§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many separate claims have been made for (a) housing benefit and (b) supplementary housing benefit, housing allowance and rent and rates rebates during 1979, 1980 and the latest date for which figures are available.
§ Dr. BoysonNo information is held centrally about the number of claims made. However, we estimate that about 6.9 million households are receiving help through housing benefit.