Written question asked by Paul Flynn (Labour) on Monday, 10 April 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 17 April 2000. It was answered by Hugh Bayley (Labour) on Monday, 17 April 2000 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what was the cost of the recent research and pilot projects carried out to ascertain the reasons for pensioners not claiming income support and the most effective ways of promoting take-up. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the cost of the recent research and pilot projects carried out to ascertain the reasons for pensioners not claiming Income Support and the most effective ways of promoting take-up. [118884] Mr. Bayley: The Department carried out an extensive programme of research including surveys and qualitative work. The cost of the research to ascertain the reasons for pensioners not claiming Income Support, and to identify possible ways to increase take-up was £325,000. The costs of running the pilots both at District Office level and centrally were absorbed within existing work loads and no separate costs for this activity have been identified. The evaluation of the pilots, which included analysis of administrative data and a follow-up survey cost £278,063.

Secondary information