§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will set out in tabular form the number of(a) claimants and (b) dependants claiming housing benefit; and if he will give comparable data on the numbers claiming at the introduction of the scheme.
§ Mr. ScottHousing benefit was fully introduced in April 1983. The number of people receiving housing benefit in the autumn of 1983 was 6,970,000, and in the autumn of 1986 was 7,180,000. We do not collect centrally the number of dependants.