§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many, and what proportion, of supplementary benefit and income support claimants in Great Britain were in receipt of benefit because they were unemployed for each year since 1979.
§ Mr. JackThe information available for the period is in the table: 79W
Year Total number of supplementary benefit/income support claimants thousands Number of supplementary benefit/income support claimants who were unemployed thousands Proportion of supplementary benefit/income support claimants who were unemployed 1979 2,855 566 1 in 5.04 1980 3,118 854 1 in 3.65 1981 3,723 1,318 1 in 2.82 1982 4,267 1,722 1 in 2.48 1983 4,349 1,826 1 in 2.38 1984 4,609 1,953 1 in 2.36 1986 4,938 2,121 1 in 2.33 1987 4,896 1,957 1 in 2.50 1988 4,352 1,511 1 in 2.88 1989 4,161 1,216 1 in 3.42 1990 4,180 1,063 1 in 3.93 Note: Figures for claimants have been rounded to the nearest thousand.