§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much it has cost so far to administer the backdated winter fuel payments scheme, including the cost of the telephone helpline; and what the estimate is for the final cost of the scheme. [134560]
§ Angela EagleThe administration of winter fuel payments is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the hon. Member.
568WLetter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. David Willetts, dated 1 November 2000:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how much it has cost so far to administer the backdated winter fuel payment scheme, including the cost of the telephone helpline; and what the latest estimate is for the final cost of the scheme.I can confirm that the cost so far in administering the winter fuel payment scheme is £10 million, which includes the cost of the telephone helpline. The estimated final cost of administering the scheme is in the order of £22.5 million.I hope this is helpful.
§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households in the Lewes constituency benefit from(a) the winter heating allowance, (b) the Christmas bonus to the basic state pension and (c) the free TV licence for those aged 75 years or over for the last year for which figures are available; and what was the combined value of these to older people in the constituency. [135327]
§ Mr. RookerThe administration of Social Security is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, Alexis Cleveland. She will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Norman Baker, dated 1 November 2000:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many households in the Lewes constituency benefit from (a) the winter fuel heating allowance (b) the Christmas bonus added to the basic state pension and (c) the free TV licence for those aged 75 years or over for the last year for which figures are available. Additionally to advise what was the combined value of these to older people in the constituency.The information is not available in the format requested. I can advise you that in the last year recorded Winter Fuel payments were paid to 21,000 pensioners in the Lewes constituency in total. Of these 11,500 received a payment of £50 and 9,500 received £100.In addition Christmas bonuses of £10 were issued to 21,000 pensioners.The free TV licence scheme does not come into effect until 1 November 2000. It is known that there are 10,000 persons over the age of 75 in the Lewes constituency but as the makeup of the households involved is not known I am unable to advise how many would qualify for a free licence.Therefore, it is not possible to say what the combined value of these would be for each individual pensioner in your constituency as conditions of entitlement are governed by the pensioner's individual circumstances.However I am able to advise you that from these three payments combined the maximum amount available to a pensioner over the age of 75 years who resided on his/her own would be a combination of Winter Fuel payment (£150), Christmas bonus (£10) and free colour TV licence (£104) totalling £264.I hope this is helpful.