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Benefits Uprating

I think that the Minister said in his statement that the Pension Service is encouraging pension credit take-up by visiting pensioners in their own homes. My father, Mr. William Bone—a man of great integrity and a public servant all his life—is a little frail now. A little while ago, he rang me because he was concerned about a telephone call he had received from the Government as they wanted to meet him to investigate his finances. I attended the meeting, which was, of course, about taking up pension credit, and it was fine. I asked the gentleman how many of the people he had visited had actually been able to take up pension credit and he replied, ““Absolutely none””. I am worried that frail, elderly people are concerned about such visits.