HC Deb 20 April 1999 vol 329 c521W
Mr. Jim Cunningham

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the number of people who will benefit as a result of the new guaranteed minimum income for pensioners on income support. [80948]

Mr. Timms

The number of pensioner benefit units that will benefit from the Minimum Income Guarantee for pensioners in 1999–2000 is estimated to be 1.47 million. A pensioner benefit unit represents a single person aged 60 or over, or a couple where one or both members is aged 60 or over.

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and exclude pensioners in residential care and nursing homes.

2. The estimates are based on forecasts published in the March 1999 Departmental Report.