§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims for social security benefits are made in any one year; and if he will present this figure as a percentage of the total population.
§ Mrs. ChalkerIn 1978 a total of 25.9 million claims for social security benefits were made. This figure includes all the cash benefits and pensions for which my Department is responsible. It would, however, be misleading to present the 119W total number of claims as a percentage of the population because many people claimed more than one benefit in 1978 or made repeat claims for the same benefit. Moreover, the claims made often included dependants of the claimant.