§ Mr. Bill TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in Hamilton, South receive the minimum income guarantee. [106578]
§ Mr. McCartneyAs at November 2002 there were 2,800 people receiving the minimum income guarantee in the Hamilton, South constituency.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 2002.
§ Vera BairdTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to encourage those pensioners who resent means-testing to obtain the benefit of the new pension credit. [105816]
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§ Mr. McCartneyUnder Pension Credit pensioners will not be subjected to the old weekly means test, which will be replaced by a new form of assessment that is much less intrusive. Claiming Pension Credit will involve a simple phone call on a free telephone line making it easy to apply for. From age 65 most pensioners will have their entitlement fixed for five years. Only significant changes in their circumstances such as marriage, change of address or death of a partner will have to be reported.
§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what her estimate is of the number of pensioners entitled to the pension credit. [106447]
§ Mr. McCartneyThe number of individuals estimated to be eligible for Pension Credit is 4.9 million (3.8 million pensioner households).
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the first pensioners not currently receiving their pensions by ACT will receive a letter from his Department setting out the future options for their pension payment; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter that has been sent to such pensioners in pilot areas. [105615]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding answer 28 March 2003]: The Department is issuing individual mailings to customers to inform them of the move to Direct Payment. For pension customers this began in January 2003 and will continue until around October 2004. In addition to this we are planning to run national and regional press advertising this month and plan further advertising from May onwards. The aim is to educate our customers about the changes, the options they have and the action they should take. It will be up to the individual to decide the option that best meets their needs and circumstances.
A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to increase the basic state pension; and if he will re-introduce the link to earnings. [106092]
§ Mr. McCartneyWe have already announced that from April 2003, the basic state pension will increase to £77.45 for single pensioners and to£123. 80 for married couples. Additionally, the minimum income guarantee will increase to £102.10 for single pensioners and £155.80 for couples. Restoring the earnings link does nothing to help poorer pensioners. We will be spending around £7.5 billion extra on pensioners in 2003–04 as a result of measures introduced since 1997. This includes around £3.5 billion that is being spent on the poorest third of pensioners—almost six times as much as an earnings link in the basic state pension since 1998 would have given them. Increases in the basic state pension over the last three years have given single pensioners £1.10 a week more than an earnings link would have given them and £1.75 a week more for couples.
ODPM area-based initiatives for 2000–01 £ million Initiative North East Region South East Region East Region London Region North West Region West Midlands Region Neighbourhood Renewal Fund Not Established Not Established Not Established Not Established Not Established Not Established Wardens Schemes Not Established 0.147187 0.020455 0.283927 0.366662 0.041 Neighbourhood Management Pilots Not Established Not Established Not Established Not Established Not Established Not Established