§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average change in income has been for pensioners in Chorley since the introduction of the minimum income guarantee.—1148495]
§ Malcolm WicksThe information requested is not available.
The average income support award to pensioners in Chorley was £52.45 in August 1998, when 2,500 pensioner households were receiving income support. Under Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG), which was introduced in April 1999, there were 2,700 pensioner households in Chorley receiving an average of £49.47 a week in MIG in August 2003.
In December 2003 there were 3,064 pensioner households receiving an average of £40.08 a week Pension Credit in Chorley.
Following the introduction of Pension Credit in October 2003, some elements of the support previously provided through MIG are now provided through local authority funding for people in care homes, and through tax credits for children. In addition, average Pension Credit awards are expected to be lower than MIG because a savings credit of up to £14.79 (single) or £19.20 (couples) is available for people with modest incomes above the guarantee level who previously received nothing from MIG.
As at 31 December, the average level of weekly gain shared by the 1.44 million households now receiving more money as a result of Pension Credit introduction is £10.80.
Notes:
1. MIG caseload figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands, weekly amounts to the nearest penny.
2. MIG figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation.