not available.
Social Security Benefits
Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether guidance has been issued to local authorities on the application of the provisions of the Contracting Out (Functions of Local Authorities: Income-Related Benefits) Order 2002 to (a) the contracting out of (i) the administration of income-related benefits relating to local housing allowance applications and (ii) functions relating to other income-related benefits and (b) the agreement of a contractual arrangement relating to the administration of income-related benefits without making financial payments for the service; [322504]
(2) what her Department's policy is on the contracting out by local authorities of arrangements for income-related benefits. [322505]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 16 March 2010]: The policy on the contracting out by local authorities of arrangements for income-related benefits is set out in the Contracting Out (Functions of Local Authorities: Income-Related Benefits) Order 2002 [SI 2002 No. 1888]. This order, which came into force on 25 July 2002, allows local authorities to authorise people other than those directly employed by them, to carry out a wider range of functions connected with the administration of housing benefit (including local housing allowance), council tax benefit and discretionary housing payments. The order does not change local authorities' ultimate responsibility and they remain fully accountable and responsible for the administration of these benefits.
Guidance circular HB/CTB A22/2002 was issued to local authorities in September 2002, giving information about the order. A copy has been placed in the Library.
Social Security Benefits: Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of customer claims for (a) attendance allowance, (b) disability living allowance, (c) incapacity benefit and (d) employment and support allowance have been denied in the last five years; how many and what percentage of these denied claims have been appealed against; and in how many cases the appeal has been successful. [315720]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 4 March 2010]: Information about the number and percentage of denied claims that have been appealed against and the subsequent number of successful appeals is not available.
Information about the work capability assessment for employment and support allowance claims in Great Britain is available in the Department for Work and Pension's Employment and Support Allowance: Work Capability Assessment Statistic Release (January 2010). A copy of this report is available in the Library and can be found on our website at:
This report contains details of the number of initial assessments carried out since the introduction of employment and support allowance, a breakdown of the result of the assessment, including the fit for work decision and separate information relating to work capability assessment appeals.
The available information on attendance allowance, disability living allowance, and incapacity benefit is in the tables.
| N umber and percentage of incapacity benefit new claims that are denied | |||
| Total claims processed | Total claims refused | Percentage refused of those processed | |
| (1) To January 2010. Notes: 1. Information is only available from 2006-07 as the MISP system holds data only from that date. 2. "Denied" claims has been interpreted as those claims refused at the new claims stage because they did not meet the criteria for incapacity benefit, i.e. they were not sick/incapacitated. This means they either did not have a medical certificate giving a reason for the incapacity from their GP therefore claimed the incorrect benefit or the sick note provided did not state an illness. These figures also include claims from those customers previously disallowed following a personal capability assessment who reclaim incapacity benefit within six months with the same condition. 3. The reduced numbers in 2009-10(*) are due to the introduction of employment and support allowance. Those refused as a percentage is higher as following the introduction of employment and support allowance, customers claiming incapacity benefit had to have a linking claim in order to qualify. 4. MISP is the departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool. The statistics presented here have not been subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes that are used for official statistics and as a result they should be used with a degree of caution. Source: Management Information System Programme (MISP). | |||
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people aged over 65 years with each main disability condition received (a) disability living allowance and (b) attendance allowance under special rules in the latest period for which figures are available. [322166]
Jonathan Shaw: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
| Disability living allowance special rules cases in payment to over 65s by main disabling condition at August 2009 | |
| Disabling condition | Cases in payments |
| Attendance allowance special rules cases in payment by main disabling condition at August 2009 | |
| Disabling condition | Cases in payments |
| (1) This figure includes cases that have been identified as terminally ill cases but the main disabling condition has not been recorded. Notes: 1. Figures have been rated to agree with Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study and rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Caseload totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and excludes people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. Caution: The preferred statistics on benefits are now derived from 100 per cent. data sources. However, the 5 per cent. sample data still provide some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources, in particular, more complete information on the disabling condition of disability living allowance claimants. DWP recommends that, where the detail is only available on the 5 per cent. sample data, or disabling condition (DLA) is required, the proportions derived should be scaled up to the overall 100 per cent. total for the benefit. Source: Department for Work and Pensions 5 per cent. sample | |
Social Security Benefits: Fraud
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2010, Official Report, column 105W, on social security benefits: fraud, how many ongoing investigations there are into cases of benefit fraud in each of the countries listed; how many of her Department's investigating officers are based abroad, and in which countries; with which countries her Department has arrangements in relation to benefit fraud; what the total budget is for her Department's Targeting Fraud campaign; and how much has been spent on the campaign to date. [320158]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 3 March 2010]: Information regarding the number of ongoing benefit fraud investigations in other countries has been collected since 1 April 2009. The number of ongoing benefit fraud investigations since then in each of the countries requested is as follows:
| Number | |
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