§ Mr. Alan CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many pensioner households there are in Tynemouth. [96867]
§ Mr. RookerThe administration of Retirement Pension is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Alan Campbell, dated 2 November 1999:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked Mr Mathison to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about how many pensioner households there are in Tynemouth. As Mr Mathison is currently away on leave I am replying.The information you require is not readily available in the requested format. The database from which the information can be extracted is currently being used in connection with the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) exercise. To interrupt that exercise at this time could jeopardise payments to customers, which I am sure you will agree is not acceptable.On completion of the WFP exercise in January 2000, we can obtain the information you seek should you still require it. I would be obliged if you could advise us accordingly.In the meantime, you may be interested to note the following. The total number of benefit accounts in respect of customers over pension age in North Tyneside, including Tynemouth, is 31,000. The figure includes 6,500 accounts with Income Support interest and relates to individual customers rather than households.I hope this is helpful.