The information requested is in the following table.
Years (outturn) Cash terms (£ million) 1997-98 191 1998-99 194 1999-2000 759 2000-01 1,749 2001-02 1,681 2002-03 1,705 2003-04 1,916 2004-05 1,962 2005-06 1,982 2006-071 2,011 1Estimated outturn Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest £ million. 2. Winter fuel payment was introduced in 1997. 3. Payments made to people aged 60-64 years and over 80 payment are included from 2000-01 onwards. Following a European Court of Justice Judgement in 1999, winter fuel payments were extended to people aged 60 or over regardless of whether they were receiving a social security benefit. A claims process was set up in the year 2000 to enable payments to be made to those people who could not be identified through the Department’s records. Source: DWP Expenditure tables consistent with Budget 2007