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8 Dec 2004 : Column 573W—continued
Pensions
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the take-up rate of the basic state pension is. [201287]
Malcolm Wicks: People will become entitled to a state pension if they meet the qualifying conditions. However, there is no statutory requirement for them to claim their state pension at state pension age. Some people may choose to defer claiming their state pension.
The latest available figures for Great Britain show that the total number of people of state pension age or over is 10,743,338 of whom 10,420,000 are in receipt of a state pension.
The number in receipt of a basic state pension is taken from a 5 per cent. sample and is therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variation. The figure is rounded to the nearest hundred.
1. Population information—Office for National Statistics and General Register Office Scotland (population estimates as at mid-2003).
2. Numbers in receipt of a basic state pension IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample as at 31 March 2004.
Sir Archy Kirkwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of women in (a) the Scottish Borders, (b) Scotland and (c) Great Britain are entitled to the full basic state pension in their own right. [202536]
Malcolm Wicks: The percentage of the female population in (a) the Scottish Borders (b) Scotland and (c) Great Britain who get a full Category A basic State Pension in their own right is in the following table:
| Percentage | |
|---|---|
| Scottish Borders | 14.6 |
| Scotland | 13.8 |
| Great Britain | 12.5 |
Notes:
1. Recipient figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample and are therefore subject to a high degree of sampling variation.
2. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant Office for National Statistics postcode directory.
3. The relevant female population refers to females aged 60 and over living in the specified areas.
4. A full basic State Pension was £77.45 in 2003–04. The percentages in the answer relate solely to those women who qualified for that amount based on their own national insurance record.
Sources:
Number of recipients—IAD Information Centre, 5 per cent. sample as at 31 March 2004.
Population data is from the Office for National Statistics and General Register Office, Scotland—mid-2003.
Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what expenditure on contracted-out rebates went on (a) approved personal pensions, (b) stakeholder pensions, (c) contracted-out money purchase schemes and (d) defined benefit pensions in each year since 1997. [203168]
Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the following table:
Notes:
1. Figures do not sum due to rounding (to nearest £100 million) and are consistent with the rebate estimates for the 2004 Pre-Budget Report.
2. Figures are for Great Britain only and are calculated on an accruals' basis where actual data exists and on GAD estimates where it does not (from 2002–03 onwards).
3. Information on rebate expenditure for stakeholder pensions is not separately available and has been included (from 2002–03) with the APR expenditure.
4. The large increase in expenditure for 2002–03 is due to the increase in the level of the rebate which applied from the beginning of that tax-year.
Source:
Government Actuary's Department (GAD)
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Mr. Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many stakeholder pensions are (a) contracted into and (b) contracted out of the state second pension. [203177]
Malcolm Wicks: Figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that 2,195,521 stakeholder pensions have been sold up to the end of September 2004. Information on numbers contracted out through stakeholder pensions for the tax years 2001–02 and 2002–03 will be available later this month.
Retirement
Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the financial effects arising from the proposed change in the retirement age in the first five years after the change. [202235]
Malcolm Wicks: The Government are considering what to do about employer's retirement ages in response to the Age Matters consultation and other consultations. The assessment of proposals and options on which the Government consulted are in the Age Matters consultation. Costs and benefits are contained in the Regulatory Impact Assessment. Both are available in the Library.
Winter Fuel Payment
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received winter fuel payments in Bolton, North East. [203361]
Malcolm Wicks: The number of people in Bolton, North East who received a winter fuel payment in winter 2003–04 was 17,575. We would expect the number for winter 2004–05 to be similar.
2. Local authorities and parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have requested application forms for winter fuel payments via e-mail since the facility became available. [203374]
Malcolm Wicks: Up to 5 December 2004 there have been 846 requests for winter fuel payment application forms via e-mail.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost of the winter fuel payment advertising and publicity campaign has been in each year since its introduction. [200157]
Malcolm Wicks:
We carry out a publicity campaign each year to inform people about winter fuel payments. This usually comprises advertising, production and distribution of an information leaflet together with accompanying posters and mailings to advisers and other third parties, in line with the objectives of each year's campaign.
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The table sets out total publicity costs for each winter fuel payments campaign since 2001, the year in which the Department for Work and Pensions was created.
Due to differences in the way winter fuel payments publicity was developed and funded before the Department was set up it is not possible to obtain like-for-like figures prior to 2001 without incurring disproportionate costs.
| Expenditure (£) | |
|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 718,000 |
| 2002–03 | 793,000 |
| 2003–04 | 938,000 |
| 2004–05 | (15)815,000 |
(15) Estimated.
These figures are exclusive of VAT.
Mr. Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the assumptions were behind the fall in the projected cost of winter fuel payments in 2006–07 and 2007–08 compared with previous years. [203391]
Malcolm Wicks: The commitments to increase winter fuel payments from £150 to £200 a year and to pay an additional £100 to households with someone aged 80 or over were both made for the lifetime of this Parliament. The projected costs of winter fuel payments in 2006–07 and 2007–08 reflect this.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) people and (b) households in the (i) North Southwark and Bermondsey and (ii) Dulwich and West Norwood constituencies were (A) eligible to receive and (B) received the winter fuel payment in 2003–04. [203395]
Malcolm Wicks: It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of people in the North Southwark and Bermondsey and Dulwich and West Norwood constituencies who were eligible to receive a winter fuel payment. DWP administrative data does not contain complete information on household circumstances and payments are based on household composition.
The information on payments made is in the table.
Notes:
1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
2. Any residence found to have four or more occupants is not included in these figures as it is assumed to be a residential care or nursing home.
3. Local authorities and parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.
8 Dec 2004 : Column 577W
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