29-04-04

Means testing of pensioners has failed – Barrett

Less than half of eligible pensioners in Edinburgh have signed up to the Government's Pension Credit, according to shocking statistics published today by Edinburgh West MP, John Barrett.

Latest Government figures, combined with answers to Mr Barrett's parliamentary questions, have shown that the Edinburgh take up of the Government's new flagship benefit for pensioners stands at only 47%.

In a statement, John Barrett said:

"Despite all the Government promotions and all their advertising, the take-up of pension credit in Edinburgh and throughout the country is still abysmal.  In Edinburgh alone, there are some 18,000 pensioners in the Capital are still not getting the financial help they need.

"Although I have tried to encourage pensioners to make the most the money available to them, I have to accept that many of them find means testing both complicated and degrading.

"The Government has to realise their obsession with means testing pensioners has failed on a massive scale.  The only guaranteed way of getting more money to the poorest pensioners is increasing the wholly inadequate state pension."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

(1) An accurate number of pensioner households for Scotland is available by looking at those households in receipt of winter fuel payments.  Latest figures were made available by the Department for Work & Pensions in a parliamentary answer to John Barrett

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) the City of Edinburgh local authority area, (b) Edinburgh West, (c) Edinburgh Central, (d) Edinburgh North and Leith, (e) Edinburgh South, (f) Edinburgh Pentlands, (g) Edinburgh East and Musselburgh will be eligible for winter fuel payments in 2003-04; and how many of these will receive the payment automatically.

Malcolm Wicks: The information is not available in the format requested. However, such information as is available is set out in the following table:

Winter fuel payments in Edinburgh 2002-03	All
Parliamentary constituencies
Edinburgh Central	11,815
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh	15,745
Edinburgh North and Leith	12,045
Edinburgh Pentlands	14,560
Edinburgh South	14,325
Edinburgh West	17,760
TOTAL	86,250
Local authority
City of Edinburgh	83,065

Notes:

1. Numbers are rounded to the nearest five.

2. Figures taken from the Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter Fuel Payment 2002-03 exercise.
Source:
IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent sample.

The number of people who would receive the winter fuel payment automatically in winter 2003-04 is expected to be similar to those in the table.

(2) The Government disclosed the number of pensioner households that would be eligible for the pension credit in Scotland in a parliamentary answer to Mr Barrett on 16th June 2003

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensioners will benefit from the pension credit in Scotland, broken down by (a) local authority and (b) parliamentary constituency.

Maria Eagle: The information is not available in the format requested however 400,000 people in Scotland stand to benefit from Pension Credit."

(3) 400,000 as a percentage of 994,000 is approximately 40%.

Therefore, 40% of pensioner households in Edinburgh should also be eligible for pension credit. 

40% x 86,250 = 34,500

(4) According to the DWP Pension Credit Progress Report - March 2004, the number of pensioner households actually receiving pension credit is as follows

Pension Credit for Scotland by parliamentary March 2004 Figure
Edinburgh Central	2,641
Edinburgh East and Musselburgh	3,690
Edinburgh North and Leith	2,916
Edinburgh Pentlands	1,978
Edinburgh South	2,649
Edinburgh West	2,333
EDINBURGH TOTAL	16,207

Source - Department of Work & Pensions Written Statement

Calculation of take-up rate of pension credit in Edinburgh:
16,207 x 100 / 34,500 = 47.0%

(5) Calculation of number of pensioner who are eligible for but not receiving pension credit: 34,500 - 16,207 = 18,292