§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people were in receipt of income support in Pendle for each year since 1987.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Mr. Michael Bichard to Mr. Gordon Prentice, dated 12 November 1992.
997WAs Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency, it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to the points raised in your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking how many people were in receipt of Income Support in Pendle for each year since 1987.The complete range of information is not available except at a disproportionate cost. This is because statistics of a local nature are destroyed at regular intervals in accordance with standing instructions and the information which is available provides only a snapshot rather than the number of customers in a given period.I have listed below the information which is available. The figures quoted are from offices in Burnley and Rossendale which make up the Agency's Burnley, Pendle & Rossendale District. The District boundaries do not, however, correspond with those of the Pendle constituency and it is not possible to break these figures down further. The figures have been supplied by the Income Support Management Information System.
Current Income Support Claims (year ending) Numbers August 1989 18,679 August 1990 19,158 August 1991 20,888 August 1992 22,654 I hope you find this reply helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report. Copies are also being placed in the Library.