Pension Credit (Hansard, 17 July 2003)

§ Mr. Webb
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will place a copy of the pension credit application form in the Library. [116725]

§ Malcolm Wicks
A copy of the Pension Credit Application form is available in the Library. This application form is only for the period of advance applications (7 April to 5 October 2003) and will be replaced on the 6 October 2003. A copy of the new form will be placed in the Library when it is available. The supplementary forms also placed in the Library are used 557W depending on the pensioners circumstances and have been created to reduce the complexity of the main application form for many pensioners.

§ Mr. Webb
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of postage for(a) writing to all those aged 60 and over to tell them about their possible entitlement to pension credit and (b) the return of the pension credit application form by freepost. [126387]

§ Malcolm Wicks
It is currently estimated that the postage costs of sending direct mail packs about Pension Credit will be in the region of £1.33 million to the end of May 2004 and that the postage costs of returning completed forms by freepost will be in the region of £0.67 million to the end of May 2004.

§ Mr. Webb
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what payment options are available to people filling in the pension credit application form who tick the box in part 13B stating that they do not agree to having their money paid direct into any type of account. [126388]

§ Malcolm Wicks
The normal method of payment of Pension Credit will be by direct payment into an account. There are a number of types of account available. Customers who contact the Pension Credit application line are taken through a discussion which covers general aspects of current accounts, basic bank accounts and the Post Office card account to make them aware of the options open to them. Customers who indicate that they do not agree to their money being paid direct into an account can be paid by order book in the short term. It is explained to them that the Department is in the process of inviting all its customers to convert to direct payment and that order books and giro cheques will eventually be phased out by spring 2005. We have always recognised that there will be a small number of people who we cannot pay directly into an account. We will develop an alternative method of pay to this group, which can be accessed at Post Office branches.

§ Mr. Willetts
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Northavon (Mr. Webb), of 10 July 2003, columns 979–80W, what proportion of pensioners are estimated to be affected by each of the significant changes that must be reported to the Pension Service by a Pension Credit recipient; and what proportion of pensioners are affected by one or more of them each year. [126623]

§ Malcolm Wicks
The information is not available in the format requested however it is estimated that, in one year, 0.2 per cent. of the Pension Credit caseload will report a marriage or divorce, 1.2 per cent. death of a partner, 10 per cent. will report admission to a care home and 11 per cent. admission to hospital.

§ Mr. Webb
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his written statement of 14 July 2003,Official Report, columns 6–7WS, on the pension credit, how many of the pensioner households ready to be paid pension credit from October are (a) existing recipients of minimum income guarantee and (b) non-recipients of minimum income guarantee. [127040]
558W

§ Malcolm Wicks
The information is not available at this stage in the advance application period in the form requested. We intend from November to publish monthly reports on the progress of Pension Credit take-on, which will include a more detailed breakdown.

§ John Barrett
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are being taken to minimise the potential for pension credit fraud in advance of its introduction. [124840]

§ Mr. Pond
The Pension Service has established a programme protection strategy which will help combat fraud in claims to pension credit.
The strategy is aimed at maximising the opportunities provided, in the course of contacts with all customers, to support them in getting the claims correct at the outset, and in keeping those claims correct through the life of the claim. A programme of case management using scans based on data matching of internal and external data sources, together with regular case checks on areas of established risk, will limit the opportunities for fraud.