§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants for winter fuel payments were disallowed because of late application in(a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [167298]
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§ Malcolm WicksThe number of winter fuel payment claims disallowed because of a late application is in the table.
Year Late claim disallowances made 2001–02 10,308 in respect of winter 2000–01 2002–03 1,745 in respect of winter 2000–01 4,564 in respect of winter 2001–02 2003–04 1,760 in respect of winter 2000–01 2,204 in respect of winter 2001–02 3,948 in respect of winter 2002–03
§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons Mr. G. Mack of Bradenstoke, Chippenham, Wiltshire had his winter fuel payment disallowed in(a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [167299]
§ Malcolm WicksI will write privately to the hon. Member clarifying matters in respect of Mr. Mack. This is in line with paragraph 12, part 2, of the code of practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Mr. GrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions by what mechanism a pensioner is informed of eligibility for winter fuel payment where, through clerical error, their details do not appear on the Electoral Register. [167300]
§ Malcolm WicksMost payments are made automatically without the need to claim. Every effort is made to try and contact those who are newly eligible, however there will be some where sufficient details are not held. For those people who do need to make a claim an extensive publicity campaign s carried out. This begins three months before the qualifying week in September and continues to the end of March. The campaign includes: advertisements in national and local press; a leaflet and poster made available in a variety of venues, a dedicated winter fuel payment helpline and information on the internet.
Where a person needs to claim it is up to them whether they do so. They have until 30 March to make a claim.
§ Mr. KaufmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many senior citizens in Manchester, Gorton have benefited from the winter fuel allowance since 1997. 167343]
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Table 1: Income support recipients aged 60 and over in nursing homes and residential care, November 1997 to November 2001 Thousand Preserved rights As at November All Residential allowance Residential care Nursing home Part III accommodation 1997 239.5 152.7 44.8 35.3 6.7 1998 230.6 160.9 36.0 27.3 6.4 1999 225.9 169.5 30.1 20.3 6.1 2000 218.4 171.8 25.3 16.0 5.3 2001 214.8 175.2 21.7 12.8 5.1
§ Malcolm WicksThe number of senior citizens in the Manchester, Gorton constituency who have received a winter fuel payment in each year since 1999–2000 (including provisional figures for 2003–04) is in the table. Information relating to the 1997–98 and 1998–99 winters is not available.
Payments made 1999–2000 10,370 2000–01 11,000 2001–02 10,870 2002–03 10,820 2003–04 10,625 Notes: 1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 5. 2. Please note that the figures for 2003–04 refer only to the main payment run, i.e. they do not include the late payment run figures. We estimate that there are approximately 100,000 people in Great Britain paid via late payment runs (0.8 per cent. of all payments). However, since late payment runs are mainly in respect of non-system cases whose claims had not been received by Qualifying Week, they are heavily skewed towards men aged 60. Source: IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. samples.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in a residential or nursing home have been ineligible for the winter fuel payment in each year since its introduction. [168160]
§ Malcolm WicksWe estimate in the year 2002–03 about 16,450 people in residential or nursing homes in Great Britain were ineligible for a Winter Fuel Payment because they were receiving Income Support or income based Jobseekers Allowance. The figures for winter 2003–04 are not yet available but we would expect the numbers to be similar. Figures are not available for earlier years.
Note:Any residence where there are four or more residents aged 60 or over is assumed to be a Registered Care and Nursing Home.
§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in a residential nursing home have been in receipt of the minimum income guarantee and pension credit in each year since 1997. [168161]
§ Malcolm WicksInformation on the number of pensioners in a nursing home and residential care who were or are in receipt of minimum income guarantee (MIG) or pension credit from November 1997 to November 2003 is shown in tables 1,2 and 3. The figures are affected by changes made to Residential Care/Nursing Home funding arrangements in 2002 and 2003.
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Table 2: Income support recipients aged 60 and over in nursing homes and residential care, November 2002 Thousand All Residential allowance Part III accommodation Others in nursing homes and residential care November 2002 186.8 132.8 3.9 40.1
Table 3: Pension credit recipients in nursing homes and residential care, November 2003 Thousand November 2003 157.4 Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands. 2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample and are subject to a degree of sampling variation. 3. Recipients aged 60 and over are defined as where the recipient and/or partner is aged 60 or over. Figures therefore include a number of recipients aged under 60 where there is a partner aged 60 or over. 4. Part III accommodation' was accommodation provided by the local authority under Part III of the National Assistance Act 1948. 5. There are no separate counts available for Residential Care and Nursing Homes after the abolition of preserved rights in April 2002. 6. Pension Credit was introduced on 6 October 2003 and replaced Minimum Income Guarantee for Income Support pensioners.
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Comparison of rate of increase between rural and not rural MIG and pension credit household levels as at 31 March 2004 Total Number local authorities M1G households October Pension credit households March Household increase Percentage increase National Not rural 240 1,352,355 1,769,397 417,042 31 Rural 168 443,485 632,453 188,968 43 Total 408 1,795,840 2,401,850 606,010 34 East of England Not rural 26 77,490 104,996 27,506 35 Rural 22 59,165 85,118 25,953 44 Total 48 136,655 190,114 53,459 39 East Midlands Not rural 20 79,345 106,000 26,655 34 Rural 20 43,905 62,859 18,954 43 Total 40 123,250 168,859 45,609 37 London Not rural 33 214,170 255,698 41,528 19 Rural 0 0 0 0 0 North East Not rural 17 97,175 131,812 34,637 36 Rural 6 8,895 12,761 3,866 43 Total 23 106,070 144,573 38,503 36 North West Not rural 30 214,545 278,010 63,465 30 Rural 13 33,190 46,895 13,705 41 Total 43 247,735 324,905 77,170 31 Scotland Not rural 18 139,025 179,752 40,727 29 Rural 14 50,030 68,852 18,822 38 Total 32 189,055 248,604 59,549 31 South East Not rural 36 91,560 127,830 36,270 40 Rural 31 80,685 117,001 36,316 45 Total 67 172,245 244,831 72,586 42 South West Not rural 14 66,165 93,827 27,662 42 Rural 31 74,255 109,087 34,832 47 7. The number of Pension Credit recipients in November 2003 excludes a small number of cases still receiving Income Support.