§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners have been means-tested for income entitlements in(a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire in each year since 1997. [121741]
§ Malcolm WicksThe information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available for the minimum income guarantee (MIG) is shown in the table.
Income support MIG claimants in Shrewsbury and Atcham parliamentary constituency and Shropshire county, as at February
1997–2003
Shrewsbury and Atcham parliamentary constituency Shropshire county 1997 3,000 12,300 1998 2,800 11,800 1999 2,900 7,600 2000 2,700 7,400 2001 2,800 7,600 2002 2,800 8,000 2003 2,600 8,100 Notes:
1. Shropshire county figures prior to February 1999 include 'The Wrekin'. Figures from February 1999 to February 2003 exclude 'The Wrekin' as it is now part of a Unitary Authority, 'Telford and Wrekin'.
2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and therefore subject to sampling variation.
3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and quoted in thousands.
4. MIG claimants are defined as benefit units where the claimant and/or their parliamentary constituency/county is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS Postcode Directory and are based on May 1997 parliamentary boundaries.
Source:
Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries, February 1997 to February 2003.