The tariff for the presence of military bands at civilian engagements is a combination of the standard capitation rate of the personnel involved and other costs, such as travel and subsistence. The capitation rate can be abated where there is a clear Defence benefit in participating at an event.

Ascent Flight Training charges approximately £610,000 to train each fast jet student pilot to the point where they are ready to move on to the Operational Conversion Unit stage.

The costs are calculated in accordance with Treasury guidance, the Departmental Management and Charging Policy and the Tri-Service Policy for the Service Bands and Military Musicians.

The Departmental Management and Charging Policy states that "The Armed Forces may be asked to participate in commemorative events organised by external bodies, such as commercial organisations and charities (including Service and ex-Service charities). Such events must not be at a cost to the Department." Charities and Ex-Service/Regimental Associations are eligible to receive an abatement for the capitation rates of military personnel. The cost of the additional insurances, transport and subsistence (if applicable) and the contract and administration fees are marginal costs and therefore cannot be abated without incurring a cost against the Department.

Further to the debate on the Pension Schemes Bill Third Reading (HL Deb col 791), I would like to clarify the point made by my Noble Friend Lord Newby, in response to a question raised by the Noble Lord, Lord Lipsey. In Lord Newby’s response, he set out the position in relation to how lump sums accessed under the new pension reforms would be treated under the tax rules. However, I understand that the Noble Lord, Lord Lipsey was referring to the treatment of such funds under the charging rules for social care.

The new pension reforms will come into force on 6 April and will allow people with defined contribution pensions to access their pensions more flexibly. Where someone chooses to take up this flexibility and withdraw a lump sum, this will be treated as capital. This will then be taken into account in calculating what a person can afford to contribute towards the cost of their care based on the social care charging rules for the product the funds have been moved to. To be treated as income, the resources would need to be in respect of a specified period or form part of a series of payments.

With regard to Deferred Payment Agreements (DPA), the universal scheme introduced under the Care Act will come into force on 1 April 2015 and sets out a national framework for whom a local authority must offer a DPA to. This is based on their level of non-housing assets which is assessed according to the charging framework for social care.

People will therefore need to be aware of how their pension choices may affect what they are asked to contribute towards the cost of their care and their options for meeting that cost.

The Government has committed to support the new pensions freedoms through free and impartial guidance from Pension Wise, to help people make informed and confident decisions about how they use their defined contribution pension savings in retirement. The service will encourage consumers to consider issues such as long term care needs in the context of their decision, signposting consumers to sources of further specialist information as appropriate.

We are in the process of introducing fundamental reforms to how we pay for care and support that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who is unfortunate enough to have the highest care needs may risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk. A copy is attached.

Personal injury compensation paid to veterans and civilians has always been fully disregarded provided the money is placed in a Trust. The War Pensions Scheme, which is available to those injured prior to April 2005, provides a range of allowances some of which were designed to pay for ongoing care costs and that is why these payments have been taken into account under the care and support charging rules. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, introduced for those injured from April 2005, operates differently. Officials in the Department are working with the Royal British Legion to review this issue and assess how the rules could be aligned in future to ensure fair treatment of veterans under both of these schemes.

We are in the process of introducing fundamental reforms to how we pay for care and support that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who is unfortunate enough to have the highest care needs may risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk. A copy is attached.

Personal injury compensation paid to veterans and civilians has always been fully disregarded provided the money is placed in a Trust. The War Pensions Scheme, which is available to those injured prior to April 2005, provides a range of allowances some of which were designed to pay for ongoing care costs and that is why these payments have been taken into account under the care and support charging rules. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, introduced for those injured from April 2005, operates differently. Officials in the Department are working with the Royal British Legion to review this issue and assess how the rules could be aligned in future to ensure fair treatment of veterans under both of these schemes.

We are in the process of introducing fundamental reforms to how we pay for care and support that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who is unfortunate enough to have the highest care needs may risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk. A copy is attached.

Personal injury compensation paid to veterans and civilians has always been fully disregarded provided the money is placed in a Trust. The War Pensions Scheme, which is available to those injured prior to April 2005, provides a range of allowances some of which were designed to pay for ongoing care costs and that is why these payments have been taken into account under the care and support charging rules. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, introduced for those injured from April 2005, operates differently. Officials in the Department are working with the Royal British Legion to review this issue and assess how the rules could be aligned in future to ensure fair treatment of veterans under both of these schemes.

We are in the process of introducing fundamental reforms to how we pay for care and support that will make the system fairer for everyone, including veterans. At the moment, someone who is unfortunate enough to have the highest care needs may risk losing all they have to meet the cost of their care. These reforms will mean that, for the first time ever, everyone will be protected from the risk of catastrophic care costs. The proposals are currently out for consultation and can be found at www.careact2016.dh.gov.uk. A copy is attached.

Personal injury compensation paid to veterans and civilians has always been fully disregarded provided the money is placed in a Trust. The War Pensions Scheme, which is available to those injured prior to April 2005, provides a range of allowances some of which were designed to pay for ongoing care costs and that is why these payments have been taken into account under the care and support charging rules. The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme, introduced for those injured from April 2005, operates differently. Officials in the Department are working with the Royal British Legion to review this issue and assess how the rules could be aligned in future to ensure fair treatment of veterans under both of these schemes.

We intend to raise the capital-related eligibility criterion, which currently requires a person to have less than £23,250 in non-housing assets, to £27,000 from April 2016. This mirrors the increased upper capital limit which will apply when a person’s property is disregarded from April 2016.

Local authorities will retain discretionary powers to offer deferred payments to people who do not meet the eligibility criteria but might otherwise benefit.

The data collection exercise following the Palliative Care Funding Review concluded at the end of March 2014. These data are currently being analysed by NHS England, who intend to complete this analysis by the end of August.

Any decisions on the provision of free social care at the end of life will be based on a combination of the analysis of these data, other relevant data sources and wider policy and financial considerations.

The principles underpinning the National Health Service, enshrined in the NHS Constitution, include that it provides a comprehensive

service available to all based on clinical need and that NHS services are free of charge, except in limited circumstances sanctioned by Parliament.

Rising demands and continued fiscal constraint means that the NHS faces challenges in ensuring that it remains financially sustainable in the future. The Government believes that the answer to these challenges lies in changing the way services are delivered and keeping people well and independent for longer, not in altering the fundamental principles that underpin the NHS.

Clause 33 of the Immigration Bill gives provision for the introduction of the health surcharge on individuals subject to immigration control. We anticipate that this surcharge will be introduced for individuals seeking leave to enter or remain on visas of between six months and five years' duration.

The Department is working closely with the Home Office to ensure that information on the individuals who have paid the health surcharge is easily available to providers of National Health Service healthcare. An individual having paid the health surcharge will then generally be entitled to access all NHS services free at the point of delivery as per any United Kingdom or European Economic Area national resident here. Eligibility will be demonstrated by the possession of a biometric residence permit and an automatically-created NHS record, which will identify that the individual has paid the surcharge and therefore is not to be subject to further charges, except where a resident pays charges.

The additional administrative burden on the NHS of identifying those who have paid the surcharge, and thus of verifying their entitlement to healthcare which is free at the point of delivery, should be minimal. The Department is working with the Health and Social Care Information Centre to include new data fields on the NHS Spine that will be populated with an individual's immigration status and surcharge validity automatically.

The Department will be publishing a costed implementation plan for the NHS Cost Recovery Programme soon.

The following table shows the number of prescription prepayment certificates (PPCs) purchased in England in each calendar year 2011 to 2013. The publicity campaign to promote the uptake of PPCs commenced in late 2012.

The general trend in PPC uptake has continued to increase steadily over the last three complete calendar years. The increase in 2013 may be due to a number of factors including the publicity campaign, increases in the number of prescription items and a freeze in the price of PPCs.

Annual sales of PPCs in England 1, 2

Year

3 month PPCs

12 month PPCs

All PPCs

2011

676,844

658,314

1,335,158

2012

684,897

742,873

1,427,770

2013

690,515

832,348

1,522,863

Source: NHS Business Services Authority

Note:

1. The data includes new and renewed PPC purchases.

2. The figures provided include PPCs which have been issued and refunded at a later date. A patient can apply for a proportional refund of the amount paid for a PPC if their circumstances change and the patient becomes exempt or are entitled to remission from NHS prescription charges.

We have no recent, robust estimates of the impact of raising the age exemption to 66 and later years.

The most recent Departmental estimate of the cost of providing free prescriptions to those aged 60-64 indicated an annual cost of around £0.3 billion, using the current prescription charges. However, this figure may differ from the actual revenue raised should age exemptions be removed due to behavioural effects around prescription payment, such as the take-up of Prescription Prepayment Certificates, and possible entitlement to other exemptions.

In terms of pension credit, the net revenue raised in the case that pension credit is used as a qualifier for free prescriptions for those aged 60 and over is estimated to be in the region of £1.5 billion. An estimate for

increasing the qualifying age from 60 to 65 and using pension credit as a qualifier for those aged 65 and over is around £1.6 billion. These estimates are based on current prescription levels and prescription charges for 2013-14. Pension credit figures are based on the number of people who actually claim pension credits, rather than those who are eligible but are not claiming.

We have no recent, robust estimates of the impact of raising the age exemption to 66 and later years.

The most recent Departmental estimate of the cost of providing free prescriptions to those aged 60-64 indicated an annual cost of around £0.3 billion, using the current prescription charges. However, this figure may differ from the actual revenue raised should age exemptions be removed due to behavioural effects around prescription payment, such as the take-up of Prescription Prepayment Certificates, and possible entitlement to other exemptions.

In terms of pension credit, the net revenue raised in the case that pension credit is used as a qualifier for free prescriptions for those aged 60 and over is estimated to be in the region of £1.5 billion. An estimate for

increasing the qualifying age from 60 to 65 and using pension credit as a qualifier for those aged 65 and over is around £1.6 billion. These estimates are based on current prescription levels and prescription charges for 2013-14. Pension credit figures are based on the number of people who actually claim pension credits, rather than those who are eligible but are not claiming.

We have no recent, robust estimates of the impact of raising the age exemption to 66 and later years.

The most recent Departmental estimate of the cost of providing free prescriptions to those aged 60-64 indicated an annual cost of around £0.3 billion, using the current prescription charges. However, this figure may differ from the actual revenue raised should age exemptions be removed due to behavioural effects around prescription payment, such as the take-up of Prescription Prepayment Certificates, and possible entitlement to other exemptions.

In terms of pension credit, the net revenue raised in the case that pension credit is used as a qualifier for free prescriptions for those aged 60 and over is estimated to be in the region of £1.5 billion. An estimate for

increasing the qualifying age from 60 to 65 and using pension credit as a qualifier for those aged 65 and over is around £1.6 billion. These estimates are based on current prescription levels and prescription charges for 2013-14. Pension credit figures are based on the number of people who actually claim pension credits, rather than those who are eligible but are not claiming.

We have no recent, robust estimates of the impact of raising the age exemption to 66 and later years.

The most recent Departmental estimate of the cost of providing free prescriptions to those aged 60-64 indicated an annual cost of around £0.3 billion, using the current prescription charges. However, this figure may differ from the actual revenue raised should age exemptions be removed due to behavioural effects around prescription payment, such as the take-up of Prescription Prepayment Certificates, and possible entitlement to other exemptions.

In terms of pension credit, the net revenue raised in the case that pension credit is used as a qualifier for free prescriptions for those aged 60 and over is estimated to be in the region of £1.5 billion. An estimate for

increasing the qualifying age from 60 to 65 and using pension credit as a qualifier for those aged 65 and over is around £1.6 billion. These estimates are based on current prescription levels and prescription charges for 2013-14. Pension credit figures are based on the number of people who actually claim pension credits, rather than those who are eligible but are not claiming.

People currently have no protection from catastrophic care costs. The introduction of the cap will limit the maximum amount people have to pay towards their care costs to £72,000.

Due to the introduction of the extended means test in residential care two thirds of people who reach the cap will pay less than £72,000. This is due to the fact that the local authority contributions will count toward the cap.

An illustration of the amount that people of different levels of assets could contribute towards their care costs is provided in Caring for Our Future: A consultation on what and how people pay for their care and support (Figure 4 page 37), a copy of which has already been placed in the Library.

If people choose care which is more expensive care than the local authority would pay they will remain responsible for these additional costs.

People will also remain responsible for their daily living costs in residential care just as they would meet these costs if they were receiving care within their own home.