§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost of each of his Department's initiatives to encourage carer take-up of the state second pension. [54518]
§ Maria EagleMost people will automatically benefit from the state second pension without having to do anything new or different. Our publicity activity therefore focuses on the groups who may not automatically start building up state second pension and may need to take appropriate action. This includes parents as well as carers.
We have produced information both on our website and as a leaflet to inform these two groups about the state second pension and to outline any action they may need to take to build up entitlement. We are also currently conducting promotional activity for carers and parents about state second pension, which includes press advertising in national and local press and relevant magazines, and direct mail to relevant advisory organisations. The costs for the current phase of the activity (from March to May 2002) are estimated at £750,000, but will be subject to some revisions as the publicity activity is still ongoing. These costs do not include the leaflet or website costs2014;these items will be available on an ongoing basis.
We anticipate carrying out further promotional activity in the future to continue to ensure that people are aware of the action they need to take to benefit from the availability of the state second pension.