§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the average amount of (a) housing benefit and (b) supplementary benefit received by a student in higher education; and if he will estimate what proportion of student income each figure represented in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. WhitneyI regret that the information requested is not available.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will list in the Official Report (a) the number and percentage of students in higher education who received housing benefit, (b) the number and percentage of students in higher education who received supplementary benefit and (c) the cost of administering each type of benefit for students in each case in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. WhitneyPrecise information about the number of students receiving benefits is not available. It is estimated that in the last academic year about 200,000 full-time students (roughly 50 per cent. of those living away from home) received housing benefit in term-time and a lesser number in vacations. The cost of administering housing benefit claims from students is not known.
It is estimated that some 100,000 claims to supplementary benefit were made by students in the Christmas and Easter vacations and about 300,000 in the long vacation. These figures include repeat claims and it is not possible to say how many individual students received supplementary benefit during the year It is estimated that student claims for supplementary benefit cost about £2.5 million to administer.