§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the changes since 1979, and the dates when they occurred (i) in the conditions of entitlement to supplementary benefit and income support of persons aged 19 years in non-advanced education and (ii) in the circumstances in which extra-statutory payments in lieu of benefit can be made to such persons.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[pursuant to his reply, 23 January 1989, c.415–17]: I regret the answer was incomplete. I should add that from 11 April 1988, on the introduction of income support, extra-statutory payments were made in additional circumstances to certain 19-year-olds in full-time education. Payments were available on application to young people of age 19 who either had no parents or were estranged or separated from them, and who had been receiving supplementary benefit on that basis immediately before the introduction of income support. The payments from the transitional payments unit in Glasgow were made at the rate of supplementary benefit previously paid, and continued up to the end of the 1988 school year or age 20, in the same way as supplementary benefit would have done. These special payments relating to the transition from supplementary benefit to income support are not available to young people who reached age 19 on or after 11 April 1988.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of the total population of each standard planning region of the United Kingdom was dependent upon income support or its predecessor benefits in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. Peter LloydI regret that this information could be provided only by social security region and only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are claiming income support in each standard planning region of the United Kingdom; what were the corresponding figures for each year since 1979; and what was the percentage increase over 1979.
§ Mr. Peter LloydInformation about supplementary benefit or income support claimants is not collected by standard planning region. Information by social security region is as follows:
293W
Table 1 Number of claimants in receipt of Supplementary Benefit in a week
in November/December: 1979 to 1981
Thousands Social Security Region 1979 1980 1981 Northern 200 218 255 Yorkshire and Humberside 277 312 374 East Midlands and East Anglia 244 272 324 London North 260 287 346
Social Security Region 1979 1980 1981 London South 294 312 364 London West 218 235 272 South Western 210 221 255 West Midlands 274 312 389 North Western—Manchester 204 226 273 Merseyside 215 233 278 Wales 172 186 221 Scotland 286 304 371
Table 2 Number of claimants in receipt of Supplementary Benefit or Income
Support in a week1: 1982 to 1988
Thousands Social Security Region
1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 19882 North Eastern 692 714 756 794 777 701 London North 660 669 710 774 755 644 London South 579 582 626 680 664 581 Wales and South Western
541 548 582 624 607 545 Midlands 728 732 769 821 818 715 North Western 644 664 698 739 738 670 Wales 253 260 275 291 287 259 Scotland 423 440 468 506 535 499 1 A week in November or December up to 1984, February 1986 and in May 1987. 2 Figures for 1988 are provisional and subject to amendment. Note: Due to the restructuring of the Regional Organisation in 1982 it is not possible to estimate the percentage increase over 1979.
Sources for both tables:
- 1979–1987 Annual Statistical Inquiry.
- 1988 May Quarterly Statistical Inquiry.