HC Deb 30 June 1983 vol 44 cc138-41W
Ms. Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many unemployed claimants have been in receipt of supplementary benefit for over a year; and how many children they were responsible for in total at the latest date available.

Dr. Boyson

Some 622,000 claimants and 480,000 dependent children in December 1982, the latest date for which information is available.

Source: Annual statistical inquiry, December 1982 —provisional figures.

Ms. Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many staff were employed in local offices on supplementary benefit claims on 1 January 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983, respectively.

Mr. Newton

The numbers of staff provided through the Department's complementing system to deal with the regular continuing work relating to supplementary benefit claims on the dates quoted are as follows:

Number
1 January 1979 30,679
1 January 1980 29,124
1 January 1981 31,282
1 January 1982 33,246
1 January 1983 33,214

Ms. Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many appeals were made to supplementary benefit appeal tribunals and how many were heard in each year from 1979 to 1982 inclusive.

Mr. Newton

The information requested is set out in the following table:

Type of Addition Paragraph of schedule 3 of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations under which payment was made Numbers (000s, rounded to the nearest 000)
December 1981 December 1982
Heating—lower rate 1(1), 2(a) 617 621
Heating—higher rate 1(2), 1(3), 2(b) 377 383
Central heating—lower rate 3(a) 357 422
Central heating—higher rate 3(b) 384 492
Amenity charges payable with rent and estate rate heating addition 4, 5 53 18
Disabled persons' heating 6 71 90
Age related heating 7 488 521
Age 8 424 403
Attendance needs 9 * *
Baths 10 1 3
Blindness 11 35 42
Boarding-out fees 12 * *
Diet—lower rate 13(b), (c) 204 222
Diet—higher rate 13(a) 189 195
Diet—dialysis rate 13(d) * 1
Diet—others 13(c) * 2
Domestic assistance 14 5 3
Hire purchase 15 3 2
Hospital fares 16 2 3
Laundry 17 94 94
Special wear and tear on clothing 18 7 10
Storage of furniture 19 * *
* less than 500

Source: Annual statistical inquiries. The figures for 1982 are provisional

Supplementary Benefit Appeal Tribunals
Year Appeals lodged Appeals heard
1979 94,178 50,639
1980 94,481 49,355
1981 108,570 49,864
1982 *129,524 *55,893
* These figures are provisional.

Ms. Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many training courses were run for members of supplementary benefit appeal tribunals in 1980 to 1982 inclusive; and how many training courses are planned for such members in 1983.

Mr. Newton

Approximately 100 training courses have been run by senior chairmen for members of supplementary benefit appeal tribunals from 1 January 1980 to date. No further training courses have been planned, pending the appointment of the president of social security appeal tribunals for the new system of adjudication provided for in the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983.

Ms. Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list by reference to the powers under which they were made the number of supplementary benefit additional requirements payments made to claimants in the years 1981 and 1982.

Dr. Boyson

The additional requirements for which provision is made under the supplementary benefit scheme are listed in schedule 3 of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements) Regulations 1980. The information requested is as follows:

Mr. Campbell-Savours

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will state for those offices covering the Workington travel-to-work area the total number of supplementary benefit appeals registered during the last month for which statistics are available;

(2) if he will state for those offices covering the Workington travel-to-work area the total number of unemployed people claiming supplementary benefit during the last month for which statistics are available and the figures for the comparable month in the previous year;

(3) if he will state for those offices covering the Workington travel-to-work area the total number of supplementary benefit claimants for the last month for which statistics are available and the figures for the comparable month in the previous year.

Dr. Boyson

Three supplementary benefit appeals were registered at the Workington local office during May 1983. The number of cases in action in that office in that month and May 1982 were as follows:

thousands
May 1983 May 1982
Unemployed claiming supplementary benefit 2.7 2.1
All claiming supplementary benefit 6.1 5.6

Source: 100 per cent. count of cases in action.