Written question asked by Malcolm Chisholm (Labour) on Wednesday, 7 July 1999, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 15 July 1999. It was answered by Hugh Bayley (Labour) on Thursday, 15 July 1999 on behalf of the Department of Social Security.

Dept of Social Security

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, what estimate he has made of the proportion of current recipients of incapacity benefit who would not have met the contributions conditions proposed in the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill.

Answer: Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of the proportion of current recipients of Incapacity Benefit who would not have met the contributions conditions proposed in the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill. [90768] Mr. Bayley: Since existing Incapacity Benefit recipients will not be affected by the proposed new contribution conditions, no estimate has been made of the proportion of all current recipients who would have failed to meet those conditions. However, available data suggests that around 10 per cent. of recent awards of Incapacity Benefit would not have been made under the proposed contribution conditions.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 90768; 335 c300W;335 c302W
Session: 1998-99
Subjects: Eligibility Incapacity benefit National insurance contributions Recipients