HC Deb 31 March 1971 vol 814 cc402-3W
Mr. Meacher

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many old people have, to date, claimed the over-80's pension and how they are distributed between his Department's administrative regions; and what proportion each of these regional totals forms of the estimated number eligible for these areas.

Mr. Dean

Up to and including 23rd March, 1971, 143,140 persons have claimed a pension under Section 1 of the National Insurance (Old persons' and widows' pension and attendance allowance) Act, 1970, distributed amongst the Department's administrative regions as follows:

East Midlands and East Anglia 11,385
London North 12,947
London South 27,080
London West 19,124
Northern 6,264
North Western (Manchester) 5,230
North Western (Merseyside) 8,163
South Western 16,398
West Midlands 8,852
Yorkshire and Humberside 8,701
Scotland 11,871
Wales 7,125
143,140

These claims have resulted in 128,343 awards being made. It was estimated that a total of about 100,000 people would be eligible for the pension but no estimate was made of the number eligible in each region.