§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many redundant people in receipt of an occupational or personal pension aged over 55 years are receiving reduced unemployment benefit; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from M. E. G. Fogden to Ms. Joan Walley, dated 3 March 1993:
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Question to her about the number of redundant people in receipt of an occupational or personal pension aged over 55 years who are receiving reduced unemployment benefit. This is something which falls within the responsibilities she has delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.Unfortunately we do not collect the information you requested and it could only be obtained at disproportionate cost by examination of each of our client records. However, an analysis of the claims so far transferred to the new computer system we are currently introducing throughout the country, indicates that almost 4 per cent. of our clients, who are in receipt of unemployment benefit at full or reduced rate, have declared that they are in receipt of an occupational or personal pension. It is not possible to say how many of these are over 55 years of age.I hope this is helpful.As decided by the Administration Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.