§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people in Scotland are receiving supplementary benefit; and what are the comparative 489W figures for the same time in each of the last 10 years.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe information in the following table relates to May, or thereabouts, of each year as that is the most recent month in the current year for which the available figures are unlikely to have been affected by seasonal distortion.
Year Number of recipients of supplementary benefit (Thousands) 1969 283 1970 285 1971 316 1972 326 1973 (a) 315 1974 292 1975 267 1976 283 1977 296 1978 (b) 290 1979 285 Notes (a) Prior to May 1973 the figures included some unemployment claimants who received no supplementary benefit during the week preceding the count. (b) Figures after May 1977 are not directly comparable with earlier figures due to a change in the method of estimation.