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Mr. Beggs
To ask the Prime Minister what is the estimated additional cost incurred weekly by pensioners in Northern Ireland for heating, lighting and travel when expenditure is compared with that of pensioners in a comparable region in Great Britain.
The Prime Minister
Information on the expenditure of pensioner households1 on heating, lighting and travel is available at household level from the family expenditure survey. Northern Ireland compares with Wales in terms of average normal weekly disposable income for all households, including pensioner households. The table providese information from the amalgamated results of the 1988–89 family expenditure survey for pensioner households.
| Average Weekly Household Expenditure on Selected Items: | |||
| Northern Ireland £ | Wales £ | Additional expenditure in Northern Ireland £ | |
| Total motoring and fares | 5·20 | 4·29 | 0·91 |
| Fuel, light and power | 13·11 | 8·55 | 4·56 |
| 1 A pensioner household is defined as one in which at least three quarters of the total income of the household is derived from national insurance retirement and similar pensions. | |||