HC Deb 20 July 1988 vol 137 cc661-2W
Dr. Godman

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in theOfficial Report the number of supplementary benefit and income support claims received in the last six weeks period for which records are available in his Department's local offices in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) the Strathclyde region and (c) Scotland as a whole.

Mr. Portillo

Information on supplementary benefit and income support claims is not available for six-week periods. The numbers of supplementary benefit and income support claims received for the period 11 April to 31 May 1988 are as follows:

Supplementary Benefit Income Support
Greenock Local Office 287 1,017
Port Glasgow Local Office 190 499
Strathclyde Region1 12,439 27,332
Scotland 17,610 55,248

Source: Internal Regional Management statistical returns. (These figures are provisional and subject to amendmemt).

1The administrative region of Strathclyde encompasses 31 Local Offices of the Department, excluding National Insurance Offices, and the boundaries are not conterminous.

Dr. Godman

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list in theOfficial Report the staffing allocations for 1988–89, as determined by the agreed complementing system for his Department's local offices in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow, (b) the Strathclyde region and (c) Scotland as a whole; and what were the comparable staffing levels in (i) 1986–87 and (ii) 1987–88.

Mr. Portillo

The information requested is as follows:

1988–1989 1987–88 1986–87
Greenock ILO 150 175 172
Port Glasgow ILO 74 81 79
Strathclyde 4,128 4,643 4,431
Scotland 7,449 8,299 7,896
Abbreviation—ILO = Integrated Local Office.

The figures given exclude cleaners.

The reduction in complement for 1988–1989 results largely from the replacement of supplementary benefit by income support and the fall in numbers of unemployed claimants.

Dr. Godman

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what information he has concerning the number of(a) men and (b) women receiving (i) invalidity benefit and (ii) severe disablement allowance in (a) Greenock and Port Glasgow; (b) the Strathclyde region and (c) Scotland as a whole.

Mr. Scott

The available information is in the table which shows the estimated numbers of recipients of those benefits in Scotland as at 4 April 1987, the latest date for which the information is held:

Benefit Men Women
Invalidity benefit 96,100 39,100
Severe Disablement allowance 12,800 18,900

Separate local office records are not kept for these benefits.

Dr. Godman

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many families are in receipt of family credit in the Greenock and Port Glasgow constituency; and how many families in Greenock and Port Glasgow were in receipt of family income supplement in each of the past three years.

Mr. Portillo

This information is not available. Family income supplement claims were dealt with centrally and no information was maintained about claims from particular local areas. Family credit is also being dealt with centrally, and information is available only on a national basis.