HL Deb 03 February 1982 vol 426 cc1391-2WA
Baroness Faithfull

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will bring up to date the Parliamentary Answer showing the number of people drawing means-tested benefits (Official Report, 10th June 1980, cols. 422–424) by giving the comparable figures for 1979 and 1980, and 1981 where these are available.

Lord Elton

The information requested is shown in the table below. Comparable figures for 1981 are not yet available. It is not of course possible to add these figures together because some individuals receive more than one benefit.

NUMBERS OF PEOPLE RECEIVING CERTAIN MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS IN GREAT BRITAIN, 1974–1980
Thousands
1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980
Supplementary Benefit (1)
No. of claimants … … 2,680 2,793 2,940 2,991 2,932 2,855 3,118
No. of wives … … … 538 564 614 611 584 561 621
No. of children … … 874 1,078 1,172 1,156 1,082 955 1,125
All claimants and dependants 4,092 4,434 4,725 4,759 4,598 4,370 4,863
Family income supplement (2)
No. of claimants … … 70 60 77 89 81 81 97
No. of wives … … … 32 28 42 51 44 36 44
No. of children … … 161 135 176 205 183 177 208
All claimants and dependants 261 223 295 345 308 294 349
Rent rebates and allowances (3)
No. of rebates … … 2,087 2,160 2,382 2,423 2,322 2,344 2,408
No. of allowances … … 333 400 616 614 565 540 543
Rate rebates(4)
No. of rebates … … 2,630 2,930 3,020 3,090 2,987 3,060 3,360
Free school meals (5)
No. of children receiving free school meals:
in England and Wales … 750 784 839 997 1,159 968 780
in Scotland … … … 130 122 117 118 156 143 123
in Great Britain … … 880 906 956 1,115 1,315 1,111 903

Notes:

(1) Supplementary Benefit: source—supplementary benefit annual statistical inquiry in November or December each year.

(2) Family income supplement: source—10 per cent, statistical sample at December of each year.

(3) Rent rebates and allowances: source—Department of the Environment, relating to October of each year. The figures include supplementary benefit recipients who received direct rebates and allowances up to 31st March 1974 and, except for recipients in Scotland from 1978, indirect rebates and allowances since that date. Estimates of family composition are not available.

(4) Rate rebate: source—Department of the Environment, relating to financial year beginning April of each year. The estimates are for the number of households receiving a rate rebate and include those few who may be receiving supplementary benefit for a short-term transitional period. The Scottish rating revaluation in 1978 resulted in a shift of the rate burden from the domestic sector to the industrial sector. Estimates of family composition are not available.

(5) Free school meals: source—Department of Education and Science census at October of each year in respect of England and Wales; Scottish Education Department census at January of each year in respect of Scotland. The figures are for numbers of children receiving free school meals at the stated dates in maintained schools; estimates of family composition are not available.

(6) All figures relate to Great Britain except where explicitly stated to the contrary and are rounded to the nearest thousand. Because of rounding component figures may not add up to the total.

House adjourned at sixteen minutes past ten o'clock.