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Dept of Social Security

Answer

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single parents in (a) 1970, (b) 1980 and (c) 1999 were in receipt of social security benefits, excluding child benefit or its equivalent; and what was (i) the cost of such benefits and (ii) the proportion of the total social security budget which they constituted in each of these years. [117534] Angela Eagle: The information is in the table. Number of claimants _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1970 1980 1999 Benefit: Income Support (Supplementary 191,000 316,000 {1}1,030,000 Benefit in 1970 and 1980) Jobseeker's Allowance (Income n/a n/a 14,000 based) Housing Benefit{2} n/a n/a 1,016,000 Family Credit (Family Income 15,000 52,000 {3}405,000 Supplement in 1971 and 1980) Widowed Mothers Allowance{4} 100,000 79,000 47,000 Annual cost {5} (£ billion) 1.1 £1.4 9.1 Proportion of DSS budget 3 3 9 (percentage) _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} This is the number of "single Income Support claimants with dependants". Therefore this figure includes some who are claiming Income Support (IS) due to disability or being over pension age as well as those claiming IS due to being a lone parent. {2} Figures for Housing Benefit are for 1998. The current Housing Benefit scheme was introduced in 1988. Prior to 1988 figures were not collected separately for lone parents and so they have not been included in the table. {3} Figures for Family Income Supplement are for 1971 and 1980. Figures for Family Credit (FC) only go up to September 1999. From October 1999, FC was replaced by Working Families Tax Credit. {4} Figures for Widowed Mothers Allowance (WMA) are for December 1971, November 1981 and March 1999. {5} The expenditure figures are given in real 1999-2000 prices. They are based on 1970-71, 1980-81 and 1999-2000 with the following exceptions: WMA is based on 1971-72 and 1981-82. FIS is based on 1981-82 and FC refers to 1998-99 (ie the last full year of FC). Therefore the proportion of expenditure for 1970-71, 1980-81 and 1999-2000 are approximate figures. Notes: 1. Estimates of the numbers on benefit are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. scans of benefit computer systems. These scans select 1 per cent. or 5 per cent. of the relevant cases and so are subject to some degree of sampling error. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. 3. Some lone parents will be in receipt of other benefits such as IB, SDA or Industrial Injuries Benefit. We have not included them in this table, as we cannot separately identify lone parents on the computer systems for these benefits. 4. Figures cannot be added together as some cases will be in receipt of more than one of these benefits. Sources: 1. Income Support: Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999. 2. Supplementary Benefit: Supplementary Benefit Annual Statistical Enquiries. 3. JSA (IB): Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999. 4. Family Credit: Family Credit Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, August 1999. 5. Widowed Mothers Allowance: 5 per cent. sample of Pension Strategy Computer System, March 1999. 6. Housing Benefit: Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample inquiry, taken as at the second Thursday of May 1998.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

348 c140W; 117534

Session

1999-00

Subjects

Costs Bereavement benefits Housing benefit Jobseeker's allowance Income support Family credit Recipients Lone parents Social security benefits Widowed people

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk