§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make an estimate of how many individuals(a) receive means-tested benefits, (b) receive means-tested benefits and pay income tax, (c) receive means-tested benefits and pay national insurance contributions; how many individuals would cease to be eligible for means-tested benefits if they no longer paid income tax or national insurance contributions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Roger EvansIt is estimated that 8.53 million people were in receipt of an income-related benefit at May 1993, the latest date for which figures are available for all benefits.
An adjustment has been made to take account of the fact that individuals may be in receipt of more than one income-related benefit at the same time. Such adjustment does, however, not produce reliable estimates of the number who also pay tax and national insurance contributions or whose eligibility would cease if no tax or national insurance contributions were paid. The table therefore provides this information separately for each income-related benefit.
603W
Income-related benefit recipients paying tax and National Insurance Recipients paying tax (000s)3 Recipients paying National Insurance (000s)3 Recipients who cease to be eligible if tax and NI not payable (000s)4 Income support 20 10 0 Family credit 340 455 80 Housing benefit 580 355 160 Council tax benefit 520 225 85 Disability working allowance * 5 — Notes:
1 All estimates are on a benefit unit basis.
2 Estimates are rounded to the nearest 5,000 (* indicates a figure less than 2,500).
3 Estimates for Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit are based on data from the 1990, 1991 and 1992 Family Expenditure Surveys, uprated to 1994–95 benefit levels and prices. Estimates for Family Credit are based on the 1994 Family Credit Enquiry. Estimates for Disability Working Allowance are based on the 1994 Disability Working Allowance Enquiry.
4 All estimates are based on data from the 1990, 1991 and 1992 Family Expenditure Surveys, uprated to 1994–95 benefit levels and prices. Insufficient information is available on Disability Working Allowance for an estimate to be made.
5 Columns cannot be totalled because of the various overlaps between the benefits.