Mrs. ElimanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of the number of pensioners who would qualify for(a) Housing Benefit, (b) Income Support and (c) Council Tax Benefit for the first time as a result of the increase in the Minimum Income Guarantee in April. [153746]
203W
§ Mr. RookerThe information is in the table and gives the number of additional pensioners floating on to the main Income Related benefits in 2001–02 resulting from the increase to the applicable amount. This includes all the measures announced in the November 2000 pre-Budget report; aligning the different pensioner premiums, protecting the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) in line with the increases to the basic State pension in 2001 and earnings uprating. It also includes the increase to the capital limits announced in Budget 2000.
These figures are not additive because people may be entitled to more than one of these benefits.
Number of additional pensioners that will float on to the main income related benefits under the changes compared to Rossi uprating alone Thousand 2001–02 MIG 140 Housing Benefit 30 Council Tax Benefit 50 Notes
- 1. The assumption used is that the costs of the MIG have been calculated over and above the cost of uprating the MIG by Rossi.
- 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10,000 cases.
- 3. The number of floaters has been calculated using the Policy Simulation Model for Income Related Benefits. This models the benefit system in 2001–02 and is based on data from the Family Resource Survey (FRS) for 1997–98, uprated to 2001 prices. Figures for floaters are calibrated to historical take up assumptions and therefore do not reflect behavioural changes due to recent initiatives.