§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of pensioners(a) entitled to Minimum Income Guarantee and (b) who were not claiming it in each of the last five years. [129758]
§ Mr. PondEstimates of the number of recipients and entitled non-recipients of Minimum Income Guarantee can be found in editions of the annual DWP and DSS statistical report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up"—copies of which are available in the Library. Estimates for 2000–01, the latest year for which information is available, incorporate results of research which improved the quality of statistics relating to the Minimum Income Guarantee. Estimates for 2000–01 are, therefore, not on a fully consistent basis with past figures.
Notes:
1. Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up published annually by DSS and DWP contains estimates of both the number of MIG (and formerly pensioner Income Support) recipients and the number of pensioners that appeared to be entitled to but not in receipt of the benefit. The vast majority of the count of recipients will be entitled but the estimates will also include a small unquantifiable proportion that are not.
2. Annual changes in MIG rates and improvements in the approach to estimating take-up can affect estimates of MIG entitled non-recipients. Past estimates of take-up are not reworked to reflect these changes and therefore results are not strictly comparable over time. Estimates for 1997–98, 1998–99 and 1999–2000 employ the same methodology. Results relating to 2000–01 have benefited from research and the latest estimates are therefore on a different basis to previous years.