Mr. BendelTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate she has made of the potential saving in administration costs if the winter fuel payment were to be combined with the Christmas bonus. [51823]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 22 July 1998]: While it may appear intuitively appealing to combine the administration of Winter Fuel Payments and Christmas Bonus, there are significant difficulties in doing so. These arise because the two payments are made under different legislation, entitlement to the payments may be established in different ways, and while the Christmas Bonus is paid on an individual basis, Winter Fuel Payments are paid on a household basis to many pensioners.