§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will estimate, on the basis of the proposals and assumptions in the pension credit consultation paper, how many claimants of pension credit there will be in each region and nation; what proportion of the total number of pensioners the beneficiaries are likely to be; and how many are likely to be claimants of housing benefit and/or council tax benefit; [3625]
(2) to which other benefits the proposed pension credit will be a passport [3626]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe pension credit forms a key part of the Government's overall strategy for tackling pensioner poverty.
We are completing the design of the pension credit and will publish details of our proposals when the Bill is introduced.