HC Deb 27 June 1989 vol 155 cc417-8W
Mr. Canavan

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the total number of recipients of supplementary benefit or supplementary pension or income support for each year from 1969 to the present.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The information is as follows:

Supplementary Benefit All claimants Supplementary pensioners1 Other claimants
November 1969 2,688,000 1,875,000 813,000
November 1970 2,738,000 1,902,000 836,000
November 1971 2,909,000 1,919,000 990,000
November 1972 2,911,000 1,909,000 1,002,000
November 1973 2,675,000 1,844,000 831,000
November 1974 2,680,000 1,807,000 872,000
December 1975 2,793,000 1,679,000 1,113,000
December 1976 2,960,000 1,687,000 1,274,000
November 1977 2,991,000 1,738,000 1,253,000
November 1978 2,932,000 1,738,000 1,195,000
November 1979 2,855,000 1,723,000 1,132,000
December 1980 3,118,000 1,694,000 1,423,000
December 1981 3,723,000 1,738,000 1,895,000
December 1982 4,267,000 1,781,000 2,486,000
December 1983 4,350,000 1,651,000 2,699,000
December 1984 4,609,000 1,683,000 2,926,000
February 1986 4,938,000 1,717,000 3,221,000
May 1987 4,896,000 1,727,000 3,169,000

Income Support All claimants Pensioners2 Other claimants
May 1988 34,352,000 31,719,000 32,632,000
Source: Annual Statistical Enquiries.
1 Claimants over pension age (65 for men, 60 for women).
2 Claimant, or any partner, aged 60 or over.
3 Latest available estimates.

There was no Annual Statistical Enquiry in 1985: the one due in December that year was deferred until February 1986.