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26 Oct 2009 : Column 164W—continued
Pensioners: Poverty
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pensioners have been defined as living in absolute poverty in (a) the North East and (b) the UK in each year since 2005-06. [295092]
Angela Eagle: Estimates of poverty, published in the Households Below Average Income series, only allow a breakdown of the overall number of people in poverty at Government office region level. Therefore, information for the Jarrow constituency and South Tyneside region is not available.
The Government use a basket of three key thresholds of income, after housing costs, to measure pensioner poverty. Absolute poverty is referred to as 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median income uprated in line with prices.
Latest information for the north-east Government office region, is based on three year averages and is provided in Table 1 as follows:
| Table 1. Number and percentage of pensioners falling below 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median household income (uprated in line with prices), after housing costs, in the north-east Government office region, since 1997( 1) | ||
| Number | Percentage | |
| (1) Information is in three year averages. Note: Family expenditure survey figures are for the United Kingdom, family resources survey figures are for Great Britain up to 1997-98, and for the United Kingdom from 1998-99, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. | ||
Latest information for the UK is provided in Table 2 as follows:
| Table 2. Number and percentage of pensioners falling below 60 per cent. of 1998-99 median household income (uprated in line with prices), after housing costs, in the UK since 1997 | ||
| Number | Percentage | |
| Notes: 1. FES figures are for the United Kingdom, FRS figures are for Great Britain up to 1997-98, and for the United Kingdom from 1998-99, with estimates for Northern Ireland imputed for the years 1998-99 through 2001-02. The reference period for FRS figures is single financial years. 2. Small changes in estimates from year to year, particularly at the bottom of the income distribution, may not be significant in view of data uncertainties. 3. Due to rounding, the estimates of change in percentages of pensioners below low-income thresholds may not equal the difference between the total percentage of pensioners below thresholds for any pair of years shown. | ||
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government have taken in response to the recommendations in the Work and Pensions Select Committee report on Tackling Pensioner Poverty published in July 2009. [295440]
Angela Eagle: The Government have provided a response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee report on Tackling Pensioner Poverty. This was published by the Committee on 19 October 2009 and is available on the UK Parliament website at:
This Government have made significant progress in tackling pensioner poverty and this remains one of the Government's key priorities.
Pensions: Females
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the percentage of women retiring in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2014-15 who will be entitled to a full basic state pension; and if she will estimate for those who will not receive a full pension what their average percentage contribution record will have been in each such year; and if she will make a statement. [295458]
Angela Eagle: The 2007 Pensions Act reforms to basic state pension will mean that over 90 per cent. of women reaching state pension age from 2025 will qualify for a full basic state pension. In 2010-11 this proportion will rise to around 75 per cent. from around 45 per cent. today. Thereafter we expect the proportion to rise more gradually.
Where available the information requested is given in the following table. An estimate of the average percentage contribution record for women not entitled to a full basic state pension reaching state pension age in the years requested is not available; information relating to the expected level of entitlement has been provided instead.
| Proportion of women reaching state pension age in the given year by their estimated level of entitlement to basic state pension | |||
| Percentage | |||
| Level of basic state pension entitlement | 2010-11 | 2012-13 | 2014-15 |
| Notes: 1. This table shows the proportion of people reaching SPA entitled to BSP at SPA, i.e. around 75 per cent. of females reaching SPA in 2010 are projected to be entitled to full BSP. 2. Women's entitlement is based on their own contributions and on their husband's contributions where the inheritance and substitution provisions apply for widows and divorced women. 3. Includes deferrers. Figures refer to percentage entitlement not to percentage of those in receipt of full BSP. Some people may be entitled but not be in receipt of a pension because they have chosen to defer their entitlement. 4. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 per cent. Source: Projections from DWP Forecasting Division using the Government Actuary's Department's Retirement Pension Model; Great Britain only. | |||
Poverty: Children
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps the Government is taking to address levels of child poverty. [294931]
Helen Goodman: Changes to tax, benefits and back to work help in the last decade have lifted 500,000 children out of relative poverty and halved absolute child poverty. Had we simply adjusted 1997 measures in line with prices around 2.1 million more children might live in poverty today. Measures in and since Budget 2007 are expected to lift around a further 500,000 children out of poverty by 2010. Our Child Poverty Bill, now in Parliament, will commit Government to its eradication by 2020.
Social Security Benefits
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many adults under the age of 30 years are receiving benefits from her Department. [292012]
Jim Knight: The information is in the following table.
| Total number (expressed in thousands) of adults under 30 claiming key DWP benefits by statistical group-as at February 2009 | |
| Statistical group | Number |
| Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Social Security Benefits: Councillors
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance her Department provides on the eligibility of local authority councillors for (a) welfare benefits and (b) jobseeker's allowance. [291989]
Jim Knight: Detailed guidance on the rules of eligibility of local authority councillors for all Department for Work and Pensions administered social security benefits is provided in the Decision Makers Guide, a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library and which is also available on the internet at
Detailed guidance on the rules of eligibility of local authority councillors for housing benefit and council tax benefit is provided in the Housing Benefit Guidance Manual, a copy of which is held in the House of Commons Library and which is also available on the internet at
State Retirement Pensions: Bedfordshire
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in Mid Bedfordshire constituency were in receipt of a state pension in each of the last three years. [295406]
Angela Eagle: The information is in the following table.
| Number of recipients of state pension in Mid-Bedfordshire constituency | |
| Notes: 1. Figures are as at February for the years shown. 2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; some additional disclosure control has been applied. 3. Constituency is for the Westminster Parliament. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study. | |
Winter Fuel Payments: Derbyshire
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Derbyshire and (b) North East Derbyshire received winter fuel allowance in 2008-09. [294763]
Angela Eagle: For winter 2008-09, the number of people who received winter fuel payments in Derbyshire was 175,520. The number of people who received winter fuel payments in the constituency of North East Derbyshire was 23,160.
Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Parliamentary constituencies and local authorities are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.
Source:
DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent. data.
Winter Fuel Payments: East of England
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications for winter fuel payments from residents of (a) Mid Bedfordshire constituency, (b) Bedfordshire and (c) the East of England were subject to inaccurate data handling by the Pension Service resulting in an extension of prioritising time in the winter of 2007-08. [295415]
Angela Eagle: The information requested is not available.
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