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19 Oct 2006 : Column 1414W—continued
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average weekly income was of the three poorest deciles of pensioners in each of the last 20 years. [93872]
James Purnell: Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in “Households Below Average Income 1994/95-2004/05”. The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
The survey from which estimates are provided started in 1994-95. There is no suitable data source for years prior to 1994-95.
The median weekly household income of the three lowest deciles of pensioners for the years 1994-95 to 2004-05, are presented in table 1.
| Table 1: Median weekly household income in pounds per week equivalised, of pensioners in the lowest three deciles—1994-95 to 2004-05, after housing costs | |||
| Decile 1 | Decile 2 | Decile 3 | |
| Notes: 1. Median weekly household incomes are shown as equivalised pounds in 2004-05 prices. Equivalisation is the process by which household income is adjusted by household size and composition as a proxy for material living standards. 2. The median has been used as the measure of the average income in the three lowest deciles in line with HBAI conventions. This median measure is preferred to the mean because it measures the central income of the group and for the lowest decile it is less influenced by possibly unrepresentative outliers. 3. All estimates are subject to sampling error and response bias and small changes between years may be influenced by these. While results for individual years may be sensitive to the way in which household incomes are adjusted for size and composition, the picture of changes over time is less sensitive to this. Source: Family Resources Survey | |||
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Government are spending to tackle pensioner poverty. [94923]
James Purnell: As a result of the measures we have introduced since 1997, we will be spending £10.5 billion more on pensioners this year than would otherwise have been the case. Our policies target help on the poorest pensioners in particular, with over £5 billion of the additional money going to the poorest third of pensioners. Between 1996-97 and 2004-05, the number of pensioners living in relative low income, fell from 2.8 million to 1.8 million, and a pensioner in Britain today is no more likely to be in poverty than anyone else.
In total, in 2006-07 we plan to spend £78.8 billion in cash benefits for pensioners. Additional help is provided through benefits in kind such as free prescriptions, eye tests, bus travel and television licences, and help with home insulation. Around £14 billion will be spent on benefits targeted on low-income pensioners: pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit. This ensures that no single pensioner need live on less than £114.05 a week, and no couple on less than £174.05 a week.
Utility Bills
David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent assessment he has made of the impact of rises in utility bills since 2003 on pensioner incomes. [92753]
James Purnell: To ensure that all pensioner households are able to keep their homes warm throughout the winter period we introduced winter fuel payments in 1997. We have increased these from £20 in 1997-08 to the current value of £200 for people between 60 and 79 years of age, and £300 for the over 80s.
The Government are committed to combating poverty among today’s pensioners, for example by uprating the standard minimum guarantee in pension credit in line with earnings growth. In our Pension Reform White Paper we made a commitment to continue with this policy for the long term as part of the new overall pensions settlement.
Between 1996-07 and 2004-05 (the latest year for which pensioner income is available) incomes increased by 25 per cent. in real terms, compared with a 15 per cent. real terms increase in fuel prices and water bills between 1996-07 and 2006. It is important to note that while pensioner incomes tend to increase on a linear basis, with 4 per cent. real growth between 2003-04 and 2004-05 building on the growth in earlier years, utility
prices tend to fluctuate. According to Office for National Statistics data, fuel prices and water bills fell by 9 per cent. in real terms between 1996 and 2003, before increasing by 27 per cent. between 2003 and 2006.
Work (Fatal Accidents)
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many fatal accidents at work there were in each of the past 30 years; and what the rate of such accidents was per 100,000 workers in each year. [93510]
Mrs. McGuire: Available information is set out in the following table.
The figures reflect a steady downward trend in the incidence rate of the work force fatally injured while at work. The 2005-06 fatal injury rate is the lowest on record, and within the latest comparative data across the European Union, Great Britain has the lowest rate of workplace fatal injury per 100,000 workers with an incidence rate of 1.1 compared with an average of 2.5 for the European Union.
The Health and Safety Commission continues to deliver its risk-based strategy to improve Great Britain’s health and safety performance through a targeted programme of interventions that concentrates resources on the highest areas of incidence and the poorest performers.
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