§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report figures giving details of the number of claimants and number of dependants in (a) Birkenhead and (b) England and Wales claiming supplementary benefit in May 1979 and at the latest available date; and if he will break down the information to show whether the claimant is (i) over retirement age, (ii) unemployed, (iii) sick, (iv) a single-parent family and (v) in any other category.
§ Mr. NewtonInformation is not available in the form requested. However table 1 shows the numbers claiming in England and Wales, and from the two local offices in Birkenhead, which may include people who live outside Birkenhead itself. Available information about the number of dependants is given in table 2.
recipients whose entitlement arose before 15 March 1982 and who have chosen to continue on weekly payment are not available, but breakdown by region of all recipients is as follows:
Child benefit recipients receiving payment weekly Postal Region Number Percentage within region London 550,000 56 Eastern 406,000 65 Midlands 773,000 72 North Eastern 798,000 76 North Western 648,000 75 South Western 424,000 70 South Eastern 416,000 68 Scotland 415,000 62 Wales 319,000 71 Overall 4,749,000 65