HC Deb 08 November 1989 vol 159 cc664-5W
Mr. Wigley

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will state the levels of weekly income which may be disregarded for persons whose families are in receipt of income support and who may have some part-time self-employed work; and how these levels of disregard have changed over the past 10 years, under the present system and the previous supplementary benefit system.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

The weekly amount of earnings that may be disregarded for people with families who are in part-time self-employment and receiving income suport are:

£
Couples aged under 60 years who have been continuously in receipt of supplementary benefit/income support for two years or more. 15 per couple
Couples receiving or with underlying title to the disability premium (for example people who have been sick for 28 weeks or more, or are disabled). 15 per couple
All other couples. 5 each member
Lone parents. 15

The equivalent levels of earnings disregarded under the Supplementary Benefit scheme since 1979 were:

Claimants Partners Dependants
11986 11987 11988 11986 11987 11988 11986 11987 11988
North Eastern 794 777 700 200 193 155 376 386 382
London North 774 755 643 166 164 117 338 342 310
London South 680 664 581 134 121 93 280 267 273
Wales and South Western 624 607 546 142 129 105 258 245 240
Midlands 821 818 714 213 200 152 403 396 374
North Western 739 738 669 165 164 128 352 375 380
Scotland 506 535 499 107 102 92 219 225 236
Totals2 4,938 4,896 4,352 1,127 1,074 841 2,227 2,236 2,196
1 Figures for June of each year are unavailable. The information relates to February 1986, May 1987 and May 1988. Figures are in thousands.
2Totals do not consistently sum due to rounding.

Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest e discretion of a social sick people receiving income support.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

Information on the number of receiving income support is not available. However, the latest available estimates are that some 248,000 income support claimants are in receipt of the disability premium which is payable to sick or disabled people.