§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will detail for each year since 1979 the numbers of(a) pensioners and (b) other claimants who have drawn supplementary benefit for five or more years.
§ Mr. PortilloThe information is as follows:
Supplementary pension claimants (thousands) Supplementary allowance claimants (thousands) November 1979 1,053 234 December 1980 1,054 251 December 1981 1,087 281 December 1982 1,090 308 December 1983 1,057 348 December 1984 1,041 409 February 1986 1,026 535 Source: Annual statistical inquiries.
§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people, shown by age and marital status, are in receipt of the long-term rate of supplementary benefit for the latest date and for equivalent dates in each of the past 10 years.
§ Mr. PortilloI regret that I cannot give the hon. Member all the information that he requests. Such information as can be provided will not be available until the new year. I shall let the hon. Member have a further reply then.