§ Mrs. LaitTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 2 April 2001,Official Report, column 17, on means-tested benefits, to what the figure of 9 per cent. refers; what proportion of middle income pensioners are on means-tested benefits; and what will be the proportion from 2003. [157543]
§ Mr. RookerThe 9 per cent. figure represents overall current spending on income-related benefits as a proportion of total benefit expenditure, for people aged 60 and over, the same as it was in 1997. In 1998–99 30 per cent. of pensioner benefit units in the middle four income deciles were in receipt of Income Related Benefits after Housing Costs have been taken into account, for the middle two income deciles the figure was 28 per cent. By way of comparison the figures for 1996–97 were 32 per cent. and 30 per cent. respectively. The corresponding information for 2003 is not available.