§ Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the per capita level of spending on social security benefits(a) in real terms and (b) indexed with 100 as 1979, since 1979.
§ Mr. ScottI regret that it is not possible to provide the information requested. There is no reliable precise estimate of the total number of people who receive social security benefits. Many people receive more than one benefit at the same time and detailed records of the numbers of all multiple beneficiaries and the various combinations of benefits held by them is not kept. Information is collected on the numbers in receipt of each individual benefit (table 15.6 of Cm. 615) and some combinations of benefit but it is not sufficiently comprehensive to determine a per capita level of spending.