§ 4. Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment she has made of the reasons why pensioners do not claim income support. [19060]
§ Mr. DenhamThe previous Administration took the view that the only explanation for non take up of benefit was choice by poor pensioners. This has meant that up to 1 million pensioners who are entitled to Income Support do not claim it. We are determined to get help to those pensioners. We have commissioned research to find out why they do not take up their benefit entitlement and from next April will run pilot exercises to establish how best to get help to them.
§ 28. Mr. HeppellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate she has made of the number of pensioners who are entitled to receive income support but do not claim it. [19085]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyAround a million pensioners are not taking up their entitlement to Income Support, and we are determined to get help to them. We have commissioned research to find out why they do not make a claim, and from next April we will run a number of pilot exercises to find out how best to get help to them.