§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many working households with children currently receive (a) both family income supplement and housing benefit; (b) just family income supplement; and (c) just housing benefit, and how many, under the structural proposals in Cmnd. 9691 will receive (i) both family credit and housing benefit; (ii) just family credit; and (iii) just housing benefit.
§ Mr. Newton[pursuant to his reply, 15 January 1986, c. 596]: Reliable estimates of the numbers of working households with children currently receiving housing benefit are not available, and the actual position following the introduction of family credit would depend on the rates of benefit set. The estimates shown in the table are therefore necessarily approximate and should only be taken as indicating the orders of magnitude involved on the basis of the illustrative figures in the technical annex to the White Paper. They have been calculated on the same basis as the estimates of numbers within various bands of marginal tax rates given in my reply to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 13 January at column 594.
Estimated number of working families with children receiving the benefits quoted Number Under current scheme Family Income Supplement (FIS) and Housing Benefit*† 200,000 FIS only*† 20,000 Housing Benefit only 280,000 Under Cmnd. 9691 proposals Family Credit (FC) and Housing Benefit‡ 100,000 FC only 320,000 Housing Benefit only‡ 150,000 * Allowing for full effect of November 1985 FIS structures. † At any one time some FIS recipients may be no longer in full-time work. ‡ With 20 per cent. of rates contribution.