§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the number of eligible people who have not received backdated winter fuel payments for the first three years of the scheme; and what the value was of such payments. [143083]
§ Malcolm WicksAccording to our estimate around 1.9 million people could have been eligible for backdated payments for the first three years of the scheme and about 1.2 million people have now been paid. There are no cut-off dates for these retrospective payments.
It is not possible to provide a reliable estimate of the numbers who have not claimed because the estimate of those newly eligible was based on sample data. It is up to the individual, where a claim is necessary, to decide whether or not to make that claim.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to introduce a cut-off date for claiming backdated Winter Fuel Payments for the first three years of the scheme. [143084]
§ Malcolm WicksThere are no current plans to introduce a cut-off date for claiming backdated Winter Fuel Payments for the first three years of the scheme.