§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many income support deductions are currently being made for(a) poll tax arrears, (b) social fund loan payments, (c) fuel payment arrears and (d) any other purposes; and if he will give a breakdown of these by social security office throughout the country.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe number of deductions from income support for arrears of community charge by local office was given in the reply by my hon. Friend the former Under-Secretary of State on 22 October to the hon. Member for Coventry South-East (Mr. Nellist) at column 78. The latest available information for other types of deduction is shown in the tables; for these, information by local social security office is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
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Table 1 Deductions from Income Support (Social Fund repayments, accommodation, fuel and water charges) Purpose Number of deductions1 Date Community charge arrears 9,112 31 August 1990 Social Fund loan repayments 430,000 31 October 1990 Fuel 2246,691 31 August 1990 Other purposes 134,671 31 August 1990 1The information is not routinely published, it derives from the Department's management information system and, with the exception of social fund loan repayments, is obtained from a quarterly count of deductions in action. Data on social fund loan repayments are collected monthly. 2Some deductions for fuel charges cover current consumption costs alone because the arrears have been cleared. It is not possible to identify only those cases with continuing arrears.
Table 2 Recovery of overpaid benefit, Voluntary Unemployment deductions Purpose Number of deductions Recovery of overpaid benefit 79,485 Voluntary unemployment deductions 31,574 Note: The information derives from table 10 of the Annual Statistical Enquiry in May 1989, a copy of which is in the Library.