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29 Mar 2010 : Column 717W—continued

Occupational Pensions

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the operation of her Department's rules on anti-enrolment into workforce pension schemes from October 2012 will entail any change to the net salaries of employees whose employers join the scheme. [324852]

Angela Eagle: From 2012 automatic enrolment into a workplace pension with a guaranteed employer and Government contribution will begin.

Jobholders who already receive workplace pension provision equal to or better than that required under the reforms are unlikely to see any change to their net pay.

The impact of automatic enrolment on net salaries for other jobholders will depend on the level of pension contributions payable into the workplace pension scheme used by the employer.

Once the workplace pension reforms have been fully introduced, overall contributions to qualifying defined contribution schemes must total at least 8 per cent. on a band of earnings. The 8 per cent. total will be made up from a minimum 3 per cent. from the employer, along with the jobholder's own contribution and around 1 per cent. in tax relief. However, employers can choose to pay a greater proportion of the 8 per cent. total-resulting in a lesser impact on net pay.

The contribution rates for jobholders are being phased in over time. This will help jobholders to adjust gradually to the impact of the changes on their net pay. Jobholder contributions will be 1 per cent. from October 2012 to
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September 2016; 3 per cent. from October 2016 to September 2017 and 5 per cent. from 2017 onwards. All of these rates include normal tax relief.

Defined benefit schemes will be required to meet an overall quality test. The impact upon jobholders' net salaries will depend upon the level of contributions required under scheme rules.

Oikos: Canvey Island

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will ensure that the revised safety reports made by (a) the local planning authority and (b) the emergency planning authority in respect of the Oikos site on Canvey Island under the provisions of the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 are published as soon as each is completed. [322819]

Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 18 March 2010]: There is no duty under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (as amended) ('COMAH') for the local planning authority or the emergency planning authority to produce safety reports in respect of the Oikos site on Canvey Island.

Oikos Storage Ltd. as the COMAH operator is required under the regulations to produce a safety report to demonstrate they are taking all necessary measures to prevent major accidents and to limit their consequences to people and the environment.

The COMAH Competent Authority comprising (in England and Wales) the Health and Safety Executive and the Environment Agency are responsible for assessing the safety report. The Competent Authority does not publish COMAH safety reports.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) improvement notices have been issued and (b) changes of use have been recorded in respect of the Oikos site on Canvey Island controlled under the provisions of the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 1999 in the last five years. [322820]

Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 18 March 2010]: No improvement notices have been issued by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (as amended) in respect of the Oikos site on Canvey Island in the last five years.

Oikos Storage Ltd. has hazardous substances consent from Castle Point borough council to store at its Canvey Island site up to 232,501 tons of highly flammable liquids. HSE understands that there have been no applications to alter the existing hazardous substances consent for this site in the last five years. This and other planning applications are matters for Castle Point borough council as the local planning authority.

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will direct the Health and Safety Executive to examine proposals to store petroleum and similar substances at the Oikos terminal on Canvey Island; and if she will make a statement. [322821]

Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 18 March 2010]: Oikos Storage Ltd. will be required under the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (as amended)
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('COMAH') to review and, where necessary, revise its COMAH safety report in the light of proposals to store petroleum and similar substances at its Canvey Island site and to demonstrate that it is taking all necessary measures to prevent major accidents and to limit the consequences to people and the environment.

Such measures will include implementing and maintaining the minimum safety and environmental standards for fuel storage sites. These have been revised following the investigation into the explosion and fires at the Buncefield fuel storage site in December 2005. They have recently been published as the Process Safety Leadership Group's (PSLG) final report which is available on the HSE website.

The Health and Safety Executive will assess any significant changes that are made to the site and to the COMAH safety report in its role as part of the COMAH Competent Authority.

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Pension Credit: East of England

Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many people in (a) each local authority area in the East of England and (b) the UK were in receipt of (i) basic state pension and (ii) pension credit in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much on average was received in pension credit in each area in that period; [324691]

(2) how many people receive pension credit in each local authority area in the East of England; and what the average weekly payment was in the East of England in the latest period for which figures are available. [324593]

Angela Eagle: The information requested is provided in the following table.

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	People in receipt of basic state pension March 2009	Individual beneficiaries of pension credit August 2009	Households in receipt of pension credit August 2009	Average award of pension credit August 2009 (£)
Great Britain	12,133,400	3,348,970	2,737,290	55.66
East of England local authority area
Bedford	25,800	6,820	5,640	52.92
Central Bedfordshire	n/a	9,650	7,870	49.84
Mid-Bedfordshire	23,700	n/a	n/a	n/a
South Bedfordshire	20,200	n/a	n/a	n/a
Luton	26,700	9,610	7,650	64.87
Peterborough	26,200	9,090	7,390	57.37
Southend-on-Sea	32,800	10,100	8,420	57.65
Thurrock	22,500	7,130	5,810	55.59
Cambridge	14,900	3,540	3,030	55.95
East Cambridgeshire	14,700	3,610	2,910	52.68
Fenland	21,500	6,690	5,180	50.89
Huntingdonshire	29,900	5,950	4,810	49.78
South Cambridgeshire	27,300	4,370	3,610	51.92
Basildon	31,200	9,490	7,670	54.82
Braintree	27,800	6,920	5,590	51.75
Brentwood	14,600	2,680	2,280	51.32
Castle Point	19,800	5,510	4,280	53.41
Chelmsford	31,200	5,880	4,860	50.82
Colchester	30,000	6,870	5,690	53.29
Epping Forest	26,000	5,710	4,710	56.12
Harlow	13,500	4,430	3,610	51.07
Maldon	14,300	3,180	2,570	53.54
Rochford	18,500	3,880	3,120	50.28
Tendring	42,200	12,250	9,630	53.18
Uttlesford	15,000	2,680	2,190	50.76
Broxbourne	17,000	4,030	3,310	56.66
Dacorum	25,400	5,250	4,370	53.67
East Hertfordshire	23,100	4,450	3,690	52.40
Hertsmere	18,000	3,890	3,290	58.44
North Hertfordshire	24,400	5,270	4,410	49.96
St. Albans	24,000	3,790	3,210	55.09
Stevenage	13,300	4,040	3,300	51.90
Three Rivers	15,800	2,850	2,430	56.57
Watford	12,600	3,070	2,580	58.28
Welwyn Hatfield	17,300	3,990	3,390	52.37
Breckland	30,700	8,090	6,290	49.15
Broadland	31,300	6,080	4,910	46.95
Great Yarmouth	23,000	8,280	6,520	50.09
Kings Lynn and West Norfolk	36,600	10,410	8,020	50.17
North Norfolk	30,200	7,620	5,950	50.00
Norwich	21,900	8,590	7,080	52.49
South Norfolk	29,100	6,340	4,940	48.34
Babergh	21,100	4,300	3,490	48.54
Forest Heath	9,800	2,840	2,280	49.64
Ipswich	21,200	7,220	5,940	54.53
Mid-Suffolk	20,800	4,360	3,460	48.38
St. Edmundsbury	21,800	4,890	3,980	48.42
Suffolk Costal	31,600	6,060	4,890	51.28
Waveney	29,400	8,860	6,970	49.70
Notes: 1. Average weekly award of pension credit in the East of England Government region at August 2009 is £52.75. 2. Numbers in receipt of basic state pension rounded to nearest 100. 3. Pension credit case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 4. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves or on behalf of themselves and a partner. Beneficiaries are the number of claimants in addition to the number of partners for whom they are claiming. 5. Pension credit is claimed on a household basis. The average weekly award of pension credit is in relation to the household. 6. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory. 7. Latest data for pension credit is for August 2009. 8. Latest data for basic state pension is for March 2009. 9. On 1 April 2009, the reorganisation of the local authorities of England created nine new unitary authorities (UAs). This included Central Bedfordshire unitary authority which was formed from Mid-Bedfordshire and South Bedfordshire district councils. This is reflected in the table. Sources: Basic state pension: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample. The figures have been adjusted in line with the Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data. Pension credit: DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

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