Oral Answers to Questions — Duchy of Lancaster – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 18 June 2008.
What steps the social exclusion task force is taking to assess the effects of pensioner poverty on levels of social exclusion.
Pensioner poverty and social exclusion are closely linked, which is why measures such as the pension credit and the winter fuel allowance are so important. Together, the measures taken by this Government have taken 900,000 pensioners out of relative poverty since 1998 and increased the incomes of the poorest 20 per cent. of pensioners by about a third in real terms over that period.
Just why in the last financial year for which records are available have 300,000 more pensioners been found in households on low income? How does that help social exclusion?
The figures did go up, which is disappointing, but the figures fluctuate from year to year. What I would say to the right hon. Gentleman is that pensioner poverty has gone down, as I said in my answer, by 900,000 since this Government came to power. Why? It has gone down because of the pension credit, which was opposed by the Conservative party; it has gone down because of the minimum income guarantee, which was opposed by the Conservative party; it has gone down because of the winter fuel allowance, which was opposed by the Conservative party. It is only this Government who can take forward plans to keep tackling pensioner poverty in this country.