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2 Jul 2003 : Column 346W—continued
Pension Credit
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what advertising campaign his Department will implement to raise awareness of the pension credit. [121310]
Malcolm Wicks: Regional and national advertising including television, radio and press as well as direct mailing will support a systematic take-on approach. The Pension Service is already writing to pensioner households to explain pension credit and invite advance applications. Around 1.8 million people who currently receive the minimum income guarantee have been told that they will be transferred automatically to pension credit ready for payments to be made from October 2003. By June 2004, all pensioner households will have been contacted.
Pensioners (Benefits)
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 7 April 2003, Official Report, column 88W, on pensioners, which benefits are included in the column headed Income related benefit savings. [122532]
Malcolm Wicks: The benefits included in the column headed Income related benefit savings are: Pension Credit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the eligible pensioner non-recipients of minimum income guarantee identified in the Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 1999–2000 research were in receipt of (a) council tax benefit, (b) housing benefit and (c) either council tax benefit or housing benefit. [121849]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is shown in the table. Estimates relate to 2000–01, for which more accurate information on receipt of minimum income guarantee is available; this is the latest financial year for which data is available.
| Receipt of benefit | Proportion, of pensioner entitled-non recipients of minimum income guarantee, in receipt of the specified benefit(s) |
|---|---|
| Council tax benefit | 39 |
| Housing benefit | 29 |
| Council tax benefit or housing benefit | 41 |
1. Results relate to those identified as entitled non-recipients in modelling the Family Resources Survey data taking account of micro-level information indicating potential 'hidden recipients' of minimum income guarantee. In practice, a significant proportion of entitled non-recipients may not have been true entitled non-recipients, and a significant proportion of true entitled non-recipients may not have been identified in the modelling of data. Estimates of entitled non-recipients have not been adjusted for inaccuracies arising from this and for other biases inherent in estimating entitlement to minimum income guarantee. As a result figures should be treated with caution.
2. The source of benefit receipt data is the Family Resources Survey. Reported benefit receipt may differ from actual receipt.
3. A pensioner is defined as single adult aged 60 years or above, or a couple where at least one adult is aged 60 years or above.
4. Estimates cover the private household population of Great Britain, excluding the full-time self-employed.
2 Jul 2003 : Column 347W
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the eligible pensioner non-recipients of council tax benefit identified in the Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 1999–2000 research were in receipt of (a) the minimum income guarantee, (b) housing benefit, (c) minimum income guarantee or housing benefit and (d) either attendance allowance or disability living allowance. [121851]
Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is in the table. Estimates relate to 2000–01, for which more accurate information on receipt of minimum income guarantee is available; this is the latest financial year for which data is available.
| Receipt of benefit | Proportion of pensioner entitled-non recipients of council tax benefit, who were in receipt of the specified benefit(s) |
|---|---|
| Minimum income guarantee | 6 |
| Housing benefit | 5 |
| Minimum income guarantee or housing benefit | 9 |
| Attendance allowance or disability living allowance | 7 |
Notes
1. Results relate to those identified as entitled non-recipients in modelling the Family Resources Survey data: in practice a significant proportion of these may not have been true entitled non-recipients, and a significant proportion of true entitled non- recipients may not have been identified in the modelling of data. Estimates of entitled non-recipients have not been adjusted for inaccuracies arising from this and for other biases inherent in estimating entitlement to council tax benefit. As a result figures should be treated with caution.
2. The source of benefit receipt data is the Family Resources Survey. Estimates may be affected by under-reporting of receipt of minimum income guarantee.
3. A pensioner is defined as single adult aged 60 years or above, or a couple where at least one adult is aged 60 years or above.
4. Estimates cover the private household population of Great Britain, excluding the full-time self-employed.
HEALTH
Fluoridation
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the potential toxic effect on the food chain of fluoride. [120801]
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Miss Melanie Johnson: The independent Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) is currently considering the public heath implications of dietary fluoride intakes measured in the 1997 Total Diet Study. The COT is expected to complete its deliberations later this year and its conclusions will then be published.
Mr. Wray: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the cost of the fluoridation of water supplies; what the estimated cost of dental fluorosis is to the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [114703]
Miss Melanie Johnson: We estimate that running costs of fluoridation schemes, which are borne by health authorities, are of the order of 40 pence per head of population per year. It has been shown that fluoridation reduces dental decay by 15 per cent. Dental fluorosis is a mottling of the teeth which may occur in a small minority of cases and which can often be removed by routine dental treatment. Information on the costs to the national health service of treating dental fluorosis is not held centrally.
Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines are given to dentists regarding fluoride mouthwashes. [121427]
Miss Melanie Johnson: Decisions on the prescription of fluoride mouthwashes are left to dentists' clinical judgement.
Anti-depressant Drugs
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his most recent assessment is of the safety of anti-depressant drugs; [121863]
- (2) when his investigation into selective seratonin uptake inhibitors will recommence. [121864]
Ms Rosie Winterton: As with all medicines, the safety of antidepressant drugs is continually monitored by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, with independent expert advice from the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM).
A new expert working group of the CSM has been established to review further the safety of antidepressants of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. The group had its first meeting on 23 May 2003 and has had subsequent meetings on 4 and 20 June.
Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the safety of the drug Seroxat. [115789]
Ms Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement made by the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for public health, my hon. Friend the Member for Salford (Ms Blears), on 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 42WS.
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what investigations his Department is undertaking concerning the use of the drug seroxat. [116176]
2 Jul 2003 : Column 349W
Ms Rosie Winterton [holding answer 3 June 2003]: A new expert group of the Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) has been convened to further review the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including seroxat and to ensure that the advice in the product information for both patients and prescribers is optimal for the safe use of these products. As part of its initial considerations, the group has advised on strengthened warnings on side effects and withdrawal reactions for inclusion in the patient information leaflet on Seroxat.
This group has been asked to examine what implications, if any, the CSM's recent advice on the use of Seroxat in children has for the use of Seroxat in adults and for other SSRIs.
The advice of CSM, most recently in 2001, is that the benefits of Seroxat, when used in adults for licensed indications, outweigh the risks. Regulatory authorities world-wide have also taken a similar position.
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