§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how he identified the two million men aged348W between 60 and 64 years whom he deemed likely to be newly eligible for winter fuel payments resulting from the European Court ruling. [126875]
§ Angela EagleWe do not hold up to date records for all of those who do not receive any pension or benefit at the moment—especially men aged 60–64 who have no need to contact the Department. Therefore, to ensure that the right money is paid to the right person in respect of each year a Winter Fuel Payment is due, it was necessary to develop a claims process.
We wrote to around 24,000 people in April who had already registered their details with the Department, enclosing a claim form for completion. During May and early June we also wrote to around 1.7 million newly eligible people who we could identify through the departmental central index. Again, in each case we enclosed a claim form and invited a claim.
For those who we are not able to identify, our information and advertising campaign will continue to help ensure that they are fully aware of how to claim. In addition, people can download claim forms from the Department's own website www.dss.gov.uk or they can obtain claim forms on request from the Winter Fuel Payment helpline.