§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his answer of 5 July 2001,Official Report, column 271W, on council tax, what proportion of pensioner households and how many pensioners in total, paid (a) more than five per cent., (b) more than 10 per cent. and (c) more than 15 per cent. of their gross income in council tax in 2000–01. [42546]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyForty per cent. of pensioner households in Great Britain paid more than 5 per cent. of their gross income (net of council tax benefit) in council tax in 2000–01, 8 per cent. of pensioner households paid more than 10 per cent., and 2 per cent. paid more than 15 per cent.
From April 2002 this Government will be spending an extra £6 billion a year in real terms on pensioners as a result of policies, including the Minimum Income Guarantee, free TV licences and Winter Fuel Payments, introduced since 1997.
Notes:1. For the purpose of this analysis, council tax is taken to be net of council tax discount and council tax benefit.2. These figures are from the Family Resources Survey 2000–01 (Great Britain).3. Gross income is net of tax credits and council tax benefit.4. A pensioner household is one where the head is over state pension age.5. The estimates are based on sample counts, which have been adjusted for non-response using grossing factors that control for region, council tax band, tenure and a number of demographic variables. Estimates are subject to sampling error and to variability in non-response.6. All percentages have been rounded to the nearest 1 per cent.