Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Department for Work and Pensions press release entitled Hundreds of thousands of pensioners urged to check they're not missing out on vital Pension Credit, published on 13 October 2026, what estimate has been made of the number of pensioners eligible for Pension Credit but not receiving it in (a) Basildon, (b) Thurrock, and (c) Essex as a whole.

The latest published estimates show that in 2023 to 2024, in Basildon, there were 2,000 households that were potentially eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming, 1,600 households in Thurrock, and 24,900 in Essex. Household numbers have been rounded to the nearest 1,000.

The following Local Authorities have been included in the Essex estimate: Basildon, Braintree, Brentwood, Castle Point, Chelmsford, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Maldon, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, Tendring, Thurrock and Uttlesford.

These figures are sourced from the Department's Households potentially eligible for Pension Credit, 2023 to 2024 - GOV.UK ad hoc statistical publication, which provides analysis of households potentially eligible for, but not claiming, Pension Credit at sub-national and local authority level.

It is important to note that these figures are not directly comparable with the current published estimates of take-up in the official statistics. The official statistics estimates entitlement for a benefit unit to Pension Credit on the day the interview took place. Whereas the ad-hoc statistics look at entitlement for a household across the full financial year (2023 to 2024), so will result in a greater number of those estimated to be entitled to Pension Credit, than in the official statistics.

The next release of the Pension Credit take-up statistics for Great Britain FYE 2025 are due to be published on 22 October 2026: Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up - GOV.UK.