§ 12. Ms Oona King (Bethnal Green and Bow)If he will make a statement on the uprating of the state pension. [115874]
§ The Secretary of State for Social Security (Mr. Alistair Darling)We are supporting all pensioners by uprating the state pension; we are giving free television licences to those aged 75 and over from November, and we are increasing the winter fuel payments again, to £150. To tackle pensioner poverty, we are increasing the 621 minimum income guarantee, and doubling the lower capital limit to £6,000 and the upper capital limit to £12,000, to ensure that those with modest savings do not lose out. That measure alone means that the poorest pensioners are some £5 a week better off.
§ Ms KingI thank the Secretary of State for that reply. I am sure that all Labour Members welcome the Government's good work, especially the commitment to raising the minimum income guarantee in line with earnings next year.
On the subject of pensioners who do not qualify for the minimum income guarantee and rely on the basic state pension, will the Secretary of State consider amending the retail prices index so that the formula takes account of the rent increases of pensioners who are council tenants and registered fair rent tenants?
§ Mr. DarlingMy hon. Friend is right to draw attention to the fact that in many parts of the country—sadly, especially in her constituency—many pensioners were not able to accumulate enough money for a pension during their working lives. As a result of the Government's measures, all pensioners will gain about £3 a week and the over-75s some £5 a week. Unfortunately, Tower Hamlets has many of the poorest pensioners. They will be £14 a week better off through the measures that we have introduced.
There is a problem with trying to find an index whereby the basic state pension can be increased and my hon. Friend's anxieties for pensioners can be taken into account. The costs that they face are different in different parts of the country. The basic state pension is paid universally throughout the country. I am therefore not sure whether seeking such an index is right. However, I repeat the points that I made to my right hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr. Benn) earlier: in the past 20 years, pensioner income inequality has grown; as a result of what that lot over there did, it is now the same as it was in 1961. We are determined to ensure that we help all pensioners, especially those who are poorest and who lost out most in the past 20 years.