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17 May 2006 : Column 1004W—continued

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his latest estimate is of the take-up rate of (a) savings credit only, (b) guarantee credit and savings credit and (c) all pension credit; and if he will make a statement. [70290]

James Purnell: The latest information on the take-up of pension credit, including estimates for the separate elements of pension credit, is available in the DWP report entitled: “Pension Credit Estimates of Take-Up in 2004/2005”. A copy of the report is held in the Library.

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone calls the Pension Service has made since September 2004 to invite pensioners to explore the possibility that they may be eligible for pension credit (a) after 6.30 pm on weekdays and (b) at weekends, broken down by parliamentary constituency. [64507]

17 May 2006 : Column 1005W

James Purnell: Between September 2003 and March 2006, a total of 14,000 calls have been made to customers from the Pension Service inviting them to apply for pension credit on Saturday morning. No calls were made on Sunday.

Information on calls made after 6.30 pm on weekdays is not available.

Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many telephone calls have been made by the Pension Service informing pensioners of the possibility that they were eligible for pension credit in each month since October 2003. [64520]

James Purnell: The information requested is in the following table.

Month	Total successful calls
October 2003	0
November 2003	180
December 2003	22,000
January 2004	34,000
February 2004	28,000
March 2004	48,000
April 2004	20,000
May 2004	30,000
June 2004	15,000
July 2004	27,000
August 2004	30,000
September 2004	22,000
October 2004	18,000
November 2004	27,000
December 2004	56,000
January 2005	59,000
February 2005	35,000
March 2005	19,000
April 2005	31,000
May 2005	35,000
June 2005	24,000
July 2005	13,000
August 2005	25,000
September 2005	21,000
October 2005	23,000
November 2005	4,000
December 2005	11,000
January 2006	16,000
February 2006	31,000
March 2006	15,000
Total	738,000
Notes: 1. Pension credit was introduced from October 2003. 2. Data relate to the number of successful calls the Pension Service made by telephone, in order to discuss eligibility for pension credit with the customer. 3. A successful call is when the Pension Service has been able to get in touch with the customer by telephone. 4. Data are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners were living in relative poverty in (a) 1996-97, (b) 2003-04, (c) 2004-05 and (d) 2005-06; and if he will make a statement. [70289]

17 May 2006 : Column 1006W

James Purnell: The seventh annual ‘Opportunity for all’ report (Cm 6673) sets out the Government’s strategy for tackling poverty and social exclusion and reports progress against a range of indicators.

Specific information regarding relative low income for pensioners is available in the latest publication of the ‘Households Below Average Income 1994/95—2004/05’. The threshold of below 60 per cent. of relative or contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.

Figures for 1996-97, 2003-04 and 2004-05, the latest year for which figures are available, showing the number of pensioners living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the contemporary median, are in the following table.

Number of pensioners living in contemporary low-income households
	Before housing costs (million)	After housing costs (million)
1996-97	2.2	2.8
2003-04	2.2	2.0
2004-05	2.0	1.8
Notes: 1. Figures are for Great Britain. 2. Results from Households Below Average Incomes publication. 3. Figures show the number and proportion of pensioners in households below 60 per cent. of median net income (after direct taxes including council tax). 4. Pensioners are all females aged 60 years or over, and all males aged 65 years or over. Source: Family Resources Survey.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government are taking to ensure that more women receive a full basic state pension in the future. [70058]

James Purnell: On 2 November the Government published the report, “Women and pensions: The evidence”. The report shows that today, only around 30 per cent. of women reaching state pension age (SPA) are entitled to a full basic state pension. However, women’s basic state pension records are continuing to improve with the combined effect of increased labour market participation and home responsibilities protection.

We know that more needs to be done. The Pensions Commission has provided the right framework for debate and will help build consensus for delivering a long-term settlement for tomorrow’s pensioners, in particular, one that is fairer for women. We will bring forward our proposals in a White Paper which will be published by the end of the month.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in each London borough receive the full basic state pension. [70107]

James Purnell: The number of state pension recipients who receive the full basic state pension in each London borough as at September 2005 is in the following table:

17 May 2006 : Column 1007W

London borough	Number
Barking and Dagenham	15,200
Barnet	25,300
Bexley	24,300
Brent	11,400
Bromley	36,400
Camden	10,200
City of London	600
Croydon	26,200
Ealing	16,900
Enfield	23,100
Greenwich	17,700
Hackney	6,900
Hammersmith and Fulham	8,700
Haringey	10,000
Harrow	16,800
Havering	28,300
Hillingdon	21,800
Hounslow	14,000
Islington	9,100
Kensington and Chelsea	7,500
Kingston upon Thames	12,200
Lambeth	11,300
Lewisham	16,700
Merton	14,500
Newham	10,000
Redbridge	19,900
Richmond upon Thames	15,700
Southwark	13,300
Sutton	18,600
Tower Hamlets	8,000
Waltham Forest	16,200
Wandsworth	15,200
Westminster	10,500
Notes: 1. Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 100. 2. Numbers are based on a 5 per cent. sample, and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling variation. 3. A basic state pension is paid to those who fully or partially satisfy the contribution conditions for a category A or category B pension. 4. The full basic state pension as at September 2005 was £82.05 per week. 5. Local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant Office for National Statistics postcode directory. Source: DWP Information Directorate—5 per cent. sample.

Trade and Industry

Gender Equality

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what his policy is towards the proposed establishment of a European Institute for Gender Equality. [68572]

Meg Munn: I have been asked to reply.

It is important that the institute offers value for money, that it does not duplicate existing bodies and that it adds value to ensure that it will be as efficient and effective as possible. We strongly believe that the new institute must work together with the Fundamental Rights Agency rather than seek to replicate it, and in doing so aim to be budget-neutral.

17 May 2006 : Column 1008W

TV Licences

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions he had with the BBC prior to its decision to discontinue the Post Office contract to supply TV licences. [70922]

Jim Fitzpatrick: None. The decision to discontinue the Post Office contract to supply TV licences was a commercial one made by the BBC, following a competitive tender exercise.

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on post offices of the decision to end the contract for post offices to supply TV licences. [71174]

Jim Fitzpatrick: The supply of TV Licences through post offices was governed by a commercial contract between Post Office Ltd. and the BBC. The impact of the decision not to renew the contract is an operational matter for the company. I have asked Alan Cook, the Managing Director of Post Office Ltd, to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Northern Ireland

Arts Council

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how long each member of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland has been in post.[71051]

Maria Eagle: All of the Arts Council members have been in post since July 2003 with the exception of Mr. Martin Bradley who has served as a member since 1996. Mr. Bradley was subsequently appointed vice-chair to the Council in July 2003 through open competition.

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