HC Deb 30 March 1999 vol 328 cc623-5W
Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are the estimated costs to the Exchequer in the current financial year of (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax relief to those pensioners who qualify as a result of being on income support. [78937]

Angela Eagle

The information is in the table.

£ million
1998–99 estimated outturn, cash
Housing benefit 2,256
Council tax benefit 659

Source:

The figures underlie the 1999 Departmental Report

Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the estimated total cost of Income Support paid to those pensioners who qualify in the current financial year. [78936]

Mr. Timms

The total programme cost of Income Support paid to pensioners in 1998–99 is estimated to be £3,641 million.

Note:

"Pensioners" for Income Support purposes, means a single person aged 60 or over, or a couple (counted as one benefit unit) where one or both members is aged 60 or over.

Source:

Social Security Departmental Report 1999–2000.

Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioners(a) receive and (b) do not receive Income Support. [78938]

Mr. Timms

As at August 1998, there were estimated to be 1,637,000 pensioners who were either in receipt of Income Support, or the partner of a person in receipt of Income Support. The estimated number of pensioners not dependent on Income Support in 1998 is 8,816,000.

Notes:

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.

2. Pensioners are defined as men aged 65 or over, and women aged 60 or over.

3. In the case of a couple, for Income Support purposes the claim by one partner includes both members.

4. The estimates of Income Support recipients are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of error.

5. The total pension age population of Great Britain for 1998 is estimated to be 10,453,000 based on a population projection for 1998 provided by the Government Actuary's Department.

Sources:

1. Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry August 1998.

2. Official Population Projections of Government Actuaries Department. 1998.

Mr. Webb

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the proportion of pensioners aged 65 to 69 years who are receiving income support in 1998–99; and if he will estimate the corresponding percentage for this cohort in(a) 2000, (b) 2010 and (c) 2020, assuming that the minimum income guarantee is linked to earnings. [78864]

Mr. Timms

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.

The proportion of pensioners aged 65 to 69 who are in private households and receiving Income Support is estimated to be 8 per cent. for 1998–99 and 9 per cent. for 2000–01.

The information is not available for the years 2010 and 2020. Previous estimates of the number of pensioners receiving Income Support in these years have been made using the Department's PENSIM model. These estimates can only give a broad indication of the likely order of magnitude of figures so far into the future, and are heavily rounded. Reliable estimates of sub-groups of this caseload and therefore of the proportion of pensioners aged 65 to 69 who are receiving Income Support are not available.

Notes:

1. Estimates are consistent with the forecasts for Income Support included in the Departmental Report.

2. Figures are rounded to the nearest percentage point.

3. Estimates exclude pensioners in residential care and nursing homes.

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