§ Mr. Canavanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many school leavers have been disqualified from receiving supplementary benefit as a result of legislation or regulations introduced by the present Government.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Mr. Foster) on 20 May.—[Vol. 5, c.94.]
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claimants there are of supplementary benefit (i) now and (ii) in each of the last 12 months; what was the percentage change in each case; and in each case how many and what percentage of claimants are unemployed in (a) Great Britain and (b) Cambridgeshire.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe information is available only on a quarterly basis, and relates not to Cambridgeshire as such but to the areas covered by the two social security offices situated in Cambridgeshire, viz Cambridge and Peterborough.
Following is the information for each quarter from February 1980 to February 1981:
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(f) * (g) (h) (i) (e) Quarter ended AH Supplementary Benefit recipients (Thousands) Percentage change in (g) from previous quarter Unemployed Supp. Benefit recipients (Thousands) Column (i) as a percentage of column (g) August 1980 24.1 +12.0 7.1 30 December 1980 23.5 -2.4 6.7 28 February 1981 24.8 +5.5 7.8 31 Source: 100 per cent, count * Note: The Cambridge and Peterborough figures in fact include some cases in which no benefit payment was made in the week to which the count relates. The Great Britain figures do not include such cases, and so the two sets of figures are not directly comparable. However, the difference is not very significant.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary for State for Social Services if he will give the total figures for those now receiving supplementary benefit in the borough of Walsall; if he will state the increase in numbers since May 1979; what were the reasons for the increase; and if he will give separately the figures for those who are retired.
§ Mrs. ChalkerInformation is not available in respect of the borough of Walsall. The information which is available relates to the areas covered by the two social security offices situated in Walsall, which may include people resident outside the borough. The latest date for which information is available is February 1981. Following is the information:
Alt Supplementary Benefit recipients (Thousands) Supplementary Benefit recipients over pension age (Thousands) May 1979 15.6 9.2 February 1981 19.5 9.5 Percentage change +2.5 +3 Source: Supplementary Benefit Quarterly Enquiry.
The main reason for the overall increase of 25 per cent. was an increase of 117 per cent. in the number of unemployed recipients of supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will study the letter sent to him by the Dundee Association for Social Services on social security benefits for school leavers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI have read the circular letter from the Dundee Association for Social Services. I explained the background to the new rules during the Adjournment debate on 11 December 1980.—[Vol. 996, c. 1857–68.] Where the family is receiving supplementary benefit, there is no net financial loss for the family as a whole arising from the new rules for school leavers. All families remain entitled to child benefit in the period of deferment. If valid evidence arises which appears to indicate that the new rules have had negative consequences, we will review the change.