§ Mr. WillettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of expenditure on the(a) guarantee credit and (b) savings credit in (i) 2003–04, (ii) 2004–05 and (iii) 2005–06. [145981]
§ Malcolm WicksThe information is in the table.
£ million 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 Guarantee credit 4,730 4,710 5,160 Savings credit 350 1,020 1,000 Total 5,080 5,720 6,160 Notes: 1. Figures are based on latest published forecasts, published in the pre-Budget report on 10 December 2003. 2. Figures for 2003–04 include expenditure on the minimum income guarantee, prior to the introduction of pension credit. Minimum income guarantee expenditure is treated as guarantee credit. The 2003–04 guarantee credit figure also includes child elements of the minimum income guarantee totalling £50 million. These payments were replaced by child tax credits at the same time as the introduction of pension credit. 3. Note that until October 2004, new claimants will be able to claim payment for entitlement dating back to October 2003. 4. Figures are rounded to nearest £10 million. 5. Due to rounding, figures may not sum exactly to totals.
§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone inquiries on pension credit have been received in each of the last 12 months. [147692]
§ Malcolm WicksThe table shows numbers of telephone calls received by the pension credit application line in each month since it became operational in April 2003. The application line primarily handles calls from customers about applying for pension credit, but also deals with other inquiry calls.
Calls to pension credit application line—April to December 2003 2003 Calls received April 20,810 May 32,750 June 60,240 July 118,220 August 181,860 September 427,900 October 482,780 November 318,280 December 193,900 Total 1,836,740 Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the advertising budget is for the pension credit. [147693]
§ Malcolm WicksThe marketing campaign for pension credit has been designed to be flexible and the level of expenditure may change according to need. However, it is currently estimated that media costs, including direct mailing, television and press advertising, will be in the region of £12 to £17 million, excluding VAT, to October 2004.
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§ Dr. Jack CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in(a) Cumbria and (b) Copeland are receiving pension credit; what percentage this represents of those entitled to pension credit in each case; and if he will make a statement. [148009]
§ Malcolm WicksAt 31 December 2003 there were(a) 15,950 pensioner households (18,710 individuals) in Cumbria and (b) 2,300 pensioner households (2,739 individuals) in the Copeland constituency receiving pension credit. Information on numbers of households eligible for pension credit is not available at county or constituency level. However, the number of eligible households in the North West region is estimated to be 500,000. At 31 December 2003 there were 289,000 pensioner households (344,000 individuals) in the North West region receiving pension credit.
§ Mr. DhandaTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how often his Department revises the standard interest rate used to calculate the mortgage element included in the pension credit. [148863]
§ Malcolm WicksThe standard interest rate is based on the weighted average of the basic rates charged by the top building societies. A change is triggered whenever the average rate which is published monthly by the Office for National Statistics increases/decreases by 0.25 per cent. or more.
§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many whole-time equivalent staff were employed by the pension credit helpline in the most recent month for which figures are available. [148969]
§ Malcolm WicksThe Pension Credit application line is resourced in line with forecast levels of activity. At 5 January the application line had approximately 1,300 whole-time equivalent staff handling customer contacts. This is expected to rise to approximately 1,400 whole-time equivalent staff by late March.