§ Mr. SandersTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many eligible pensioners he estimates are not claiming(a) pension credits and (b) council tax credit in Devon and Cornwall, broken down by constituency. [171579]
§ Malcolm WicksThe information is not available in the form requested. Estimates of numbers of people eligible are not available at any level lower than that of Government office region. However, the information in the tables gives the numbers of pension credit and council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over in Devon and Cornwall for the latest dates for which figures are available. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State announced on 21 April 2004,Official Report, columns 21–22, we have published the latest monthly pension credit progress report with information up to the end of March. The report, which is available in the Library, is accompanied by tables showing the number of pension credit households and corresponding individuals in each constituency in Great Britain.
Table 1: Pension credit recipients in Devon and Cornwall, 31 March 2004
County Pension credit recipients (households) Devon 30,615 Cornwall 26,090 Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
Table 2: Council tax benefit recipients aged 60 and over in Devon and Cornwall, 31 August 2003 Thousand County Council tax benefit recipients (households) Devon 26.1 Cornwall 22.0 Notes:
1. The figures refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple.
2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.
3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated.
4. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases.
5. "Aged 60 and over" refers to cases where the claimant and/or partner are aged 60 or over.