§ Mr. SquireTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) whether he is able to break down the extra number of people who will become dependent on means-tested benefits due to the freeze in child benefit into(a) income support, (b) family credit and (c) housing benefit;
(2) how many extra people will become dependent on means-tested benefits as a result of the increase in children's personal allowances by an extra 50p broken down into income support, family credit and housing benefits.
§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish a table showing how many more(a) families and (b) children will be dependent on income-related benefits as a result of the extra increase in personal allowances of 50p per child, and broken down into income support, family credit and housing benefit, respectively.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 23 January 1989]Estimates are available only on the caseload assumptions used in the "Impact of the Reformed Structure of Income-Related Benefits". They are based on the 1985 family expenditure survey data uprated to reflect the position in 1989–90. Estimates of this kind are particularly uncertain because of small sample size and large sampling error. Bearing these factors in mind, the estimated increases arising from the non-uprating of child benefit are:
- Income Support—1,000–2,000 families (around 5,000 people)
- Housing Benefit—2,000–3,000 families (around 10,000 people)
- Family Credit—20,000–25,000 families (just under 80,000 people)
The estimated increases arising from the extra 50p on children's allowances are:
- Income Support—2,000 families (including about 5,000 children)
- Housing Benefit—3,000 families (including around 5,000 children)
- Family Credit—25,000 families (including about 50,000 children)