§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims for income support were dealt with in(a) 1994–95 and (b) 1995–96 in (i) Calderdale, (ii) Kirklees and (iii) Bradford; how many of those claims were refused because the applicant was considered not habitually resident in the United Kingdom; what the nationality of those applicants was; how many of those which were refused (a) on the grounds of not being habitually resident and (b) for other reasons went on to appeal; and how many of those appeals were successful. [6819]
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§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of income support is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mrs. Alice Mahon, dated 4 December 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many claims for Income Support (IS) were dealt wit in (a) 1994–95 and (b) 1995–96 in (i) Calderdale, (ii) Kirkless and (iii) Bradford; how many of those claims were refused because the applicant was considered not habitually resident in the United Kingdom; what the nationality of the applicant was; how many of those which were refused went on to appeal; and how many of those appeals were successful.The information is not available in the format requested. Benefits Agency (BA) Districts were not required to maintain Habitual Residence Test statistics prior to October 1994.Statistics are not kept which relate to the number of customers who failed the Habitual Residence Test and appealed; nor how many of those appeals were successful.Statistics on Habitual Residence Test are collated which relate to the number of IS claims processed and the number of applicants who failed the test. The nationality of customers is not recorded but a breakdown of citizenship by United Kingdom (UK), European Economic Area (EEA) and others is maintained. This information is in the attached table.I hope you find this reply helpful.
Districts Subjects 1994–95 1995–96 Bradford IS Claims processed 30,103 30,418 HRT failures—EEA citizens 123 29 HRT failures—UK citizens 147 101 HRT failures—Other citizens 146 77 Kirklees IS Claims processed 28,594 28,207 HRT failures—EEA citizens 13 14 HRT failures—UK citizens 121 48 HRT failures—Other citizens 15 16 Yorkshire IS Claims processed 26,071 25,846 Pennine HRT failures—EEA citizens 17 6 HRT failures—UK citizens 120 79 HRT failures—Other citizens 112 12 Figures are provisional and subject to change. 1BA districts were not required to maintain habitual residence test statistics prior to October 1994. Bradford district includes the offices of Bradford East, Bradford South and Bradford West. Kirklees district includes the offices of Dewsbury and Huddersfield. Yorkshire Pennine district, which covers the Calderdale area, includes the offices of Halifax, Keighley and Skipton.