§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the cost of providing a bereavement grant of £200 to surviving pensioner partners. [186566]
§ Mr. PondThe information is in the table.
Estimated costs of and gainers from payment of 200 bereavement grant to surviving pensioner partners, Great Britain, deaths in 2005–06 Gainers (Thousand) Costs £million) Bereavement grant, no offsetting savings 175 35 Bereavement grant, offset against funeral payments 160 32 Notes:
1. Estimated gainers to the nearest five thousand, costs to the nearest million pounds
2. Numbers of widowed pensioners estimated from GAD projections for England and Wales. Number of cohabiting bereaved estimated from household survey information.
3. Social Fund Funeral Payment information from Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System. It is assumed that 60 per cent. of pensioner claims are with respect to deceased partners.
1288W4. No impact on income related benefits has been estimated. If the amount of the grant was regarded as capital there would be some offsetting reduction in expenditure on these benefits.
5. Take-up of entitlement is assumed to be 100 per cent.