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Benefits Agency Medical Service
Dr. Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make it her policy that the contract to operate the Benefits Agency Medical Service will not be transferred to a private company until that company can demonstrate that it has a sufficient medical workforce to execute the contract as demonstrated by signed and returned contracts between the accredited medical workforce and the company. [49695]
Mr. Keith Bradley:
It was announced on 19 February 1998, Official Report, columns 861-62, that the contracts for Benefits Agency Medical Service would be awarded to the SEMA Group for five years with an option to extend the contracts for two years.
14 Jul 1998 : Column: 110
One of the acceptance criteria to be used to determine whether responsibility for providing the medical services is transferred to a private company is that a pool of suitably qualified and approved doctors is in place to deliver the service.
Mr. Amess:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether the preserved right benefits of persons living in independent sector residential homes can be reduced as a result of topping up payments from a local authority; and what plans she has to change the current rules. [49996]
Mr. Keith Bradley:
Local authorities are permitted to top up Income Support paid to people with preserved rights only in cases where a person was receiving local authority topping up payments on 31 March 1993, is under pension age, or is in residential care and either facing eviction from the home or is resident of a home which is about to close. Such top-up payments have no effect on the amount of Income Support paid. We have no plans to change the rules on the treatment of such payments.
Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will introduce measures to allow women to qualify for widows benefit when they have not been married to their late partners but could qualify as having been married by cohabitation. [50210]
Mr. Denham:
Modernising the Social Security system is a key priority of the Government. In our examination of the current Social Security structure we will take account of the needs of the bereaved in pursuit of our aim of reducing poverty and welfare dependency, promoting work incentives and providing better, simpler more efficient services to clients.
Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cold weather payments were made; and how much was spent on cold weather payments in the winter of 1997-98. [50211]
Mr. Denham:
Last winter, 55,381 Cold Weather Payments were made, totalling £470,739.
Mr. Kaufman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when she intends to reply to the letters to her dated 7 April, 27 April and 4 June from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. P. Hampson of 2 Hopterstall Walk. [50559]
Mr. Field:
A reply was sent to my right hon. Friend on 13 July 1998.
Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is her estimate of (i) the number of LETS schemes and (ii) the number of people trading in LETS in (a) England and Wales and (b) Derbyshire; and if she will make a statement. [50203]
14 Jul 1998 : Column: 111
Mr. Keith Bradley:
The information requested is not collected by this Department.
Mr. Barnes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many appeals, in respect of each benefit, were successful during the last 12 months where the claimant (a) had an oral hearing and was represented, (b) had an oral hearing and was not represented and (c) did not attend the hearing. [50182]
(9) Lookalike cases
(10) Oral hearings where the representative only, or the appellant and the representative attended.
Notes:
1. Oral hearings where no-one attended. These figures do not include "paper determinations".
2. The period covered is 1 October 1996 to 30 September 1997.
Source:
The quarterly Social Security Appeal Tribunal Statistics published by DSS Analytical Services Divisions.
14 Jul 1998 : Column: 112
Supported Accommodation (Interim Funding)
Mr. Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will make a statement about the future of the interim funding arrangements for supported accommodation from the end of October. [50751]
Ms Harman: I am pleased to announce that the Government will be extending for a further twelve months our interim funding arrangements for supported accommodation.
The Government fully appreciate the importance of supported housing for vulnerable people. Extending the interim scheme will ensure financial security for many thousands of tenants who rely on Housing Benefit to meet the cost of the support services they need and which allow them to live with some measure of independence in the community.
We hope to conclude the inter-Departmental Review of funding for supported accommodation in the near future. However, the supported housing sector is a complex area and the problems identified by the Review have proved to be particularly difficult to resolve. The Government remain committed to identifying and introducing appropriate long-term funding arrangements as soon as possible.
The Government believe that it is important to ensure that whatever arrangements are implemented for the long-term, they are sustainable and achieve a fair balance between the demands on Housing Benefit and other sources of funding. We will give supported housing providers and other stakeholders an opportunity to comment before new arrangements are implemented.
Mr. Hanson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when she will publish the 1997-98 annual reports and accounts for each of her Next Steps agencies. [50750]
Ms Harman:
The 1997/98 annual reports and accounts have been laid before Parliament today for the Benefits, Child Support, Contributions, Information Technology Services and War Pensions Agencies.
14 Jul 1998 : Column: 113
Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what are the annual revenue account costs of the British Library's new public affairs directorate. [40132]
Mr. Fisher:
The Public Affairs Directorate was established in 1996 with staff from existing resources. Annual revenue costs of the Directorate in 1997-98 were:
| £ | |
|---|---|
| Income from sales and donations | 2,158,972 |
| Expenditure | 3,510,157 |
| Net Expenditure | 1,351,185 |
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