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1727884

registered interest
date	06/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: Rutland and Stamford
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment in Rutland and Stamford constituency; and what estimate she has made of the number of people who will be eligible under the proposed changed eligibility requirements.
tabling member constituency	Rutland and Stamford
tabling member printed	Alicia Kearns
uin	4548
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2024 answer text <p>The Pension Credit data that is used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024, in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, Rutland and Stamford is a newly formed constituency. Therefore, data on Rutland and Stamford constituency is not currently available. The new constituency of Rutland and Stamford includes the following areas: The County of Rutland and the parts of Harborough District, including Thurnby, from the abolished constituency of Rutland and Melton, as well as the town of Stamford and surrounding areas from Grantham and Stamford, which has been largely replaced by Grantham and Bourne. To obtain the below estimates for Rutland and Stamford constituency, data on the previous Rutland and Melton constituency and Grantham and Stamford constituency have been combined.</p><p> </p><p>Before the change in eligibility requirements, an estimated 48,351 people in Rutland and Stamford constituency were eligible for and received Winter Fuel Payments, based on 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics. After the change in eligibility requirements, it is estimated that around 3,365 people in Rutland and Stamford constituency will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, based on Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics. This is essentially the number of Pension Credit recipients in Rutland and Stamford constituency and is used as an indicator of how many pensioners will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payment.</p><p> </p><p>The above estimates are likely to be an overestimate as the new Rutland and Stamford constituency consists of some of the areas of the previous Rutland and Melton constituency and the previous Grantham and Stamford constituency, not all.</p><p> </p><p>Also, the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, the published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals will be higher (i.e., taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).</p><p> </p><p>In addition to that, Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Source: </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Winter Fuel Payments statistics are published here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-statistics-for-winter-2022-to-2023" target="_blank">Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Pension Credit data is published here: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/openinfopage?id=PC_New" target="_blank">Pension Credit – Data from May 2018</a></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 19/09/2024 12:55:14 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	4805 label Biography information for Alicia Kearns

1727385

registered interest
date	04/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: Lincolnshire
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of households that will be affected by the proposed change to the eligibility criteria for Winter Fuel Payments in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	4176
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2024 answer text <p>The Pension Credit data that is used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024, in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics. The Pension Credit &amp; Winter Fuel Payments statistics aren’t available for Lincolnshire. Therefore, to obtain the below figures, the Winter Fuel Payment &amp; Pension Credit figures for the following parliamentary constituencies have been combined: Boston and Skegness, Gainsborough, Grantham and Stamford, Lincoln, Louth and Horncastle, Rutland and Melton, Sleaford and North Hykeham, and South Holland and The Deepings.</p><p> </p><p>Around an estimated 15,000 and 120,000 households in South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and Lincolnshire, respectively, will be affected by the proposed change to the eligibility criteria for Winter Fuel Payments. These are based on the 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics and Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics (sources shown below).</p><p> </p><p>This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and Lincolnshire from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and Lincolnshire. This is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients pre-policy change not claiming Pension Credit, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive Winter Fuel Payment.</p><p> </p><p>Also, the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Source:</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Winter Fuel Payments statistics are published here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-statistics-for-winter-2022-to-2023" target="_blank">Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Pension Credit data is published here: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/openinfopage?id=PC_New" target="_blank">Pension Credit – Data from May 2018</a></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 19/09/2024 12:52:51 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1726053

registered interest
date	30/08/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she plans to take to communicate the changes to Winter Fuel Payments to people affected; and what support she plans to provide to help pensioners (a) understand their eligibility and (b) access alternative support.
tabling member constituency	Leicester East
tabling member printed	Shivani Raja
uin	3344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>From mid-October, all pensioners will receive a letter explaining the changes to Winter Fuel Payments this year and encouraging anyone who may eligible to claim Pension Credit by 21st December.</p><p> </p><p>The Winter Fuel Payment page on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility#:~:text=You can get a Winter,Pension Credit" target="_blank">Gov.uk</a> has been updated with the new eligibility rules.</p><p> </p><p>The Department will proceed at pace with its communication campaign to raise awareness of the changes and to promote Pension Credit. This will be followed by a Paid Partnership and national media campaign.  There will then be continued marketing activity promoting the take-up of Pension Credit.</p><p>The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.</p><p>The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 16:36:10 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	5068

1726164

registered interest
date	30/08/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pension Credit and Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate she has made of the number of pensioners not in receipt of Pension Credit living in (a) relative and (b) absolute poverty; and what estimate she has made of the number of additional pensioners who will be living in (i) relative and (ii) absolute poverty as a result of no longer receiving the Winter Fuel Payment.
tabling member constituency	Lowestoft
tabling member printed	Jess Asato
uin	3440
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>For the latest year 2022/23, 1.9 million pensioners were in relative poverty after housing costs (AHC). Of these, 1.6 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit.</p><p>For the latest year 2022/23, 1.4 million pensioners were in absolute poverty AHC. Of these, 1.2 million pensioners were not in receipt of Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>A household is in relative poverty if its income is less than 60 per cent of the median household income in a given financial year. ​A household is in absolute poverty if its income is less than 60% of median household income in 2010/11, uprated by inflation.​</p><p> </p><p>‘Households Below Average Income’ provides estimates on the number of and percentage of people living in low-income households based on their household disposable income. As an income measure, it does not include other available resources that might impact on a household’s poverty levels such as savings.</p><p> </p><p>These numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.</p><p> </p><p>This data is available on Stat-Xplore at <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a> in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset.</p><p> </p><p>More Information on the data included in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023#income-definition" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023#income-definition</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html</a>.</p><p> </p><p>An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.</p><p></p><p>Recognising the wide-ranging causes of pensioner poverty, we will explore how we can use all the available levers we have across government, external partners and local authorities. This includes boosting the uptake of Pension Credit to ensure that the poorest pensioners get the support they need.</p><p> </p><p>We know there are low-income pensioners who aren’t claiming Pension Credit, and we urge those people to apply. This will passport them to receive Winter Fuel Payment alongside a range of other benefits – depending on circumstances, these could be worth hundreds of pounds that could really help them.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 16:30:59 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	5156

1726691

registered interest
date	02/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pension Credit: South Holland and the Deepings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in South Holland and the Deepings constituency claimed pension credit in the 2023-24 financial year.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	3679
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>Caseload statistics are routinely published and made publicly available via <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml" target="_blank">DWP Stat-xplore</a>. At February 2024, there were 2,340 people claiming Pension Credit in South Holland and the Deepings constituency (2010 Boundries).</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 16:27:07 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1727053

registered interest
date	03/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pension Credit
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of pensioners were living in (a) relative poverty after housing costs and (b) absolute poverty after housing costs were in receipt of Pension Credit in the latest period for which data is available.
tabling member constituency	Central Devon
tabling member printed	Mel Stride
uin	3954
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>For the latest year 2022/23, 1.9 million pensioners were in relative poverty after housing costs (AHC) in the UK. Of these, 300,000 pensioners were in receipt of Pension Credit, approximately 15%. A household is in relative poverty if its income is less than 60 per cent of the median household income in a given financial year. ​</p><p> </p><p>For the latest year 2022/23, 1.4 million pensioners were in absolute poverty AHC in the UK. Of these, 200,000 pensioners were in receipt of Pension Credit, approximately 14%. A household is in absolute poverty if its income is less than 60% of median household income in 2010/11, uprated by inflation.​</p><p> </p><p>‘Households Below Average Income’ provides estimates on the number of and percentage of people living in low-income households based on their household disposable income. As an income measure, it does not include other available resources that might impact on a household’s poverty levels such as savings.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>These numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100,000 and percentages rounded to the nearest whole per cent.</p><p> </p><p>This data is available on Stat-Xplore at <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk</a> in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset.</p><p> </p><p>More Information on the data included in the ‘Households Below Average Income’ dataset can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023#income-definition" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/households-below-average-income-for-financial-years-ending-1995-to-2023/households-below-average-income-series-quality-and-methodology-information-report-fye-2023#income-definition</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance on how to use Stat-Xplore can be found here: <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html" target="_blank">https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/index.html</a>.</p><p> </p><p>An account is not required to use Stat- Xplore, the ‘Guest Login’ feature gives instant access to the main functions.</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 16:24:23 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds previous answer version 4865 answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	3935 label Biography information for Mel Stride

1728521

registered interest
date	10/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: Impact Assessments
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish an equality impact assessment for the means-testing of Winter Fuel Payment.
tabling member constituency	Maidstone and Malling
tabling member printed	Helen Grant
uin	4982
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>In making its decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Government had regard to an equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements. The equality analysis was published on Friday 13th September, and can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/responses-to-freedom-of-information-requests-on-equality-impact-assessments-produced-for-targeting-winter-fuel-payment" target="_blank">GOV.UK</a>.</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 15:55:35 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	4018 label Biography information for Mrs Helen Grant

1728632

registered interest
date	10/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: Harpenden and Berkhamsted
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of means-testing Winter Fuel Payments on pensioner poverty in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency.
tabling member constituency	Harpenden and Berkhamsted
tabling member printed	Victoria Collins
uin	5174
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>No such assessment has been made, as statistics for the total number of people living in poverty are not available at a constituency level.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.</p><p> </p><p>Winter Fuel Payments will continue to be paid to pensioner households with someone receiving Pension Credit or certain other income-related benefits. They will continue to be worth £200 for eligible households, or £300 for eligible households with someone aged over 80.</p><p>Immediate support for pensioners includes our commitment to the Triple Lock, with over 12 million pensioners set to benefit through the course of this parliament, with the full yearly rate of the new State Pensions forecast to increase by around £1700.</p><p>The Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales provides eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate on their electricity bill. This winter, we expect over three million households, including over one million pensioners, to benefit under the scheme.</p><p>We are also providing support for pensioners through our Warm Homes Plan which will support investment in insulation and low carbon heating – upgrading millions of homes over this Parliament. Our long-term plan will protect billpayers permanently, reduce fuel poverty, and get the UK back on track to meet our climate goals.</p><p>The Household Support Fund is also being extended for a further six months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.   An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 15:52:22 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	5201

1728674

registered interest
date	10/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment: Sutton and Cheam
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of people that will be affected by the proposed changes to pensioners' eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment in Sutton and Cheam constituency.
tabling member constituency	Sutton and Cheam
tabling member printed	Luke Taylor
uin	5216
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>The Pension Credit data that is used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024, in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payment statistics.</p><p> </p><p>It is estimated that around 14,000 pensioners in Sutton and Cheam constituency will be impacted by the decision to amend the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment. This is based on February 2024 Pension Credit statistics which are available via <a href="https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/jsf/dataCatalogueExplorer.xhtml" target="_blank">DWP Stat-xplore</a> and the Winter Fuel Payment statistics for Winter 2022 to 2023 which are available via <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/winter-fuel-payment-statistics-for-winter-2022-to-2023" target="_blank">GOV.UK</a>.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of people claiming Pension Credit in Sutton and Cheam consistency from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients in Sutton and Cheam constituency. This is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients who are not claiming Pension Credit pre-policy change, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive the Winter Fuel Payment.</p><p> </p><p>Please note that the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up that we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or Local Authorities.</p><p> </p><p>The published Pension Credit figures refer to households, so the number of individuals receiving Pension Credit will be higher (i.e., taking account of households where it is a couple claiming Pension Credit).</p><p> </p><p>In addition, while Pension Credit claimants constitute the majority of those that will be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment, pensioners who claim other qualifying means-tested benefits will also be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. It is not, however, possible to include those on other qualifying means-tested benefits in these figures.</p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 15:49:01 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	5103

1728692

registered interest
date	10/09/2024
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensioners: Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will set up a Pensioner Task Force to (a) assess intersecting issues of income, housing, health and fuel costs and (b) make recommendations to tackle pensioner poverty.
tabling member constituency	Poole
tabling member printed	Neil Duncan-Jordan
uin	5234
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/09/2024 answer text <p>We are determined to support pensioners and give them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. The Government has committed to reviewing the pensions landscape. The first phase, focusing on investment outcomes, began in July and we will follow that later this year with the next phase that will consider further steps to improve pension outcomes, including assessing retirement adequacy.</p><p> </p><p>Immediate support for pensioners includes our commitment to the Triple Lock, with over 12 million pensioners set to benefit through the course of this parliament, with the full yearly rate of the new State Pension forecast to increase by around £1,700.</p><p>Pension Credit continues to provide a safety net for the poorest pensioners and those with additional needs, such as those with a severe disability, caring responsibility, responsibility for a child or certain housing costs. We want everybody who could be eligible to claim it, which is why we have launched a nationwide Pension Credit take-up campaign.</p><p>The Household Support Fund (HSF) is also being extended for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025, to support those most in need, including vulnerable pensioners. An additional £421 million will be provided to enable the extension of the HSF in England, plus funding for the Devolved Governments through the Barnett formula to be spent at their discretion, as usual.<em> </em></p> answering member constituency Wycombe answering member printed Emma Reynolds question first answered 18/09/2024 15:43:27 answering member 4077 label Biography information for Emma Reynolds
tabling member	5359