§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the entitlement is to the Winter Fuel Payment; how many have received it in each year since its introduction; how much it has cost in public expenditure in each year; what percentage of this represents the cost of administration of the payment; and what his estimate is of the cost of the payment if it were to be restricted to those entitled to the pension credit. [106448]
§ Mr. McCartneyMost people aged 60 and over who normally live in Great Britain are entitled to a Winter Fuel payment. From winter 2000–01, the payment has been either £200 or £100 depending on the composition and circumstances of the household.
Information on the numbers of payments and total expenditure for each year from 1997–98 is set out in the following table.
Number in receipt (million) Great Britain Expenditure (£ million cash) 1997–98 9.759 191 1998–99 9.953 194 1999–2000 10.084 759 2000–01 11.123 1,749 2001–02 11.202 1,692 2002–03 11.322 1,710 source:
Departmental published estimates.
Information on administrative costs is not currently available in the format requested. In accordance with the requirements of Resource Accounting and Budgeting the Department now accounts for its administration and benefit expenditure by Strategic Objective, as set out in its Public Service Agreements (PSA), and by individual Requests for Resources (RfRs), as set out in the Departmental Estimates and Accounts.
916W
Persons sentenced to community service and the proportion of all persons found guilty, England and Wales, 1992 to 2001 Persons sentenced to combination orders1 service orders2 Persons sentenced to combination orders1 Persons sentenced to community orders service orders and combination orders Number Percentage of all convicted Number Percentage of all convicted Number Percentage of all convicted 1992 44,107 2.9 2,166 0.1 46,273 3.1 1993 47,961 3.4 8,940 0.6 56,901 4.0 1994 49,469 3.5 12,399 0.9 61,868 4.4 If Winter Fuel Payments were restricted to entitled recipients of Pension Credit, we estimate the cost to be £750 million per year.