HC Deb 13 April 1999 vol 329 cc151-2W
Mr. Rendel

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) widowers and (b) widows he expects to be entitled to both widowed parents allowance and income support in (i) the first full year of implementation and (ii) 2020. [80654]

Angela Eagle

There are estimated to be around 5,000 widows and 5,000 widowers expected to be entitled to both Widowed Parent's Allowance and Income Support in (i) the first full year of implementation and in (ii) 2020.

Notes:

  1. 1. The estimates presented above are broad orders of magnitude. They are rounded to the nearest 5,000 and are subject to a wide range of uncertainty.
  2. 2. Estimates assume a constant proportion of cases are entitled to Widowed Parent's Allowance and Income Support.
  3. 3. Estimates use information from the 1995–6 Family Resources Survey, the Income Support Quarterly Statistical Inquiry and forecasts from the Government Actuary's Department concerning the number of men and women affected by the proposed changes.
Mr. Rendel

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated cost of(a) the proposed £10 disregard of widowed parents allowance in calculating entitlement to income related benefits and (b) the proposed premium for widows and widowers aged over 55 years in income related benefits in the first full year of implementation. [80657]

Angela Eagle

The estimated cost of introducing the proposed £10 disregard of widowed parents allowance in calculating entitlement to income related benefits is £10 million in the first full year of implementation.

The estimated cost of introducing the proposed premium for widows and widowers aged over 55 years in income related benefits is £10 million in the first full year of implementation.

Notes:

  1. 1. The estimates presented above are broad orders of magnitude. They are rounded to the nearest £10 million and are subject to a wide range of uncertainty.
  2. 2. Means-tested benefit offsets were estimated using the 1995–6 Family Resources survey and the Income Support Quarterly Statistical Inquiries.
  3. 3. Estimates are based on forecasts from the Government Actuary's Department concerning the number of men and women affected by the proposed changes.