Pensioner Poverty
Work and Pensions
Chris Ruane (PPS (Rt Hon Peter Hain, Secretary of State), Office of the Secretary of State for Wales; Vale of Clwyd, Labour)
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of pensioners have lived in poverty in each region in each of the last 20 years, broken down by constituency.
James Purnell (Minister of State (Pensions Reform), Department for Work and Pensions; Stalybridge and Hyde, Labour)
Specific information regarding low income for Great Britain is available in "Households Below Average Income 1994/95-2004/05". The threshold of below 60 per cent. contemporary median income is the most commonly used in reporting trends in low income.
The data source does not allow us to provide robust estimates below the level of Government office region. There is no suitable data source for years prior to 1994-95.
The number and percentage of pensioners in households with low incomes, by Government office regions, Scotland and Wales over the period 1994-95 to 2004-05, are presented in tables 1 and 2.
| Table 1: Number of pensioners survey | |||||||||
| Million | |||||||||
| Three-year averages | |||||||||
| 1994-95 to 1996-97 | 1995-96 to 1997-98 | 1996-97 to 1998-99 | 1997-98 to 1998-99 | 1998-99 to 2000-01 | 1999-2000 to 2001-02 | 2000-01 to 2002-03 | 2001-02 to 2003-04 | 2002-03 to 2004-05 | |
| North East | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.12 | 0.11 | 0.10 | 0.08 |
| North West and Merseyside | 0.31 | 0.32 | 0.33 | 0.32 | 0.30 | 0.28 | 0.27 | 0.26 | 0.24 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 0.25 | 0.26 | 0.27 | 0.27 | 0.26 | 0.24 | 0.21 | 0.19 | 0.17 |
| East Midlands | 0.19 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.19 | 0.19 | 0.18 | 0.17 |
| West Midlands | 0.22 | 0.25 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.25 | 0.23 | 0.21 |
| Eastern | 0.29 | 0.25 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.22 | 0.21 |
| London | 0.29 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.29 | 0.28 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.21 |
| South East | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 0.31 | 0.30 | 0.29 | 0.27 |
| South West | 0.25 | 0.27 | 0.27 | 0.26 | 0.25 | 0.24 | 0.23 | 0.21 | 0.19 |
| Wales | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.13 | 0.13 | 0.12 | 0.12 | 0.10 |
| Scotland | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.24 | 0.22 | 0.22 | 0.21 | 0.19 | 0.18 | 0.17 |
| Notes: 1. Numbers are provided using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 2. Table shows number of pensioners in millions rounded to the nearest 10,000. 3. In this answer low income is determined for individuals as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the GB median. Source: Family Resources. | |||||||||
| Table 2: Percentage of pensioners survey | |||||||||
| Three-year averages | |||||||||
| 1994-95 to 1996-97 | 1995-96 to 1997-98 | 1996-97 to 1998-99 | 1997-98 to 1998-99 | 1998-99 to 2000-01 | 1999-2000 to 2001-02 | 2000-01 to 2002-03 | 2001-02 to 2003-04 | 2002-03 to 2004-05 | |
| North East | 31 | 31 | 30 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 20 | 18 |
| North West and Merseyside | 26 | 26 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 20 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 29 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 24 | 22 | 19 |
| East Midlands | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 22 |
| West Midlands | 27 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
| Eastern | 28 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
| London | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 28 | 28 | 25 | 24 | 21 |
| South East | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 18 |
| South West | 26 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 18 |
| Wales | 24 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 18 |
| Scotland | 28 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| Notes: 1. Percentages are provided using a three-year moving average, as single-year estimates do not provide a robust guide to year-on-year changes. Hence, figures are not consistent with any previously published single-year estimates and there may be differences in changes over time. In circumstances such as a change in trend, moving averages will show less variation than single-year estimates. 2. In this answer low income is determined for individuals as living in households with incomes below 60 per cent. of the GB median. Source: Family Resources. | |||||||||