Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in receipt of the State Pension there are in each district council electoral ward in Louth and Horncastle constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP cannot provide data down to a district council electoral ward level. Data on State Pension caseloads for GB is published and this can be found on Stat-Xplore. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access User Guide (dwp.gov.uk) on how to extract the information required.
To be helpful, as of the quarter ending May 2023, there are 28,694 SP claimants in Louth and Horncastle Parliamentary Constituency. The 2024 Parliamentary constituency boundaries were used to calculate this.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the proportion of the general population that are in receipt of the State Pension in each district council electoral ward in Louth and Horncastle constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
DWP cannot provide data down to a district council electoral ward level. Data on State Pension caseloads for GB is published and this can be found on DWP Stat-Xplore. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on estimates of the population at different geographic boundaries. Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest user and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract the information required.
To be helpful, as of the quarter ending May 2022, the proportion of the general population of Louth and Horncastle constituency in receipt of the State Pension is 30%. This was calculated using the State Pension caseload for the 2010 Parliamentary Constituency boundaries in the closest quarter (May 2022) to the ONS data used and dividing it by the latest available Parliamentary Constituency population estimates data from the ONS (Mid-year 2022).
Source for Population estimates: Parliamentary constituency population estimates (ONS)
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to the eligibility criteria for Winter Fuel payments to be introduced from winter 2024-25 on the (a) financial and (b) physical well-being of pensioners in Louth & Horncastle constituency; and what steps she plans to take to mitigate any potential negative impact on those affected.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to a preventative approach to public health. Keeping people warm and well at home and improving the quality of new and existing homes will play an essential part in enabling people to live longer, healthier lives and reducing pressures on the NHS.
We are providing support through our Warm Homes Plan which pensioners will benefit from. This 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.
The Government is also ensuring pensioners are supported through our commitment to protect the Triple Lock, over 12 million pensioners will benefit, with many expected to see their State Pension increase by around a thousand pounds over the next five years.
The Household Support Fund is being extended for a further 6 months, from 1 October 2024 until 31 March 2025.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
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 change in eligibility requirements for the Winter Fuel Payment in Winter 2024-25 in Louth and Horncastle constituency.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In Louth and Horncastle constituency, the estimated number of pensioners who will have Winter Fuel Payments withdrawn is 26,570.
This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Louth and Horncastle constituency, from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Louth and Horncastle constituency (using the latest statistics, sources shown below). The Pension Credit data is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024 in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics.
Please note that the below does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy change (means testing Winter fuel payments to those on Pension Credit and other means tested benefits). We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.
Also, 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).
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.
Sources used:
winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)
Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk) (Feb-24 data)
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the change in eligibility requirements for the Winter Fuel Payment in Winter 2024-25 on the affordability of energy for people aged over 65 in (a) Louth and Horncastle constituency and (b) rural off-gas grid areas.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Energy support including for those who live in areas off-grid is the responsibility of Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The Home Upgrade Grant provides grants to low-income households to upgrade the energy performance of the worst quality, off-gas grid homes in England by installing multiple energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating. This will typically include insulation measures in combination with a heat pump to make the home heat efficient and suitable for the future as we build towards net zero.
This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.
Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the Government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.
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.
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of pensioners will no longer be eligible to receive the Winter Fuel Payment in Louth and Horncastle constituency in Winter 2024-25.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In Louth and Horncastle constituency, the estimated proportion of pensioners who will no longer be eligible to receive the Winter Fuel Payment is 90%.
This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for Louth and Horncastle constituency, from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Louth and Horncastle constituency (using the latest statistics, sources shown below), and dividing by the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for Louth and Horncastle constituency. The Pension Credit data is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024 in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics.
Please note that the below does not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the policy change (means testing Winter fuel payments to those on Pension Credit and other means tested benefits). We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.
Also, 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).
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.
Sources used:
winter-fuel-payments-caseload-2022-to-2023.ods (live.com)
Stat-Xplore - Table View (dwp.gov.uk) (Feb-24 data)
Asked by: Victoria Atkins (Conservative - Louth and Horncastle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners not in receipt of a means tested benefits on the NHS.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
This Government is committed to pensioners – everyone in our society, no matter their working history or savings deserves a comfortable and dignified retirement.
Given the substantial pressures faced by the public finances this year and next, the government has had to make hard choices to bring the public finances back under control.
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.
In making a decision on Winter Fuel Payment eligibility, the Government had regard to the equality analysis in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.