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6 Mar 2008 : Column 2820W—continued

New Deal 25 plus Intensive Activity Period (IAP) in Aberavon
Option	Numbers who have started
Employment and Work Experience/Placements stage of the IAP	170
Education and Training Opportunities stage of the IAP	10
Notes: 1. Data are to May 2007 and rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Data include current participants on the Employment/Work Experience/Training elements of the IAP, as well as those who have left ND25 plus from these elements. 3. Data include those who have participated on these elements of the IAP but left ND25 plus from the Follow Through stage of the programme. 4. Data do not includes those who have participated on these elements of the IAP but who are currently on the Follow Through stage of ND25 plus. 5. Data could include participants on the voluntary New Deals who have accessed training available through the mandatory New Deals. Source: DWP Information Directorate.

Pensions

Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners in (a) Milton Keynes and (b) England and Wales have been subject to means-testing in each year since 2000. [178617]

6 Mar 2008 : Column 2821W

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The information that is available is in the following table.

Tackling pensioner poverty was one of the Government’s first priorities. The introduction of pension credit in October 2003, which targeted substantial additional resources on those in the greatest need, was supported by an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the new benefit and to encourage every pensioner with an entitlement to take it up. The 2004 figures demonstrate that the campaign had a considerable immediate impact. And, since the introduction of pension credit, the number of pensioners in relative poverty has fallen by around 700,000.

Num ber of beneficiaries of means tested benefits, aged 60 and over
Mid year	England and Wales
2000	3,070,000
2001	3,060,000
2002	2,970,000
2003	2,950,000
2004	3,380,000
2005	3,440,000
2006	3,420,000
2007	3,490,000
Notes: 1. Means tested benefits are pension credit (PC), minimum income guarantee/income support for the over 60s (MIG/IS), jobseeker’s allowance (income-based) (JSA(IB)), housing benefit (HB), council tax benefit (CTB). Overlaps between benefits have been removed. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten thousand. 3. “Beneficiaries” is the sum of claimants aged 60 or over and claimants partners aged 60 or over. 4. Figures based on one per cent data samples (HB and CTB) and 5 per cent data samples (MIG/IS and JSA(IB) and PC) are subject to sampling variation. The 5 per cent. data sample has been rated in line with Work and Pension Longitudinal Study data. 5. CTB data excludes second adult rebate cases. HB data excludes any Extended Payment cases. 6. Estimates for 2000 to 2004 are based on past benefit data as at May of each year. Estimates for 2005-06 and 2006-07 use estimated annual average caseloads for HB and CTB and data as at May of each year for other benefits. 2007-08 is based on a forecast annual average caseload for HB and CTB and data for other benefits as at May of each year. Source: DWP, one per cent. data samples, five per cent. data samples and Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study

Polygamy

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) research he has conducted and (b) representations he has received on the recognition of polygamous marriages. [190489]

Mr. Plaskitt: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Hertsmere (Mr. Clappison) on 20 February 2008, Official Report, column 756W.

Poverty: Children

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of
6 Mar 2008 : Column 2822W
children living in poverty are in households liable to pay full council tax measured (a) before housing costs and (b) after housing costs; and what the average council tax bill is for those households. [185913]

Mr. Plaskitt: Just under a quarter of all children living in relative poverty measured before housing costs, live in households liable to pay full council tax. This equates to around 700,000 children.

Around two fifths of children living in relative poverty measured after housing costs, live in households liable to pay full council tax. This equates to around 1.4 million children.

The average weekly council tax bill for these households is around £20 and £21 respectively.

Notes:

1. Households are defined as being in poverty if their income is less than 60 per cent. of the national median equivalised income level.

2. These figures have been derived using the Policy Simulation Model (PSM) which uses data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). These are estimated indicative figures.

3. The PSM models the calculation of individual taxes and income-related benefit entitlement, by deriving detailed microdata from the latest available FRS.

4. The PSM models the current policy year (2007-08) using the latest FRS data (2005-06), by uprating the FRS to represent the appropriate policy year.

5. The analysis provided assumes full take-up of income-related benefits in the current policy year (2007-08).

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children in London were living in households with an income below (a) 60 per cent., (b) 50 per cent. and (c) 40 per cent. of median household income (i) after housing cost and (ii) before housing cost in each of the last 10 years. [189298]

Mr. Timms: Specific information regarding low income for the United Kingdom is available in “Households Below Average Income 1994-95 to 2005-06”. This annual report, which is a National Statistics publication, includes the number and proportion of individuals, children, working age adults and pensioners with incomes below 50 per cent., 60 per cent. and 70 per cent of median income.

We do not present information covering 40 per cent. of median income in our “Households Below Average Income” series as it is not a sound measure of poverty. This is because households stating the lowest incomes to the Family Resources Survey may not actually have the lowest living standards. Some people who report very low incomes appear to have high spending. Hence, any statistics on numbers in this group may be misleading.

Data for number of children below various income thresholds for London over the last 10 years are shown in the following table.

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6 Mar 2008 : Column 2824W

Number of children below 40, 50 and 60 per cent. median income in London over the last 10 years
Million
	40 per cent.		50 per cent.		60 per cent.
Time period	Before housing costs	After housing costs	Before housing costs	After housing costs	Before housing costs	After housing costs
1994-95 to 1996-97	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.7
1995-96 to 1997-98	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.7
1996-97 to 1998-99	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.7
1997-98 to 1999-2000	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.7
1998-99 to 2000-01	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.6
1999-2000 to 2001-02	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.6
2000-01 to 2002-03	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.6
2001-02 to 2003-04	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.6
2002-03 to 2004-05	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.6
2003-04 to 2005-06	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.5	0.4	0.6
Notes: 1. Three survey year averages are given for regional low income statistics as robust single year estimates cannot be produced because of the sample sizes for individual regions. 2. The income measures used to derive the estimates shown employ the same methodology as the Department for Work and Pensions publication “Households Below Average Income” series, which uses disposable household income, equivalised for household size and composition, as an income measure as a proxy for standard of living. 3. The figures are based on OECD equivalisation factors. 4. The preferred measure of low income is based on a threshold of 60 per cent. of the contemporary median income. This is an internationally recognised measure and is consistent with indicators that will be monitored as part of Public Service Agreement Delivery Agreement 9. 5. This response includes a lower income threshold of 40 per cent. of the contemporary median income. The data for families with an income lower than 50 per cent. of median is not considered to be accurate as an indicator of living standards. Many of these households while having very low incomes would not be considered poor, but who do genuinely have few sources of income in the short-run. These figures are not National Statistics and caution must be applied because those people stating the lowest incomes in the Family Resources Survey may not actually have the lowest living standards. 6. Figures have been presented on both a before housing cost and after housing cost basis. For before housing cost, housing costs (such as rent, water rates, mortgage interest payments, structural insurance payments and ground rent and service charges) are not deducted from income, while for after housing cost they are. 7. Numbers in the table have been presented in millions, rounded to the nearest 100,000 children.

Rented Housing

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what (a) local reference rent is being applied and (b) the indicative local housing allowances rate is for each bedroom category within each locality/broad market rent area in each non-pathfinder local authority. [187944]

Mr. Plaskitt: The requested information has been placed in the Library.

Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) current levels of the shared room rate and (b) indicative shared room rate for the same locality/broad rental market area is in each of the 18 pathfinder local pathfinders where local housing allowances is already in place. [187945]

Mr. Plaskitt: The information is in the following tables.

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6 Mar 2008 : Column 2826W

Shared room rate in the local housing allowance pathfinder areas at February 2 , 2008
Pathfinder a rea	Broad rental market areas	Shared room rate ( £ per week)
Blackpool	Fylde	55
Coventry	Coventry	50
Brighton	Brighton and Hove	77
Lewisham	London South East Inner	95
	London South East Central	80
North East Lincs	North East Lincs	46
Teignbridge	Devon South	65
	Exeter	75
Leeds	Leeds	55
	Bradford	51
Conway	North Coast	55
	North Rural	50
	Menai	52
Edinburgh	Outer (incl. N, E and S)	66
	Central	76
Argyll and Bute	Argyll and Bute	65
East Riding of Yorkshire	York	55
	Bridlington	47
	Hull	48
	Doncaster	44
Guildford	Guildford	85
	Blackwater Valley	80
	Crawley and Reigate	85
Norwich	Central Norfolk and Norwich	65
Pembrokeshire	Pembrokeshire	50
	Cardigan Coast	53
St Helens	St Helens	61
	Newton Le Willows/Earlestown	72
	Ashton	51
Salford	Central Greater Manchester	55
	Bolton and Bury	52
South Norfolk	Central Norfolk and Norwich	65
Wandsworth	London SW Inner	90
Note: Figures rounded to the nearest £1.

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