HL Deb 20 March 1989 vol 505 cc570-2WA
Lord Beloff

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What they estimate family credit take-up to have been in 1988 in terms both of expenditure and caseload; and to explain the basis on which those estimates have been calculated.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Social Security (Lord Skelmersdale)

For employees, the estimated family credit expendi- ture take-up during 1988 was 65 per cent. Take-up by caseload was about 50 per cent.

Figures obtained by modelling 1985 and 1986 FES data suggested that caseload take-up was approaching 50 per cent., but we wanted to substantiate this with a direct estimate from up-to-date information. We therefore asked the social surveys division of the OPCS to carry out a manual examination of FES returns for the period April to December 1988; 5,306 returns were examined. All family credit recipients were identified and households with no dependent children or no adult in full-time work eliminated. Those families whose income clearly made them ineligible were also excluded. A detailed calculation of family credit entitlement was then carried out for the remainder. The results of this exercise indicate a lower total eligible employee population than the assumption originally made in October 1987, and show that in 1988 it was about 500,000. This compares with an average live load during 1988 (including eligible cases awaiting award) of about 253,000. The basis of this estimate is the same as that which was always used to estimate family income supplement take-up. Families which include someone who is self-employed are also eligible for family credit. During 1988 the average number of such families receiving family credit was about 24,000.

While the sift and calculations were carried out to a very high standard, the results are subject to the uncertainties of small sample sizes. This exercise provides the best and most up-to-date information available, and supports the results we had already obtained from modelling 1985 and 1986 FES data.

These estimates show that during 1988 there were probably still over 250,000 families who were eligible to receive family credit but who did not claim it. This underlines the need for the major advertising campaign which the Government are planning to start in April to ensure that these people who are, or may become, eligible for family credit are made aware of that eligibility and given every opportunity to claim.