§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many men have received a winter fuel payment for each year since the scheme began, broken down by(a) those who also receive another social security benefit and (b) those who do not receive another social security benefit. [44093]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownI have been asked to reply.
A gender breakdown is not available for the first two winters of the scheme, 1997–98 and 1998–99. Information is not yet available for winter 2001–02.
The information which is available is in the table.
Winter fuel payments Thousand 1999–2000 2000–01 Great Britain 10,112.5 11,123.5 All men 13,862.6 4,811.4 Men in receipt of a social security benefit 13,862.6 4,194.3 Men not in receipt of a social security benefit 1,2Nil 617.0 1For the first three winters of the scheme 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000, only people aged 60 or over in receipt of income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance, or those over pension age in receipt of other qualifying benefits, were entitled to the payment. 2The figures for 1999–2000 exclude men aged 60 to 64 (and a small number of others) who became eligible for Winter Fuel Payments from 2000–01 onwards, and who were also able to claim retrospectively for previous years. It is not possible to relate the retrospective payments to specific years. Note:
Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.