How many pensioners in Waveney Constituency are in receipt of pension credit.

Our latest estimates show that in November 2006 there were 6,130 households—7,810 individuals—in the parliamentary Constituency of Waveney receiving pension credit. Across Great Britain, there were 2.7 million households—3.3 million individuals—receiving pension credit. This is nearly 1 million more than received the minimum income guarantee that preceded it.

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Has he estimated how much extra money per annum those figures amount to in terms of what comes into the Waveney Constituency? It strikes me that it is not just good news for pensioners, but good news for the local economy in which my constituents spend their money. They remember the time when there was no such thing as pension credit.

The average amount that people get from pension credit is just under £50 a week. A quick off-the-top-of-the-head calculation would suggest that about £13 million a year goes into the Waveney Constituency from pension credit—a measure that was opposed by the Conservatives and was described last week by their front bench as a cancer.