§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retired people in receipt of State pensions live in the Greater London Council area.
§ Mr. DeanIt is estimated that in the Greater London Council area about 1.1 million men over age 65 and women 201W over age 60 receive national insurance retirement pension or widows pension or supplementary pension.
§ Mr. Chichester-Clarkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioners are over 70 years of age, how many over 75 years, and how many over 80 years.
§ Mr. DeanWe estimate that the numbers of retirement pensioners in Great Britain for the ages in question are about:
Age 70 and over 4.1 million Age 75 and over 2.3 million Age 80 and over 1.0 million
§ Mr. Chichester-Clarkasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many retirement pensioners are also in receipt of a rent allowance from his Department; what the real cost of this was in 1969–70; and whether he will obtain comparable figures for Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. DeanIn November, 1969, supplementary pensions were being paid to 1,650,000 retirement pensioners in Great Britain; of these 1,570,000 were householders and the amount allowed for rent in their assessments was running at the rate of some £136 million a year. It is not, however, possible to say how much of any given expenditure on supplementary pensions was paid in respect of rent since the pension paid is the amount of the difference between a person's resources and his requirements, including rent. My right hon. Friend is not responsible for the supplementary benefit scheme in Northern Ireland.