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25 May 2004 : Column 1579W—continued

WORK AND PENSIONS

Age-Related Payments Bill

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Elmet constituency receive £100 help towards the payment of council tax. [174875]

Malcolm Wicks: The information requested is not available. The latest available data shows 8,270 households in the parliamentary constituency of Elmet with at least one resident aged 70 or over. We therefore expect a similar number to benefit from the one-off 70 plus payment announced by the Chancellor in his recent Budget.

The intention is for the payments to be made automatically with the 2004–05 Winter Fuel Payment, to those who are eligible and who do not need to claim it, before the end of the year. People who do not get a Winter Fuel Payment will need to claim the one-off payment from the Department for Work and Pensions before 31 March 2005.

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with his colleagues in the Northern Ireland Office in relation to the extension of the Age-Related Payments Bill to Northern Ireland. [175144]

Malcolm Wicks: Officials in the Department for Work and Pensions are working closely with officials in the Department for Social Development. The intention is to provide for age-related payments in Northern Ireland by Order in Council.

Pension Credit

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in the Elmet constituency (a) have claimed the minimum income guarantee and (b) are claiming pension credit. [174873]

Malcolm Wicks: The information available is given in the following table. The Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) was replaced by Pension Credit on 6 October
 
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2003. Those who were receiving MIG immediately prior to that date were transferred automatically to Pension Credit.
Minimum Income Guarantee and Pension Credit recipients, Elmet, October 2003 and April 2004

Number
Minimum Income Guarantee (3 October 2003)
Households2,330
Individuals2,645
Pension Credit (30 April 2004)
Households3,255
Individuals3,865




Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
2. Figures for individuals include a small number of partners under age 60



Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) London and (b) Brent have claimed pension credit since it was introduced; and how many people in (i) London and (ii) Brent are entitled to claim pension credit. [172815]

Malcolm Wicks: At 30 April 2004 there were (a) 260,510 households (309,275 individuals) in London and (b) 10,565 households (12,775 individuals) in Brent receiving Pension Credit. Information on the number of. people who are eligible for Pension Credit is not available in respect of individual local authority areas. However, we estimate that approximately 450,000 pensioner households in the London region are eligible for Pension Credit. This estimate is based on data from the Family Resources Survey for 2001–02. A revised estimate, based on data from the Family Resources Survey for 2002–03, will be available later this month.

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of pension credit are receiving (a) less than 10p per week, (b) 10p to 19p per week, (c) 20p to 29p per week, (d) 30p to 39p per week, (e) 40p to 49p per week, (f) 50p to 59p per week, (g) 60p to 69p per week, (h) 70p to 79p per week, (i) 80p to 89p per week and (j) 90p to 99p per week in each Greater London borough. [173334]

Malcolm Wicks: The figures in question for individual London boroughs are too small to be reliable. The information for inner and outer London areas is in the table. An award of pension credit of less than 10p per week is not payable unless the person is receiving another benefit payable with pension credit.
Pension credit awards of less than £1, London Government Office Region (GOR), 30 April 2004

Less than 10p10p
to 19p
20p
to 29p
30p
to 39p
40p
to 49p
50p
to 59p
60p
to 69p
70p
to 79p
80p
to 89p
90p
to 99p
Total
London GOR6085857510011590105120125960
Inner London-West51555151510101015105
Inner London-East10152015303025302530230
Outer London-East and North East15203525302020254030260
Outer London-South15201515102520202525190
Outer London-West and North West15151515202520252025195




Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest five.
2. Columns might not sum correctly due to rounding.




 
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Enhanced New Deal

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have entered the Enhanced New Deal 25 plus (a) once, (b) twice, (c) three times and (d) four or more times; and if he will make a statement. [175064]

Jane Kennedy [holding answer 21 May 2004]: The information requested is in the table:
People Entering Enhanced New Deal 25 plus(29)

Number of starts on the programmeNumber of people
1157,110
235,150
318,170
4(29) Or more7,820


(29) Or more
Source:
New Deal Evaluation Database



Through a combination of economic stability and radical labour market reforms, more than 1.9 million more people are in work now than in 1997 and unemployment at its lowest level for nearly 30 years.

Active labour market policies ensure people can take advantage of the many job opportunities coming up all the time. With UK unemployment the lowest for a generation, partly due to programmes like New Deal, the Government is extending help and support to other jobless people, especially lone parents and those with disabilities.

Claimant long term (one year plus) unemployment has been virtually eradicated for young people and has fallen by three-quarters for all adults since 1997. New Deal 25 plus has played an important role in this success, so far helping more than 173,000 people into work.

Incapacity Benefit

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were receiving incapacity benefit in each of the last 25 years, broken down by constituency within each region. [175124]

Maria Eagle: The available information has been placed in the Library.

Income Statistics

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the trend in (a) average and (b) pensioner incomes as compared with (i) average and (ii) medium earnings, over the last 10 years. [173933]

Malcolm Wicks: Such information as is available is in the following table.

Percentage growth in net equivalised income, both before housing costs have been taken into account
 
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(BHC) and after housing costs have been taken into account (AHC):
Change between 1994–1995 and 2002–2003Percentage
Whole population income BHC24
Whole population income AHC31
Pensioner income BHC22
Pensioner income AHC30

Pensioners' average income has increased at a rate similar to that of the population as a whole since 1994–95.

The figures in the table allow a valid comparison between pensioners and the population as a whole. They relate to household disposable income and cannot be compared directly with average earnings. A closer comparison is given by the mean net Before Housing Costs income received by pensioner units in their own right, which increased by 25 per cent. between 1994–95 and 2002–03. Over the same period, average earnings have seen a growth of 13 per cent.


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