§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will provide a breakdown of the number of those in receipt of supplementary benefit in Glasgow in each of the past five years by the following classifications: (a) sick and disabled, (b) single-parent families, (c) registered unemployed, (d) unemployed on long-term scale rate, (e) pensioners and (f) others;
(2) if he will publish in the Official Report the percentage increase in supplementary benefit claims in (a) Glasgow and (b) Scotland in each of the past five years.
§ Dr. BoysonThe number of cases in action in Glasgow in the required classifications, together with the percentage increase in supplementary benefit claims in Glasgow and Scotland in each of the past five years from December 1979 to December 1983 were as follows:
Thousands 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 GLASGOW Sick and disabled 3.1 3.2 7.1 7.5 8.0 Single parents 8.9 9.2 10.5 12.0 13.4 Registered unemployed 25.0 31.9 45.4 51.8 54.2 Unemployed on long-term scale rate * * 0.9 1.4 2.9 Pensioners 38.2 37.7 36.2 37.3 35.7 Others 7.4 7.5 3.9 6.0 7.5 Percentage increase Glasgow 7 8 17 10 5 Scotland 7 9 20 14 5 Source: 100 per cent. count of cases in action.
Note: * Records not available.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report the number of people in (a) Glasgow and (b) Scotland who have income levels (i) below supplementary benefit level, (ii) at supplementary benefit level and (iii) up to 40 per cent. above supplementary benefit level; and if he will also express these numbers as percentages of the populations of Glasgow and Scotland.
§ Dr. BoysonI regret that no separate information is available about Glasgow. Available data relating to Scotland are being analysed and we will provide the information requested as soon as we can.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how the income of families with two children on supplementary benefit compares with the average weekly expenditure, excluding housing, of two-child families in (a) Scotland and (b) the United Kingdom, in each of the past five years;
(2) how the income of (a) a single person and (b) a married couple on supplementary benefit compares with average male earnings in (i) Strathclyde and (ii) Scotland, in each of the past five years.
§ Dr. BoysonInformation about the average income of families on supplementary benefit in each of the past five years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. It would need to take account not just of the supplementary benefit scale rates (which could be at the ordinary or the long-term rate, and, in the case of a family with children, would vary with the age of the children) but also the 667W average amounts of additional requirements payable and of other income received. The information requested could not in any event be obtained for Strathclyde.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many supplementary benefit claimants in Glasgow and Scotland are dependent upon commercial boarding, whether in district council lodging houses, in private sector lodging houses or in bed and breakfast accommodation.
§ Dr. BoysonIt is estimated that at December 1982, the latest date for which information is available, there were 8,000 supplementary benefit claimants in commercial board and lodging accommodation, other than residential care homes and nursing homes, in Scotland. Separate figures are not available for Glasgow.
§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what specific factors he takes into account when determining deductions to be made in supplementary benefit payments to claimants who receive higher school bursaries.
§ Dr. BoysonUnder Regulations 11(4)(e) of the Supplementary Benefit (Resources) Regulations 1981, the first £7.50 of such bursaries, in the case of those attending school, and £9.50 in all other cases, is disregarded in
Numbers and percentages of legal abortions at durations of gestation and totals by category of premises, statutory grounds and age of women Residents and Non Residents of England and Wales. 1980 Residents Non-Residents 20–23 weeks 24 weeks and over Total (all gestation) 20–23 weeks 24 weeks and over Total (all gestation) No. per cent.2 No. per cent. No. per cent. No. per cent. No. per cent. No. per cent. Total 1,853 1.44 381 0.30 128,927 100 1,187 3.71 232 0.73 31,976 100 Category of premises NHS premises 704 1.16 159 0.26 60,594 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Approved premises 1,149 1.68 222 0.32 68,333 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Statutory grounds* 1 (with others) 8 1.18 5 0.74 680 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 2 1,444 1.31 280 0.25 110,294 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 3 (with 2) 137 0.85 30 0.19 16,046 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 4 (with 2 and/or 3) 263 13.84 62 3.26 1,900 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 5 and 6 1 14.29 4 57.14 7 100 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. Age of women Under 16 116 3.18 27 0.74 3,650 100 62 12.58 20 4.06 493 100 16–19 671 2.10 120 0.38 31,878 100 370 7.06 78 1.49 5,242 100 20–24 477 1.44 108 0.33 33,014 100 409 3.84 71 0.67 10,662 100 25–29 271 1.23 61 0.28 22,042 100 185 2.65 30 0.43 6,978 100 30–34 138 0.71 34 0.18 19,419 100 91 1.99 23 0.50 4,575 100 35–39 97 0.76 20 0.16 12,730 100 36 1.29 2 0.07 2,781 100 40–44 68 1.28 9 0.17 5,307 100 26 2.53 5 0.49 1,028 100 45 and over 10 1.83 1 0.18 547 100 8 5.88 3 2.21 136 100 Not state[...] age 5 1.47 1 0.29 340 100 — — — — 81 100 668W
Numbers and percentages of legal abortions at durations of gestation and totals by category of premises, statutory grounds and age of women Residents and Non Residents of England and Wales. 1981 Residents Non-Residents 20–23 weeks 24 weeks and over Total (all gestation) 20–25 weeks 24 weeks and over Total (all gestation) No. per cent. No. per cent. No. per cent. No. per cent. No. per cent. No. per cent. Total 1,480 1.15 235 0.18 128,581 100 1,621 4.78 183 0.54 33,899 100 Category of premises NHS premises 517 0.85 77 0.13 61,103 100 — — — — — — Approved premises 963 1.43 158 0.23 67,478 100 1,621 4.78 183 0.54 33,899 100 Statutory grounds* 1 (with others) 11 1.46 5 0.66 752 100 1 2.63 — — 38 100 2 1,129 1.04 164 0.15 108,100 100 1,589 5.10 175 0.56 31,150 100 3 (with/without 2) 84 0.47 14 0.08 17,897 100 26 1.03 7 0.28 2,515 100 4 (with any except 1) 253 13.92 52 2.86 1,818 100 5 2.55 1 0.51 196 100 assessing claimant's income. Any amount in excess of these sums is taken into account in full, and the benefit payment adjusted accordingly.
The disregards apply to both higher school bursaries and the equivalent discretionary awards payable in England and Wales. They are designed to recognise that a proportion of any such payment will be intended to meet educational needs for which supplementary benefit makes no provision, but at the same time to avoid the double provision for daily living expenses which a total disregard would entail.