§ Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many pensioners in the Kirklees area and the Oldham area are in receipt of supplementary benefit; what number and proportion of pensioner claimants in these areas claimed and received an additional fuel allowance to enable them to meet their winter fuel bills; what was the average payment awarded; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Newton:At August 1982, the number of supplementary pensioners in the Kirklees and Oldham areas were 11,300 and 11,900 respectively.
Information was not collected separately about the number of supplementary pensioners, as distinct from people below pension age who receive supplementary allowances, who received extra help last winter with their 435W fuel bills because of the exceptionally severe winter weather. The following table however shows, for all supplementary benefit recipients, the total number of payments made under this provision and the total amount paid by the Department's local offices in the Kirklees and Oldham areas:
Office Number of payments Amount paid Average payment £ £ Huddersfield 451 6,172 13.69 Dewsbury 1,132 13,379 11.82 Oldham 905 10,489 11.59 Failsworth 559 7,066 12.64