§ Sir Teddy TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will issue advice to British nationals residing in the islands of(a) Martinique, (b) Guadeloupe and (c) Reunion on the rationale of paying winter fuel payments to them; [74560]
(2) when he was advised by the European Commission that the Government was obliged to pay winter fuel payments to British residents in the overseas territories of the EU; what legislation governs this requirement; and if he will list the cost of such payments, broken down by current overseas territory of the EU; [74558]
(3) if he will make a statement on his policy for paying the winter fuel payment to British residents in (a) French Guiana and (b) Guyana; and if he will make a statement on how to determine the location of the British nationals who reside for part of the year in each country. [74559]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe Government, after careful consideration of its legal obligations under EC Regulation 1408/71 and discussions with the European Commission, concluded that certain people living in the EEA (or from winter 2002–3, Switzerland) could continue to get Winter Fuel Payments. I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave to my hon. Friend the member for Caephilly on 19 July 2002,Official Report, column 599w.
The EC regulation applies to member states, French overseas departments (Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Reunion), the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands. It also applies to Switzerland from 1 June 2002.
We estimate the annual cost of such payments to be around £10 million.
Eligible people, generally EEA nationals (which includes UK nationals) who qualified for a payment in Great Britain before moving to another EEA country will be able to continue receiving Winter Fuel Payments whilst they are ordinarily resident in another EEA country or Switzerland, provided that they continue to satisfy the eligibility criteria.
If a person lives in more than one country, a decision will need to be made to determine whether he is entitled under the current rules.
314WNotes:
Winter Fuel Payments can only be made to people living in Switzerland from this coming winter. This is because, while Switzerland is not a member of the EEA, a formal agreement between Switzerland and the European Community (EC) countries will enable the EU Social Security coordination regulations to apply between Switzerland and the EC countries. The agreement came into force from 1st June 2002 and therefore, for Winter Fuel Payments, applies from winter 2002–03, but not before.
However, the agreement does not extend to the three countries who are not part of the EC but who are part of the EEA, namely, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Therefore in some circumstances, Winter Fuel Payments may continue to be paid to people who are Swiss nationals who live in Switzerland or one of the EC countries, but not when they live in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. Similarly Winter Fuel Payments may continue to be paid to people who are nationals of Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway who live in an EEA country, but not when they live in Switzerland.
- Ministerial Approval
- Date
- SoS Approval
- PSL Approval