§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing, for each month since the transitional payments unit was set up, the number of (a) applications received, (b) inquiry forms issued to local authorities, (c) inquiry forms returned by local authorities, (d) transitional payments assessed, (e) applicants found to have no entitlement to transitional payments, (f) declaration forms issued to applicants, (g) declaration forms returned and (h) Giro cheques issued and their total value.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 27 October 1988]: The table provides statistical information on housing benefit transitional payments, showing the cumulative position on the last working day of each month.
undertaken or sponsored on the impact of the availability of social security benefits on the behaviour of (a) young single parents and (b) married men seeking separation from their wives.
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§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 7 November 1988]: The number of lone parents receiving supplementary benefit increased from 318,000 to 659,000 between 1979 and 1987 (excluding cases of temporary separation and prisoners' wives). The number of unmarried lone parents receiving supplementary benefit increased during this period from 96,000 to 268,000. In contrast the value, in 1987 terms, of the total amount of maintenance payable to claimants has remaind static. Independent research which we have commissioned is exploring the motivations and perceptions of lone parents receiving benefit. We will continue to examine the connections between benefits and behaviour.