§ Mr. WebbTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates have to make a claim for the 2003–04 Winter Fuel Payment before 30 March cut-off date; and how many of them have yet to do so. [159701]
§ Malcolm WicksIt is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of individuals eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment who have yet to submit a claim. We estimate that approximately 600,000 eligible individuals in the United Kingdom reached age 60 in the qualifying period for the 2003–04 Winter Fuel Payment. About half of these have been paid automatically. Those not paid automatically have to claim.
1810WSo far 261,007 Winter Fuel Payment claim forms have been submitted in Great Britain.
§ Mr. CrausbyTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received winter fuel payments in Bolton, North East in each year since the introduction of the payment. [159849]
§ Malcolm WicksDetails of the number of people in Bolton North East who received winter fuel payments from 1999–2000 are set out below. Figures for the previous years are not available.
Number of people receiving winter fuel payments
1999–2000 15,520 2000–01 17,150 2001–02 17,260 2002–03 17,410 Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest 5. Figures taken from the Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter Fuel Payments 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 exercises. Source: IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample. We would expect the figures for 2003–04 to be similar to 2002–03.
§ John ThursoTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claim forms for winter fuel payment have been submitted to date, broken down by region.[159853]
§ Malcolm WicksTo date 261,007 winter fuel payment claim forms have been submitted. Numbers broken down by region are not available.