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Dept for Work and Pensions

Answer

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the real growth in spending by his Department between 1997 and 2002 on (a) housing benefit, (b) council tax benefit, (c) pensions, (d) disability benefits, (e) child benefits and (f) unemployment related benefits; and if he will make a statement. [97352] Malcolm Wicks: The information is in the table. It shows the Government is spending less on the costs of unemployment--so that the annual bill is now around £5 billion lower than in 1996-97. This allows the Government to continue to invest with confidence in the key priorities--pensioners and families. Total change in expenditure in real terms, Great Britain, financial years 1996-97 to 2001-02 Percentage _________________________________________________________________________________________________. DWP Annually Managed Total Benefit Expenditure Expenditure (a) Housing Benefit -7.0 -12.7 (b) Council Tax Benefit 2.3 2.2 (c) Pensions 16.5 16.5 (d) Disability Benefits 23.2 23.2 (e) Child Benefits Including Family Credit/ 3.3 3.3 Disability Working Allowance Excluding Family Credit/ 14.3 14.3 Disability Working Allowance (f) Unemployment-related benefits N/A -57.9 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Notes and definitions: (a), (b) and (f): Second column includes Housing and Council Tax Benefit expenditure financed within local authorities' Housing Revenue Accounts and general funds. (c) Includes Retirement Pension and equivalent benefits for people over pension age, Minimum Income Guarantee, Winter Fuel Payments and Over 75 TV Licences. Expenditure on Over 75 TV Licences includes Northern Ireland. (d) Includes Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Invalid Care Allowance, Independent Living Funds and Vaccine Damage Payments. (e) Includes Child Benefit (including Lone Parent addition), Guardian's Allowance and Child's Special Allowance, child- related elements of Income Support, Jobseeker's Allowance, Family Credit and Disability Working Allowance (unless otherwise stated). (f) Includes Jobseeker's Allowance, Unemployment Benefit, and Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit for the unemployed. Some expenditure in this category will also be included in (a), (b) and (e). Information on DWP AME is not available for this category because the data that is used to identify unemployed people in receipt of Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Benefit does not show whether their benefit is funded by DWP, or from the other sources of funding for these benefits (local authorities' Housing Revenue Accounts and general funds). Source: Departmental Accounts and estimated outturn underlying the Pre-Budget 2002 forecasts.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

97352; 403 c229-30W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Council tax benefits Disability Child benefit Disability working allowance Housing benefit Expenditure Pensions Social security benefits

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

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