The Rt. Hon. Sir John Major KG CH

Category: 1983-1987 Parliament

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Specialist Claims Control – 20 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Specialist Claims Control on 20th February 1986.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if specialist claims control officers are empowered to inquire into benefit payments to persons on supplementary pension, or persons on supplementary benefit who are disabled.

    Mr. Major Specialist claims control teams are empowered to investigate allegations of fraud in respect of all social security benefits.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish his latest assessment of the amount of fraud detected by specialist claims control, showing the basis on which this figure is calculated.

    Mr. Major The estimated benefit savings achieved by specialist claims control teams in 1984-85 was £6-9 million. The basis for this calculation is set out in the statement and copy report of a Departmental study placed in the Library on 12 June of last year.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Westminster Local Office – 20 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Westminster Local Office on 20th February 1986.

    Mr. Loyden Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the present arrangements for claimants at the Regency street, Victoria, office of his Department.

    Mr. Major There has been some welcome improvement in the arrangements for social security claimants at the Westminster integrated local office in the past year. The arrangements for provision of benefit in the Central London area are currently under review, with the intention of making further improvements in the service to claimants.

    Mr. Loyden Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what complaints he has had from hon. and right hon. Members about the Regency street, Victoria, office of his Department.

    Mr. Major In the past year we have received seven letters of complaint from right hon. and hon. Members about Westminster local office. Two have been about the quality of service provided by the local office and five have concerned individual cases.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Knowsley) – 20 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Knowsley) on 20th February 1986.

    Mr. Sean Hughes Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many persons aged 16, 17 and 18 years, respectively, are presently claiming (a) supplementary and (b) other unemployment benefit in the borough of Knowsley.

    Mr. Major The table shows the number of people aged 16, 17 and 18 respectively claiming unemployment benefit in the borough of Knowsley at 9 January 1986 – the latest figures available.

    Age | Number Claiming Unemployment Benefit

    16 | 246

    17 | 898

    18 | 1,150

    I regret that similar information is not available for persons claiming supplementary benefit.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Single Payments – 19 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Single Payments on 19th February 1986.

    Mr. Meadowcroft Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report comparable statistics on the total amount paid out in single payments to claimants in different areas, based on the smallest convenient geographical areas, and on the most recent convenient dates.

    Mr. Major [pursuant to his reply, 10 February 1986, c. 364–5]: The table giving the information requested by the hon. Member has now been placed in the Library.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Age – 18 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Retirement Age on 18th February 1986.

    Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table indicating his estimates of the additional annual cost to Government funds on areas within his responsibility if the retirement age for (a) men and (b) women were reduced in 12-month steps from their present level to a uniform retirement age of 55 years of age.

    Mr. Major No figures are available to show the estimated additional cost of reducing the retirement age to below age 60 for men, nor are any figures available to show the estimated additional cost of reducing the retirement age for women to below the present retirement age of 60. The net estimated additional annual cost to public funds of reducing the retirement age for men from age 65 to age 60 is as follows:

    Reduction in retirement age to: | Estimated additional annual cost (rounded) in £ million

    64 | 400

    63 | 900

    62 | 1,400

    61 | 1,900

    60 | 2,600

    These figures also take account of the increase in tax revenue which could result from a change.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions – 18 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Pensions on 18th February 1986.

    Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table showing the weekly rate of retirement pension on 1 December of each year since 1956, in actual and in real terms at current prices; and what proportion the figures represented each year of average industrial wages for adult men.

    Mr. Major The available figures are contained in table 5.1 of the “Abstract of Statistics for Index of Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social Security Benefits and Contributions”, a copy of which may be found in the Library. The dates for which comparisons are shown are those on which retirement pensions were uprated, which is the most meaningful basis for real value comparisons.

    Mr. Wigley Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the annual cost if the state retirement pension for single persons were increased from the present level to £56 per week, and for married couples from the present level to £84 per week.

    Mr. Major The estimated annual additional cost of this proposal to public expenditure is £6,250 million in a full year, allowing for savings on supplementary benefit and housing benefit.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Fraud – 17 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefit Fraud on 17th February 1986.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many prosecutions there have been for benefit fraud in (a) Scotland and (b) Britain in 1985.

    Mr. Major In 1984-85, the last full year for which figures are available, prosecutions for benefit fraud totalled 662 in Scotland and 8,436 in Great Britain.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Specialist Claims Control – 17 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Specialist Claims Control on 17th February 1986.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services why specialist claims control officers are visiting Cowdenbeath.

    Mr. Major A specialist claims control team is on a routine visit to Cowdenbeath to assist the local office fraud staff.

    Mr. Gordon Brown Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which areas of Britain specialist claims control officers are now visiting.

    Mr. Major Specialist claims control teams are currently visiting local offices at Basingstoke, Birmingham (Edgbaston), Birmingham (Erdington), Bognor, Bournemouth, Bridgend, Brighton, Cardiff (Central), Chatham, Chester, Coventry (East), Cowdenbeath, Devonport, Doncaster (East), Dundee (East), East Kilbride, Epsom, Eston, Farnworth, Glasgow (Craighton), Guildford, Hendon, Hyde, Manchester (Cheetham), Newcastle (East), Newport (Gwent), Northwich, Nottingham (Castlegate), Peckham, Plaistow, Plymouth, Sheffield (South West), Skelmersdale, Southampton, Stirling, Thanet, Walsall (East), Walsall (West), Walthams tow, Wandsworth, Watford, Weymouth, Winchester, Worksop and Worthing.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on Grant Claims (Walthamstow) – 17 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Walthamstow on 17th February 1986.

    Mr. Deakins Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for (a) death grant and (b) maternity grant were made at the Walthamstow office in each year from 1980-81 onwards.

    Mr. Major The information relating to the number of claims to death grant and maternity grant (non-contributory maternity grant from July 1982) in the years from April 1980 to date is as follows:

    Year | Death Grant | Maternity Grant

    1980-81 | 1,809 | 1,673

    1981-82 | 1,436 | 1,550

    1982-83 | 1,996 | 2,210

    1983-84 | 1,589 | 1,788

    1984-85 | 1,665 | 1,905

    *1985-86 | 1,106 | 1,404

    * To 14 January 1986.

  • Mr Major’s Written Parliamentary Answer on SERPS – 17 February 1986

    Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on SERPS on 17th February 1986.

    Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the minimum state earnings-related pension scheme pension currently in payment; how many people are in receipt of it; and how many people are currently in receipt of £0 to £1, £1 to £2, £2 to £3 and each £ band per week to the maximum current weekly payment.

    Mr. Major The following table sets out the numbers of people receiving state earnings-related pension scheme additional pensions by size of payment. Information is not readily available on the minimum additional pension currently in payment, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

    Amount of Additional Pension (£ per week) | Numbers of Pensioners (in thousands)

    Under 1 | 733

    1-1.99 | 299

    2-2.99 | 118

    3-3.99 | 84

    4-4.99 | 63

    5-5.99 | 44

    6-6.99 | 33

    7-7.99 | 21

    8 and over | 49

    Information is not available in the form requested for amounts above £8 per week. The maximum possible additional pension is £20.87 per week.