Pension Credit Lynne Featherstone To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 5 July 2006, Official Report, column 1171W, on pension credit, why production of the pension credit wallets ceased. James Purnell Production of the pension credit plastic wallets ceased because there was sufficient stock to meet likely demand. Julia Goldsworthy To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether all pensioners are entitled to have their pension credit paid into a Post Office card account. Mr. Plaskitt Pensioners who satisfy the terms and conditions set by Post Office Ltd. for opening a Post Office card account can have their pension credit payments made this way. In order for pensioners to make an informed choice about the type of account they should have their pension credit paid into, they are being advised that the contract which supports the Post Office card account ends in March 2010 and that if they choose to be paid into a Post Office card account now, they will need to switch to a different type of account at some point in the next few years. Jim Cousins To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individual beneficiaries of pension credit there were in each ward of Newcastle upon Tyne in November (a) 2003, (b) 2004 and (c) 2005; and what the average weekly payment was in each case. James Purnell The information requested is in the following table. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |November 2003 |November 2004 |November 2005 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Ward name |Individual beneficiaries|Average weekly payments (£)|Individual beneficiaries|Average weekly payments (£)|Individual beneficiaries|Average weekly payments (£)| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Blakelaw |850 |38.68 |1,030 |38.93|1,050|39.34| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Fenham |775 |39.28 |955 |37.92|970|39.68| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Jesmond |275 |42.18 |305 |44.32|300|43.37| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Kenton |635 |43.28 |770 |41.10|770|42.37| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Moorside |630 |47.01 |735 |44.38|740|47.66| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Sandyford |660 |43.46 |775 |40.64|770|43.58| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |South Gosforth |245 |40.24 |290 |38.41|305|38.04| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Wingrove |400 |49.20 |470 |48.29|520|48.44| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central constituency total |4,440 |42.80 |5,300 |41.30|5,380|42.76| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Notes:1. The number of recipients are rounded to a multiple of five and average payments to the nearest penny therefore ward totals do not always sum to area totals.2. Wards are based on 2003 ward boundaries.3. The number of individual beneficiaries includes both claimants and their partners.Source:DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) 100 per cent. data.| | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------