§ Mr. BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the take-up rate for pension credits is in each Northern Ireland parliamentary constituency. [132792]
§ Mr. SpellarTake-up refers to the percentage of those eligible who are actually claiming pension credit. As the number eligible for pension credit is not known, the take-up rate is also unknown. The numbers currently receiving pension credit and the numbers of people of pensionable age are shown in the table.
Parliamentary Constituency Number of Pension Credit Claimants Number of Persons aged 60 and over (Census 2001 data) Unallocated 426 Belfast East 3,742 19,076 Belfast North 5,848 18,745 Belfast South 3,194 16,989 Belfast West 5,867 13,725 East Antrim 2,772 15,329 East Londonderry 3,884 15,216 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 5,330 16,438 Foyle 4,974 14,275 Lagan Valley 3,181 17,928 Mid Ulster 4,722 13,067 Newry and Armagh 5,514 16,342 North Antrim 4,388 19,296 North Down 2,796 18,497 South Antrim 3,026 16,126 South Down 4,370 17,281 Strangford 3,410 17,727 Upper Bann 4,654 17,374 West Tyrone 4,779 13,481 Northern Ireland 76,877 296,912