The information requested on the number of claims is not available. Most customers do not need to claim the winter fuel payment as the majority of payments are sent out automatically by the Department.
The number of payments made for winters 2007-08 and 2008-09 (the last winter for which information is available) is in the following table:
Number of customers aged: Number of customers aged: 60-79 years 80 and over 60-79 years 80 and over Jarrow 13,990 3,420 14,170 3,550 South Tyneside 25,490 6,580 25,880 6,720 North East 434,660 99,800 443,830 101,770 Great Britain1 9,664,550 2,424,190 9,886,690 2,470,690 1 Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office. Notes: 1. Households with those aged 60-79 received £250 and those aged 80 and over received £400. These payments were shared between qualifying individuals in each household. 2. Payment figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million. 4. Parliamentary constituencies are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.