§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reason payments of winter fuel allowances have been delayed for up to 28 days. [28856]
§ Mr. McCartneyIt is the Department's intention that winter fuel payments are received before Christmas. Because of the volumes involved they are made on a rolling programme throughout November. This year around 11 million, the overwhelming majority, were made before Christmas as we had undertaken to do.
For those customers who were required to make a claim (normally men aged 60–64) payment should be made before Christmas on claims received prior to 24 September.
415W
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many men over the age of 60 years who were entitled to the winter allowance in their own right have so far failed to make such a claim; and if he will make a statement. [27225]
§ Mr. McCartneyThose who attained age 60 before or during the qualifying week and were not in receipt of benefits which trigger automatic entitlement, have to claim. To date, 74 per cent. of claim forms that were issued to all potentially eligible people have been returned. The deadline for claiming is 30 March 2002.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate(a) the number of households entitled to an automatic winter fuel payment this winter and (b) the number of those payments that were issued before 25 December 2001. [28181]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe number of households entitled to an automatic winter fuel payment this winter will not be available until later in the year. However, around 11 million individual automatic payments were identified with most issued before 25 December 2001.