§ Mr. Peter Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in the Official Report the number of claimants who had their supplementary benefit (a) reduced or (b) withdrawn, on the grounds that they had left, lost or refused work without good cause for each year since 1974.
§ Mr. OrmeFollowing is the available information:
SUPPLEMENTARY ALLOWANCE REDUCED Year Number of Claimants Affected 1974 … … … 22,000 1975 … … … 26,000 Note: These figures are obtained from the Annual Special Enquiry and relate to one particular day in each year.
SUPPLEMENTARY ALLOWANCE REFUSED OR WITHDRAWN Year Number of Claimants Affected 1974 … … … 5,494 1975 … … … 4,262 1976 … … … 2,352 Note: These figures include a small number of cases where supplementary allowances were withdrawn for other reasons.
§ Mr. Gerry Fowlerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of the estimated adult population were in receipt of supplementary benefit in the month of December 1976 in the designated area of Telford New Town and in the Metropolitan borough of Birmingham, respectively.
§ Mr. OrmeI regret the information is not available. It is estimated that in May 1975, to which the latest population figures refer, about 6½ per cent. of the total population of Birmingham were receiving supplementary benefits, but the number of their dependants is not available. A corresponding estimate for Telford New Town is not possible as the area administered by the Telford office extends well outside the town.