Benefit Payments (Pensioners) (Hansard, 13 January 2004)

§ Malcolm Wicks

The latest estimates of the amount of unclaimed benefits for pensioners eligible for income-related benefits relate to financial year 2000–01. These cover Minimum Income Guarantee, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit and are available in the DWP report "Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-up in 2000–01". A copy of the publication is held in the Library. Statistics covering 2001–02 will be released in February.

No estimates are available of the amount of `unclaimed' State Pension. This is because anyone eligible for a State Pension can choose to defer taking it, and then receive a higher amount once they begin claiming. Therefore, pension that is so far unclaimed may be being deliberately deferred.

Information relating to unclaimed disability benefits is not available.

Number of new awards each year to people whose main disabling condition is Multiple Sclerosis or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Thousand
Year ending	All new awards	New awards where main disabling condition is Multiple Sclerosis	Percentage of new awards	New awards where main disabling condition is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome	Percentage of new awards
31 August 1999	218.9	3.1	1.4	1.5	0.7
31 August 2000	226.1	3.5	1.5	1.7	0.7
31 August 2001	250.4	3.5	1.4	2.0	0.8
31 August 2002	256.0	3.1	1.2	2.3	0.9
31 August 2003	262.5	2.8	1.1	2.2	0.8

Notes:

Figures are in thousands and rounded to the nearest hundred.

Total number of applications by disabling condition are unavailable.

In order to count 'sufferers', people with multiple awards during the year are counted only once.

Source:

IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample.

686W

We are unable to provide any reliable estimate of the number of unclaimed Winter Fuel Payments because some people aged 60 or over are excluded, others choose not to claim and payments are based on household composition. However, most people are paid automatically.