To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate she has made of the number of people of pensionable age who are eligible for carers allowance but disqualified because of the overlapping benefit rule; and what the estimated cost is of paying the allowance to them. (280496)

The number of people over state pension age who are entitled to carer's allowance but not receiving any payment because of the overlapping benefit rule is 362,350. The estimated maximum annual cost of paying carer's allowance to pensioners who are subject to the overlap is around £1 billion.

Notes:

1. This estimate does not include people who do not make a claim for carer's allowance, as we have no way of calculating how many there are.

2. It should be noted that unless major changes to rules on how carer's allowance is treated within pension credit were to be introduced, the overall Exchequer cost of such a measure would be smaller due to the offsetting reduction in pension credit expenditure.