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14 Feb 2011 : Column 616W—continued
Osteoporosis
Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to preserve bone health in men and women over the age of 50; if he will include in the public health outcomes framework an indicator relating to the incidence of fragility fractures in individuals over the age of 50; and if he will make a statement. [39704]
Paul Burstow: The national health service continues to support primary prevention and early diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis in a number of ways, including:
The current contract with general practitioners includes a Directed Enhanced Service for diagnosis and prevention of osteoporosis; contract negotiations for April 2011 are ongoing.
The National institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has published clinical guidelines on, and technology appraisals of drugs for, osteoporosis.
The NHS Clinical Knowledge Summaries (formerly PRODIGY) are a reliable source of evidence-based information and practical 'know how' about the common conditions managed in primary care. It is aimed at health care professionals working in primary and first-contact care, and provides information on osteoporosis prevention and management.
NHS Choices provides comprehensive information for the public on all aspects of osteoporosis, and on beta thalassaemia major in which osteoporosis is a known complication.
Guidance from the Department on Effective Interventions in Health and Social Care on Falls and Fractures includes, as one of four objectives, the prevention of frailty, promotion of bone health and reduction of accidents.
We fund a national clinical audit of falls and bone health, delivered by the Royal College of Physicians. The audit measures the organisation of services and care provided to older people for falls prevention, bone health and fracture management. It provides national benchmarking data, using evidence based quality standards, for a variety of health care settings: acute, primary care, care homes and mental health care.
'Healthy Lives, Healthy People: transparency in outcomes, proposals for a public health outcomes framework' was published for public consultation on 20 December 2010. The consultation closes on 31 March 2011, and the hon. Member's question will be treated as a representation. Decisions on the content of the Public Health Outcomes Framework will be made when the responses to the consultation have been analysed and considered. The consultation that closed on 9 February 2011 ('Transparency in outcomes: a framework for adult social care') included proposals for an indicator related to fragility fractures that would be shared with the NHS outcomes framework 2011-12 that was published on 20 December 2010.
Ovarian Cancer: Health Services
Dr Wollaston: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to support effective commissioning for ovarian cancer. [40227]
Paul Burstow: The White Paper 'Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS' describes the Government's vision to create a more autonomous and accountable national health service. Within this new commissioning architecture, responsibility for most commissioning is devolved to local general practitioner (GP) commissioning consortia, supported and held to account by an independent NHS Commissioning Board.
'Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer', published on 12 January, discusses how commissioners can be supported to commission cancer services, including ovarian cancer services, in the reformed NHS. A significant amount of cancer care is best commissioned for populations covering one and a half to two million and, where population size requirements mean that a single GP consortium is too small to commission a particular service, then GP consortia will wish to work collaboratively. GP consortia will be able to decide whether they wish to identify a lead consortium for commissioning more specialised cancer services or to do so through commissioning support organisations.
In addition, health and well-being boards in every upper-tier local authority will provide a mechanism for bringing together local NHS, public health and social care commissioners. This could provide a forum for the development of cross-cutting commissioning approaches to improve cancer services.
The Department and the National Cancer Action Team have previously provided commissioners with a range of commissioning guidance and support, such as 'the Cancer Commissioning Toolkit' and the 'Cancer Commissioning Guidance'. Going forward, this guidance will be developed to reflect what works best in supporting pathfinder GP consortia. In 2011, we will also develop a cancer commissioning support pack to enable commissioners to access in one place the key information they will need to discharge their functions effectively.
Primary Care Trusts: North East Offender Health Commissioning Unit
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the scores given to each application to the North East Offender Health Commissioning Unit for the award of a contract to provide NHS primary care services in respect of (a) quality, (b) delivery, (c) risk and (d) price. [39527]
Paul Burstow: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 27 January 2011, Official Report, column 468W. This is a local issue for North East Offender Health Commissioning Unit as responsibility for commissioning health services in publicly run prisons in England has been fully devolved to national health service primary care trusts since 2006. The information is used by County Durham PCT.
Transplant Surgery
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were assessed as needing an organ transplant in (a) Norwich South constituency, (b) Norfolk and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. [39483]
Anne Milton: The number of patients assessed as needing a transplant and added to the transplant list per year in the Norwich South constituency, in Norfolk and in England is shown in the following table.
| Year of registration | Norwich South | Norfolk | England |
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died while waiting for an organ transplant in (a) Norwich South constituency, (b) Norfolk and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. [39484]
Anne Milton: The number of people who died while waiting for an organ transplant in the Norfolk South constituency, in Norfolk and in England is shown in the following table.
| Norwich South | Norfolk | England | |
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children died while waiting for an organ transplant in (a) Norwich South constituency, (b) Norfolk and (c) England in each of the last 10 years. [39485]
Anne Milton: The number of children who died while waiting for an organ transplant in the Norwich South constituency, in Norfolk and in England in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table.
| Norwich South | Norfolk | England | |
Tuberculosis
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to fund the Find and Treat Tuberculosis Project and the Mobile X-Ray Screening Unit after April 2011. [40915]
Anne Milton: The national health service in London will be commissioning the Find and Treat service, including the mobile X-ray unit, in 2011-12.
Vaccination
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether vaccination and immunisation programmes will fall within the commissioning responsibility of (a) GP consortia and (b) local authorities under his proposals for NHS reform. [39579]
Anne Milton:
Public Health England will be responsible for immunisation as one means of preventing infectious disease. It will be responsible for the national immunisation schedule and setting standards as advised by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and will fund the delivery of immunisation programmes via two routes: local authorities and the NHS Commissioning Board. We propose that local authorities should be responsible for commissioning immunisation programmes primarily delivered through schools, such as the human papillomavirus vaccine and the teenage booster (against tetanus, diphtheria and polio) from a range of providers. Local authorities will also work closely with Public Health England, the national health service and local partners to ensure coordination of any immunisation response during a public health incident. Given the existing contractual arrangements in primary care
commissioning for other immunisation programmes, we propose that Public Health England transfers funds from the public health budget to the NHS Commissioning Board to allow them to commission the remaining programmes. This will include the childhood, seasonal flu and pneumococcal (for older people) vaccination programmes.
The NHS Commissioning Board will be responsible for commissioning a service for the whole population. For programmes where general practitioners (GPs) are not preferred providers, or where individual GPs opt out or are decommissioned from providing a service, the NHS Commissioning Board will commission alternative providers as appropriate (for example community pharmacies).
The NHS will continue to commission targeted neonatal Hepatitis B and BCG vaccination provision, funded by Public Health England. Referral and opportunistic vaccination of those at clinical risk, for example intravenous drug users requiring Hepatitis B vaccination, or mothers needing post partum measles mumps and rubella vaccination, will also continue to be funded and commissioned by the NHS (including through existing primary care commissioning arrangements).
These proposals are currently subject to consultation.
Work and Pensions
Child Maintenance Services
4. Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on charging parents for the use of his Department's child maintenance services. [39803]
Maria Miller: The implementation of legislation, put in place by the previous administration, to allow for charging in the new statutory child maintenance service, is part of the coalition Government's much broader strategy to encourage parents to collaborate more around the financial welfare of their children if a family experiences the separation or divorce of parents.
At present the child maintenance system can drive a wedge between separated parents. The Government want to help and encourage parents to collaborate and reach family-based maintenance arrangements wherever possible.
Along with easier access to wider support services, the gateway to the statutory scheme will ensure parents are supported to take responsibility and make family-based arrangements.
Citizens' Pension
19. Mr Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what consideration he has given to the merits of introducing a citizens' pension. [39821]
Steve Webb: The next generation face a different world to current pensioners due to longer working lives, increasing longevity and a changing pension landscape.
We are currently looking at a number of options for simplifying the state pension system. No decisions have yet been made.
Disability Living Allowance
21. Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effect on carers of proposed reductions to the disability living allowance budget. [39823]
Maria Miller: The Government recognise that the UK's 6 million carers play an indispensable role in looking after relatives and friends who need support.
We recognise the importance of DLA "passporting" the individual to other help and support, the detailed criteria that will be used in the new assessment to determine eligibility for Personal Independence Payment are currently being developed. At this point the new assessment has not been finalised-the effect for carers will be determined when it is finalised.
22. Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions his Department has had with disability organisations on the removal of the mobility component of disability living allowance from those in residential care homes. [39824]
Maria Miller: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Airdrie and Shotts (Pamela Nash) earlier in the session.
Employers' Liability Insurance Bureau
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to establish an employers' liability insurance bureau; and if he will make a statement. [39813]
Chris Grayling: In February 2010 the previous Government published their consultation document, "Accessing Compensation-Supporting people who need to trace employers' liability insurance", which set out proposals for people who need to find their employers' liability insurance policies in order to claim compensation. The consultation closed on 5 May 2010. There were two proposals; firstly an Employers' Liability Tracing Office, that would manage a database of employers' liability policies. Secondly, an Employers' Liability Insurance Bureau which would be a compensation fund of last resort for those individuals who are unable to trace employers' liability insurance records, ensuring they are able to receive compensation for injuries or diseases sustained during the course of their employment. We are in active discussions with all stakeholders on how this situation can be addressed and we will bring forward our proposals in due course.
Child Support
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the behavioural effects of levying charges on parents who use the future child support scheme on (a) children living apart from one parent, (b) parents with care and (c) non-resident parents. [39082]
Maria Miller: The Department for Work and Pensions will produce estimates of the numbers impacted when we publish detailed proposals in the form of draft regulations later in the year. The impact assessments for the draft regulations will set out the estimated impacts on volumes and individuals.
Children: Maintenance
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department plans to take to increase the collection rate for child maintenance payments. [36407]
Maria Miller: On 13 January, the Government published a Green Paper, "Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance" outlining proposals to reform the child maintenance system.
The proposals aim to tackle the current situation, where it is estimated that there are over 3 million children in separated families, but just under 50% benefit from child maintenance. Research suggests that around half of the parents who use the Child Support Agency would be likely to make a family-based arrangement, if they had the right support. The Government aim to do this by providing more integrated support to encourage people to make family-based arrangements, which are more flexible and collaborative and are better for children.
For those who cannot make family-based arrangements, there is and will continue to be, a statutory child maintenance service. This is currently delivered by the Child Support Agency, part of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
The Commission have confirmed that, in order to improve the collection rate within the statutory service, the Child Support Agency is increasing the use of tough enforcement measures, including deducting money directly from bank accounts and seizing property and other assets. It can also apply to the courts to have culpable parents disqualified from driving and even sent to prison.
The Child Support Agency has also taken a number of steps to enhance the way it recovers arrears. This includes re-deploying over 400 members of staff into pursuing historic arrears; and when a non-resident parent misses a payment and legal action is appropriate, ensuring that this commences within 12 weeks.
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of parents using Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission services as a result of his proposed reforms. [38721]
Maria Miller: The Department for Work and Pensions will produce estimates of the numbers impacted when we publish detailed proposals in the form of draft regulations later in the year. The impact assessments for the draft regulations will set out the estimated impacts on volumes and individuals.
Departmental Libraries
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) certified and (b) chartered librarians his Department has employed in each year since 2000. [37649]
Chris Grayling: The Department has not employed any certified librarians between 2000 and 2011. The chartered status of librarians employed by the Department during the same period is not held centrally. It would incur disproportionate cost to examine 11 years' worth of staff records to establish exact numbers. However, information on the chartered status of all librarians in membership of the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals (CILIP), the professional body which awards chartership following qualification and evidence of professional development, is publicly available and published in the "CILIP yearbook 2010", Facet Publishing, 2010. ISBN 9781856046787. The Department currently employs 16 librarians of whom nine are chartered.
Departmental Pay
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) total and (b) average salary is of staff employed on fixed-term contracts in his Department. [38409]
Chris Grayling: The total annual cost of fixed term appointment staff, as at 31 December 2010, was £165,955,806 with an average salary of £18,369.
As at 31 December 2010 there were 9,035 staff (FTE).
Staff were employed on fixed term appointments to help the Department cope with an increase in customers during the height of the recession. As the height of the recession is now over, and due to public spending cuts, the Department aims to reduce the number of fixed term appointment staff employed.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on the Government Car Service since May 2010. [38408]
Chris Grayling: After the completion of a review of DWP's use of the Government Car and Despatch Agency in May 2010 a revised operating model has had a significant reduction in both the use, and associated cost of the service to date.
| Period | Expenditure (£)/percentage |
The Department is reviewing all expenditure with a view to driving out inefficiencies and delivering value for money for the taxpayer.
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on wine since May 2010. [38530]
Chris Grayling:
The Department does not keep a separate record of expenditure on alcohol. Such expenditure is included within the hospitality account. Expenditure
on alcohol and entertaining is based on the principles set out in Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money. Accordingly, alcohol is provided only as an exception and then only with the specific written authority of a small number of designated senior civil servants.
Total expenditure on hospitality May 2010 to December 2010 is less than £3,000.
The Department is reviewing all expenditure with a view to driving out efficiencies and delivering value for money for the taxpayer.
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on artwork since May 2010. [38531]
Chris Grayling: Works of art displayed in the Department for Work and Pensions are loaned from the Government Art Collection (GAC), which publishes an annual list of acquisitions. The most recent details of acquisitions made by the GAC were published in October 2010 and are available on the GAC website:
There is no cost to the Department for Work and Pensions.
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pieces of artwork in his Department have been moved since May 2010. [38532]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions is not responsible for moving works of art displayed in its buildings. Art displayed is from the Government Art Collection which is also responsible for its transportation. Details of the Government Art Collections can be found under locations on their website
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on redecorating ministerial offices since May 2010. [38533]
Chris Grayling: There has been no expenditure on redecorating ministerial offices since May 2010.
For comparison purposes, expenditure in respect of new works, refurbishments and planned maintenance to Ministers' offices in 2009-10 financial year was £19,223.85.
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on (a) film production and (b) filming of speeches since May 2010. [38536]
Chris Grayling: The Department has not spent any money on either (a) film production and (b) filming of speeches since May 2010.
Departmental Senior Civil Servants
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish details of all senior civil service staff moves, including the names and salaries of all those moving posts within or leaving his Department, since May 2010. [38406]
Chris Grayling: In line with the central Government's transparency agenda the details of the senior civil service in the Department for Work and Pensions as at 30 June 2010 were published on the Department's website and the No. 10 website. The next disclosure will show details for 1 April 2011. In line with central Government policy guidance adopted under the transparency agenda, Departments are not releasing the names or banded salaries for those in the lowest (pay band 1) grade of the SCS, nor those at more senior levels who have not consented to the release of their names. In addition, the exact salary of any individual is personal data and as such cannot be released. The following is a link to the DWP Transparency page:
Mr McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish details of all Senior Civil Service staff exits from his Department since May 2010, including contractual and non-contractual payments made. [38410]
Chris Grayling: Since May 2010 there have been 28 senior civil service staff exits. With the exception of seven staff that left to transfer to another Government Department all except one were approved under contractual terms. The exception was approved at less than the approved early retirement terms then in place.
Disability Living Allowance: Cancer
Dame Anne Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with cancer were in receipt of (a) the care component of disabilityusb living allowance at the (i) higher rate, (ii) middle rate and (iii) lower rate and (b) the mobility component of disability living allowance at the (A) higher rate and (B) lower rate in the latest period for which figures are available. [39124]
Maria Miller: The available information is in the table.
| Disability living allowance in payment : Main disabling condition: Malignant disease-May 2011 | |
| Number | |
| Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Figures are adjusted to be consistent with the overall caseload from the WPLS. 3. The preferred data source for benefit statistics is 100% Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. However, the 5% sample data are generally the preferred source for analysis on disabling condition as information is more complete for disabling condition on the 5% sample (Some recipients of DLA who transferred from the AA system may not have been allocated a specific disabling condition code. This problem can be corrected on the sample data but not on the WPLS data. The number of cases affected is decreasing over time). 4. A diagnosed medical condition does not mean that someone is automatically entitled to DLA. Entitlement is dependent on an assessment of how much help someone needs with personal care and/or mobility because of their disability. These statistics are only collected for administrative purposes. 5. Data are published at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=tabtool Source: DWP Information Directorate: Sample data (5%) | |
Employment: Young People
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 31 January 2011, Official Report, columns 587-8W, on jobseeker's allowance, what projection for business planning purposes his Department has made of 16 to 24 year olds in employment in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14, (d) 2014-15, (e) 2015-16 and (f) 2016-17. [39529]
Chris Grayling: The Department does not produce forecasts or projections of employment for business planning purposes. The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes forecasts of employment, the most recent being in the autumn statement, but these are not broken down by age group.
Housing Benefit
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate his Department has made of the number of households in (a) London and (b) England which will have a shortfall equal to or higher than £20 per week as a result of changes to local housing allowance and the introduction of benefit capping with effect from April 2011. [40266]
Steve Webb: The information is in the following table.
| London | England | |
| Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: DWP analysis of Single Housing Benefit Extract data. | ||
The figures refer to shortfalls caused by the changes to local housing allowance rates to be introduced in April 2011. These are setting rates at the 30th percentile of local rents, the introduction of local housing allowance caps and the removal of the five bedroom local housing allowance rate.
Existing claimants will have up to nine months of transitional protection from any additional shortfall resulting from these changes following the date their claim is reviewed by the local authority, usually at the anniversary point of their claim. This means that many existing customers will not be affected until January 2012, and some will not be affected until December 2012.
Housing Benefit: Private Rented Housing
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of private rented properties in (a) London and (b) England rented by households in receipt of local housing allowance (LHA) which will be (i) offered to households not in receipt of LHA and (ii) reconfigured as houses in multiple occupation as a result of the proposed changes to LHA and introduction of a cap on household benefits from April 2011. [40188]
Steve Webb: The Department published an impact assessment for the 2011 changes to the local housing allowance arrangements on 30 November 2010, a copy of which is in the Library. In this assessment, the Department looked at the overall impact of the changes to the local housing allowance but did not include the potential behavioural impacts of either landlords or tenants as these are impossible to estimate precisely. However, the Department has widened the discretion of local authorities to make direct payments to landlords which will encourage landlords to continue to rent their properties to housing benefit tenants.
Marriage
Mr Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to mark Marriage Week; and what steps the Government is taking to support marriage. [40811]
Chris Grayling: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), attended the launch of Marriage Week and spoke to reaffirm the Government's commitment to stable relationships.
The Prime Minister offered the following message to mark Marriage Week:
"I am delighted to support this year's marriage week. When two people make that decision to come together and face life as a team, that provides them with a great source of strength-and all the evidence shows it's a very good thing for wider society too. That's why I think it's vital we recognise the importance of marriage and celebrate commitment."
The Prime Minister announced in December 2010 that the Government would provide £30 million for relationship support over the spending review period. A national prospectus for improving outcomes for children,
young people and families was published by the Department for Education on 22 November. This invited organisations to bid on a 'not for profit' basis for grant funding for delivering relationship support services from April 2011. Bids are currently being assessed. The Prime Minister has set up the Interministerial Taskforce on Childhood and Families, which he chairs.
The Government are looking at ways to reduce the couple penalty in the welfare system. A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies published earlier this year indicated that the introduction of the universal credit will help meet the coalition agreement commitment to tackle the worst of the couple penalty in the tax credit system. It is also anticipated that the universal credit will, on average, reduce the couple penalty facing those on the lowest incomes.
The Government also remain committed to looking at ways to support marriage through the tax system. Proposals will be brought forward by the Chancellor at the appropriate time.
Mobility Support
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the mobility support requirements of people in (a) residential care and (b) hospital. [39804]
Maria Miller: The Department draws on a wide range of sources to inform our understanding of the needs of disabled people, including those in living at home, hospital or in a residential care home. In addition, I have met with a number of disabled people and disability organisations regarding the proposed reforms to the mobility component of DLA. I have also encouraged people to put forward their views on the measure to remove the DLA mobility component from people in state funded residential care as part of the wider consultation on DLA reform which will end on 18 February 2011.
Personal Income
Mr Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the average income (a) at current prices and (b) in real terms of each income decile in each year since 1981. [39951]
Chris Grayling: Data are not available for all years since 1981. Available data are given in the following tables. Estimates of the distribution of equivalised household disposable incomes are available in the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series. This uses disposable household income, adjusted using modified OECD equivalisation factors for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. These data are at a household level.
| Table 2: Values of median weekly equivalised disposable household income by decile, After Housing Costs, 1981 to 2008-09, in current prices of the year in question | ||||||||||
| £ | ||||||||||
| Decile | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Table 4: Values of median weekly equivalised disposable household income by decile, After Housing Costs, 1981 to 2008-09, in 2008-09 real terms prices | ||||||||||
| £ | ||||||||||
| Decile | ||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| Notes: 1. These statistics are based on Households Below Average Income. 2. The reference period for Households Below Average Income figures are single financial years. 3. Data from 1994-95 are sourced from the Family Resources Survey, with earlier data sourced from the Family Expenditure Survey. 4. FES figures are for the United Kingdom, FRS figures are for Great Britain up to 2001-02, and for the United Kingdom from 2002-03. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. FES figures are two combined calendar years from 1990-91 to 1992-93 and two financial years combined for 1993-95. 5. Small changes should be treated with caution as these will be affected by sampling error and variability in non-response. 6. 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 disposable household income, adjusted (or 'equivalised') for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living, equivalised using Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development equivalisation factors. 7. Median incomes have been provided rather than mean incomes because the income distribution is skewed with some outliers with high incomes. 8. Weekly incomes have been rounded to the nearest pound sterling. 9. Figures have been presented on a Before Housing Cost and an After Housing Cost basis. For Before Housing Costs, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for After Housing Costs they are. Source: Households Below Average Income, DWP. | ||||||||||
Social Security Benefits: Telephone Services
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to minimise costs to individuals of applying for benefits by telephone. [40905]
Chris Grayling: The Department for Work and Pensions' strategy is that telephone calls to apply for benefit or to request emergency payments should be free, so it uses 0800 freephone numbers for these calls. It is free to call the Department's 0800 numbers from BT landlines and via nine of the UK's largest mobile phone operators, representing 95% of the mobile market. We are continuing to work with the remaining mobile phone providers to negotiate free calls to DWP 0800 numbers.
State Retirement Pensions
Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of retired (a) women and (b) men who had an entitlement to a basic state pension received less than the full amount of the pension in the last year for which figures are available. [40912]
Steve Webb: The information is in the table.
| Proportion of people resident in Great Britain entitled to a basic state pension who are not getting the full amount | ||
| Total number of basic state pension recipients | Percentage of recipients getting less than a full basic state pension | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are as at March 2010. 2. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5% sample. | ||
Transport
Aviation: EC Action
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans he has for the future of CAP 371 flight time limitations following the European Aviation Safety Agency's publication of a Notice of Proposed Amendment. [37387]
Mrs Villiers: The European Aviation Safety Agency's Notice of Proposed Amendment contains draft implementing rules on flight time limitations. These rules are likely to be amended in the light of responses to the consultation. Once the final rules are adopted they will become directly applicable to aircraft within EASA's remit. At that point the Civil Aviation Authority's guidance in CAP 371 will be applicable only to non EASA aircraft.
Bus Services: Finance
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to maintain adequate levels of bus service provision for those who commute to work by bus. [39161]
Norman Baker: In London, this is matter for the Mayor and Transport for London.
Outside London, 78% of bus services are operated commercially, including those used by commuters.
Bus operators are supported by my Department through the Bus Service Operators Grant. Funding has been maintained in full in 2011-12
Where commercial services are not viable, it is for local authorities, not central Government, to work in partnership with operators and local communities to decide how best to provide access to services for commuters in these areas. This may mean the provision of local authority tendered bus services; but it may also be that other more flexible services provided by the council or the voluntary sector are more sustainable. For instance, the Wheels to Work scheme provides a moped, electric bike or bicycle to young people to help them access employment opportunities.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the level of funding for rural bus services to be provided from the local authority funding settlement for 2011-12. [39164]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport has not assessed the level of funding to be provided by local authorities for rural bus services as this will be up to individual local authorities in light of their own priorities and budgets.
78% of bus services outside London are provided by operators on a commercial basis. The Department supports these services, including those operating in rural areas, through Bus Service Operator's Grant, the funding for which has been maintained in its entirety for 2011-12.
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