Social Security

It is always a mistake to give cast-iron assurances in politics. I am pleased that the hon. Gentleman has so much interest in the next Government, and can give him the cast-iron assurance that it is beyond peradventure that I will not be the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the next Conservative Government. I can assure him that ours will be a Government based on sound finance. Through the order, we are seeing an increase in the council tax benefit received by pensioner households. We welcome any measures that will help pensioners to receive the council tax benefits to which they are entitled. However—the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) touched on this important point—almost 40 per cent. of pensioners who are entitled to council tax benefit do not claim it. Take-up of council tax benefit has fallen by 12 per cent. since 1997, which might interest the hon. Member for West Bromwich, West. The take-up of housing benefit by pensioners has also fallen. The failure to take up benefits, subject to these orders, will have an impact on the lives of pensioners because seven out of 10 pensioners who are entitled to housing benefit but do not claim it are living in relative poverty. That is part of a wider problem of failure to take up benefits and entitlements among pensioner households. Part of the problem lies in the relationship between pensioners and means-tested benefits. The Minister touched on some of the reasons why pensioners do not take up means-tested benefits. Of course, questions relating to pensioners and means-tested benefits have long been recognised. We all know that many pensioners have a certain attitude towards means-tested benefits. As the hon. Member for Newport, West (Paul Flynn) mentioned, other pensioners find it complicated to claim means-tested benefits. The Minister talked about the historical picture. As he was pleased to talk about the 1990s, perhaps he will remember the pledge given by our Prime Minister when he became shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1994. He told the Labour party conference that year:"““I want the next Labour government to achieve what in 50 years of the welfare state has never yet been achieved, the elimination of the massive means testing now imposed on the elderly””." Today, almost half of pensioners—45 per cent.—are subject to means-testing. Whether that is a massive number I shall leave it to others to judge, but it is beyond peradventure that means-testing is very much in evidence in the pension credit system set up by the Government. Once again, there is a serious problem of lack of take-up.