Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what his deadline is for writing to Housing Benefit claimants on taking up Pension Credit; and what further steps he plans to take in respect of increasing uptake.

Building on last year’s ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial, we will be directly contacting approximately 120,000 pensioner households who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit.

We will be inviting these households to apply for Pension Credit before the 21 December backdating deadline, in order to ensure that if they are eligible they will also qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment.