§ 34. Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the total amount of benefits administered by his Department unclaimed by those entitled to them; and what measures he proposes to encourage take-up. [73071]
§ Angela EagleInformation relating to the total amount of unclaimed Social Security benefit is not available, because for most benefits, these data are not routinely collected. Estimates of take-up of income-related benefits published for the year 1993–94 (covering Income Support, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Family Credit) indicate that the total amount unclaimed was in the region of £2.5 billion. More recent data are currently being reviewed following an error discovered in the data relating to take-up among pensioners, which suggests that the level of take-up is likely to be somewhat higher than previously thought.
Recent initiatives to encourage take-up include a major publicity campaign to promote in-work benefits which was launched on 1 June last year. This campaign comprised TV and radio advertisements and a direct mailshot to lone parents. A special help line was established to handle telephone enquiries arising from the campaign.
We are also planning measures to encourage take-up of the Minimum Income Guarantee by pensioners. These measures will build on the findings from research into the reasons why pensioners do not take up their Income Support entitlement, and the nine pilot projects which the Department undertook last year to test different methods of encouraging pensioners to claim. We expect to publish the results of the research and the pilots later this year.