§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the total number of claims for family credit; and what proportion of those claims has been assessed as eligible for payment.
§ Mr. Peter LloydBy 20 January 1989, 539,000 claims had been received of which 489,000 had been cleared. Of these, 28,000 were duplicate claims or were subsequently withdrawn. Of the remaining 461,000 claims, 336,000 (72.9 per cent.) were successful. In addition, 206,000 family income supplement beneficiaries were awarded family credit without a claim being required. As awards of family credit are for a limited period (normally six months) many of the 542,000 awards will have expired. At the end of December approximately 255,400 families were receiving family credit.