HC Deb 14 April 1999 vol 329 cc281-2W
Mr. Rendel

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) widowers and (b) widows he expects to be entitled to widowed parents allowance in (i) the first full year of implementation and (ii) 2020. [80652]

Angela Eagle

[holding answer 13 April 1999]Existing widowed fathers will be able to claim Widowed Parent's Allowance from the date the new scheme is implemented. We estimate that around 20,000 widowers will be entitled to Widowed Parent's Allowance in each year up to 2020.

We estimate that around 10,000 new widows will be entitled to Widowed Parent's Allowance in the full first year of implementation, building up to around 30,000 by 2020. Existing widowed mothers will continue to receive Widowed Mother's Allowance.

It is not possible to provide exact long-term estimates and therefore estimates for 2020 should be regarded as illustrative.

Notes:

  1. 1. Figures have been supplied by the Government Actuary's Department. They are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and are subject to a wide range of uncertainty.
  2. 2. Figures represent the average number of cases throughout the year. Hence, the first full year is the second financial year following implementation.