§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the income that two pensioners in examples 1 and 2 of page 122 of the Opportunities for All report could expect to receive from the minimum income guarantee, assuming that benefit is increased in line with income. [105811]
§ Mr. RookerThe examples shown in "Opportunities for All" demonstrate how the State Second Pension and Stakeholder Pension will help those with low or interrupted earnings. The estimated weekly incomes of £84 and £91 in the two examples should be set against the current minimum income guarantee of £75 a week.
§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he has made of(a) average pensioner income and (b) average earnings in (a) Tamworth, (b) Staffordshire and (c) the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available. [105153]
82W
§ Mr. RookerThe information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.
Average pensioner unit income 1996–97 £ Mean income prices United Kingdom 175 Staffordshire 1— Tamworth 1— 1 Not available Notes:
1. Pensioner units are defined as single (non-cohabiting) people over State Pension age (65 for men, 60 for women) and couples (married or cohabiting) where the man is over State Pension age.
2. Income is defined as weekly net income before housing costs of the benefit unit.
3. All money amounts are expressed in £ per week at July 1996 prices.
4. Reliable estimates for Staffordshire and Tamworth are not available due to small sample sizes.
Source:
Family Expenditure Survey
Average earnings, April 1996 and April 1999 £ April 1996 April 1999 United Kingdom 350 399 Staffordshire 309 367 Tamworth 1— 1— 1 Not available Notes:
1. The figures shown are average gross weekly earnings of full-time employees on adult rates, whose pay for the survey pay period was not affected by absence.
2. April 1996 figures are expressed in April 1996 prices; April 1999 figures are expressed in April 1999 prices.
3. Reliable estimates for Tamworth are not available in either year.
4. In 1999 the county of Staffordshire figure excludes Stoke-on-Trent UA. This Unitary Authority was not created until 1997.
Source:
New Earnings Survey
§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what targets he has set for(a) the reduction in the number of pensioners living below the poverty line and what is his definition of this term and (b) the reduction in the number of pensioners reliant on means-tested benefits. [105473]
§ Mr. RookerWe have set out our strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion in "Opportunity for All" (Cm 4445). The indicators of success, against which we shall monitor our progress, covers the position of pensioners living on low incomes. Our Green Paper "Partnership in Pensions" describes how State Second Pension and Stakeholder Pensions will over the long term reduce pensioner reliance on means-tested benefits.