§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners had no private income by region, expressed as(a) a percentage and (b) the total number, ranked in descending order according to percentage figures for the latest year for which figures are available. [30588]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe information requested is in the table:
410W
Pensioners with no private income Government office region Percentage Number North-east 24 80,000 London 22 170,000 Scotland 19 100,000 North-west and Merseyside 18 150,000
Pensioners with no private income Government office region Percentage Number Yorks and Humber 16 90,000 Wales 16 60,000 West-midlands 15 90,000 Eastern 13 90,000 East-midlands 12 60,000 South-west 11 70,000 South-east 8 70,000 GB average 15 1,040,000 Notes:
1.Private income has been assumed to mean any income other than that provided by state benefits. The estimates have been given for all pensioner units and are from the Family Resources Survey 1999–2000.
2.Pensioner units are defined as single (non-cohabiting) people over state pension age (65 and over for men, 60 and over for women) and couples (married or cohabiting) where the man is over state pension age.
3.Proportions have been rounded to the nearest 1 per cent. and numbers to the nearest 10,000. Due to small sample sizes some figures are uncertain.
4.The FRS relies on self-reporting of private income and hence estimates are subject to error.
Both pensioners with no private income and those with some private income will benefit from the Pension Credit.