§ Mr. WigleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many representations she has received from(a) hon. Members and (b) others, since 1 May in support of re-establishing the link between pensions and average earnings; and if she will make a statement. [27479]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Department does not maintain statistics in the form requested. Since 1 May, we have received 827 written representations from hon. Members enclosing letters from their constituents about Retirement Pension. A good number of the constituents' letters supported the restoration of the link between State pensions and average earnings. The Department has also received more than 1,000 from others on the subject of Retirement Pension and many of these have supported restoring the link.
504WOver 2,000 written responses were received by the Pensions Review as part of its public consultation exercise. 652 of these responses, of which 6 came from hon. Members, supported the uprating of State pensions in line with the rise in earnings. We also received two petitions in support, with 199 and 48 names respectively.
We recently announced that, from April, the basic pension will rise to £103.40 a week for a couple and £64.70 for a single pensioner. This is in keeping with our manifesto commitment to uprate the basic pension at least in line with prices. For the first time, the basic pension for couples goes up to over £100. This was in line with the 3.6 per cent increase in prices in September which was higher than expected and the cost will be greater than was included in the previous Government's expenditure plans.
The Government are determined that pensioners will stay warm in their homes this winter. On 25 November last year, the Government announced additional help of £400 million over this winter and next to provide extra help to pensioners towards their fuel bills. Full details were announced on 5 January. This announcement will enable pensioners to heat their homes confident in the knowledge that they will receive extra help with their heaviest fuel bills. Pensioners receiving Income Support, or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance where the award includes one of the pensioner premiums, will receive £50. Other pensioner households, where someone is receiving a qualifying benefit, will receive at least £20. Where there is only one eligible person in a household, they will receive £20, otherwise each will receive £10.
The Government's pensions review is examining the value of the basic State pension including the future uprating of pensions. The Review will report in the first half of this year.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proposals she has to publicise the advantages of SERPS. [31787]
§ Mr. DenhamWe are committed to retaining SERPS as an option for those who wish to remain in it. Raising awareness of pensions, and improving the level of financial education is one of the key challenges for the pensions review. We believe that people need to understand the importance of saving for their retirement, and make the right choice about what sort of pension is best for them.
To help address this issue we have also set up a Pensions Education Working Group to advise what other actions are needed to improve people's knowledge of non-state and state pensions in general.