§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many pensioners were receiving Income Support in Newcastle upon Tyne in 235W 1996 with their average total benefit; and how many pensioners are receiving the Minimum Income Guarantee with their average total benefit. [139645]
§ Mr. RookerThe information is in the table.
Income Support pensioners/Minimum Income Guarantee recipients in Newcastle, May 1996 and May 2000 Thousand Quarter Number of pensioners Average weekly award(£ per week) 1996—May 12.3 33.10 2000—May 11.5 41.91 Notes:
1. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error.
2. Pensioners are defined as where the claimant, and/or partner are aged 60 or over.
3. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
4. Cases are allocated to each local authority by matching the postcode against the 1997 version 1 and the 2000 version 1 of the Postcode Directory.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries, May 1996 and May 2000. The downward trend of pensioners claiming Income Support/Minimum Income Guarantee is due to the fact that pensioners are retiring on larger incomes due to SERPS and occupational pensions. This trend has been halted following the introduction of the earnings linked MIG in April 1999.