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22 May 2003 : Column 921W—continued
Enhanced Pension Take-up
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what procedure the Pensions Agency has in place to alert husbands and wives to the enhanced pension for wives when a husband reaches 65; and what checking they do to ensure that the enhanced pension is received. [113852]
Maria Eagle: This is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, Chief Executive of the Pension Service. She will write to the hon. member.
Letter from Charlie MacKinnon to Mrs. Lait, dated 22 May 2003:
- The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked Alexis Cleveland to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what procedure the Pensions Agency has in place to alert husbands and wives to the enhanced pension for wives when a husband reaches 65; and what checking they do to ensure that the enhanced pension is received. Due to annual leave I am replying on her behalf.
- A claim package is sent out approximately four months prior to a customer approaching State Pension age (age 65 for a man, age 60 for a woman). This package includes an invitation to claim (form BR833) and a letter of expected entitlement (form BR33M/W). This package is issued to all customers based on whether they have entitlement based on their own National Insurance contributions.
- Form BR833 informs a married man that if his wife is 60 or over a claim form can be sent to him for her to complete to claim State Pension based on his contributions. Also on form BR33M issued to a man it alerts him that his wife can claim State Pension on his National Insurance contributions. It asks him to advise her to claim if she has a reduced rate State Pension of her own or none at all.
- There is no facility to invite claims from married women based on the National Insurance contributions of their husbands.
- There is no checking system because customers reaching State Pension age do not have to claim but can defer receipt of their State Pension for up to 5 years to receive increments added to their basic entitlement.
- I hope that this is helpful.
22 May 2003 : Column 922W
Fraud
Mr. Blizzard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the estimated level of fraud is for each benefit his Department pays. [115901]
Malcolm Wicks: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 31 March 2003, Official Report, column 591W.
Honours
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials in his Department have received honours; and how many honours are held by his officials, broken down by category of honour. [111484]
Maria Eagle: The Department does not hold information on the number of awards held by individuals, awards that are not related to official duties and awards already held by staff before joining the Department.
The Department for Work and Pensions was formed on 8 June 2001 from parts of the former Department of Social Security (DSS) and parts of the former Department for Education and Employment.
The following table shows the number of state honours awarded to staff from the honours lists published since the new Department was formed at each new year (NY) and the Queen's birthday (BD) round. Three members of staff who were awarded the MBE have since left the Department.
| List | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | NY02 | BD02 | NY03 |
| CB | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| CBE | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| OBE | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| MBE | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| Total | 9 | 13 | 12 |
22 May 2003 : Column 923W
Industrial Injuries
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects to receive the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council review of the vibration white finger diagnosis criteria used by medical advisers; and if he will make a statement. [114783]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The report of the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council on its review of Prescribed Disease A11, commonly known as vibration white finger, is expected at the end of this year.
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will issue new instructions about the use of the cold water provocation test in diagnosing VWF following the decision of Mr. Justice Pritchard of 2 May 2003; and whether those claimants given a negative decision on the basis of the test result will be invited to make a fresh application for an award. [114784]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: Modified guidance on the use of the cold water provocation test contained in the Notes on the Diagnosis of Prescribed Diseases, was published on 21 May 2003, on the Corporate Medical Group's webpage of the Department's website. In addition, the office of the Department's Chief Medical Adviser has issued revised guidance to Schlumberger Sema Medical Services in connection with claims for industrial injuries benefits.
We have no plans to invite fresh applications from anyone who was given a negative decision on the basis of the test, but anyone who re-applies will be considered under the revised guidance.
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to request the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council to review the examination criteria used by medical advisers to diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and if he will make a statement. [114785]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is covered by Prescribed Disease D12, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, for the purposes of the
22 May 2003 : Column 924W
industrial injuries scheme. We have no plans to ask the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council to review the examination criteria for Prescribed Disease D12.
Jobcentre Plus
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what budgetary provision has been made for the annual salary and benefit package of the chief executive of Jobcentre Plus for each of the first three years of his contract. [114386]
Mr. Nicholas Brown [holding answer 19 May 2003]: The Chief Executive's pay will be in the Permanent Secretaries' Pay Band A, which is currently £118,750 to £199,388. It will be reviewed annually and, as with all Permanent Secretaries, the Chief Executive's future pay increases will be determined by an independent remuneration committee, chaired by the Chairman of the Senior Salaries Review Body. Normal benefits associated with the Senior Civil Service will be provided. Budgetary provision on this basis has been made within the Jobcentre Plus budget.
All Jobcentre Plus's directors' salaries and benefits for the preceding year are published in the Jobcentre Plus annual report and accounts.
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish (a) the service standards set for Jobseeker Direct and (b) the performance figures for the last four quarters. [112637]
Mr. Nicholas Brown: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive, Clare Dodgson. I have asked her to reply to the hon. Member.
Letter from Clare Dodgson to Mr. Burstow, dated May 2002:
- As Jobcentre Plus is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question concerning the service standards for Jobseeker Direct and performance figures for the last four quarters. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of the Agency.
- The service standards set for Jobseeker Direct and the available performance figures for the last four quarters are in the table.
| Performance standard | April to June 2002 | July to September 2002 | October to December 2002 | January to March 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 95 per cent. of calls answered by an agent(2) | 98 | 98 | 98 | 98 |
| All calls to receive standard greeting(3) | 95.2 | 98.6 | 97.0 | 98.5 |
| Eight job entries per service point per week(4) | 8.4 | 9.2 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
Sources:
(2) Electronic Data Systems Statistics.
(3) Jobseeker Direct Mystery Shopper results for 02/03.
(4) Jobseeker Direct call data and job entry data on business information systems. (For 2003–04, this standard has been increased to 11 job entries per service point per week).
Mental Health
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many of his staff have taken sick leave due to mental health problems in the last year; [111972]
- (2) how many sick days were lost over the last year by his Department through staff mental health problems. [112073]
Malcolm Wicks: Between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2003 14,085 people have taken sick leave due to Mental and Behavioural Disorders resulting in 475,000 working days being lost.
22 May 2003 : Column 925W
Minimum Income Guarantee
Mr. Hurst: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the number of people eligible for the minimum income guarantee who do not claim; and if he will provide a breakdown of such people by (a) gender, (b) age and (c) region. [115396]
Maria Eagle: National figures, broken down by gender, for the number of people eligible for but not claiming the MIG, are included in the publication "Income Related Benefits: Estimates of Take-Up in 2000–2001, copies of which are available in the library of both houses. Estimates of the number of pensioners eligible for, but not claiming the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) are not available below national level or broken down by age.
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