HC Deb 11 February 1991 vol 185 cc373-5W
Sir Ian Gilmour

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the average number of families who received rate rebates or community charge benefit in each year from 1980 to 1990 in the categories of(a) retirement pensioners, (b) invalidity pensioners, (c) unemployed, (d) lone parents, (e) students, (f) single people and (g) families in paid work.

(Thousands)
1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
Elderly1 3,870 3,920 3,920 3,720 3,690 3,015 2,550
Invalidity persioners2 2,680 2,880 2,890 3,020 3,090 200 190
Unempolyed3 885 615
Lone parents 635 555
Students 640 70
Other 565
1 Data on elderly people relates to women aged 60 or over and men aged 65 or over for 1983 to 1987, and all claimants aged 60 and over for 1988 and 1989.

Local office Number of applications Number of awards Number of refusals
Norris Green 1,131 422 706
Toxteth 2,328 680 1,478
West Derby 490 240 240
Total 17,377 6,230 10,414

Miss Widdecombe

[holding answer 29 January 1991]: The table shows the number of households, including single people, receiving rate rebates or community charge benefit, broken down into such categories as are available. Figures are not available prior to 1983, as the housing benefit scheme did not then exist in its present form.

2 Aged 60 to 79 and who qualify for higher pensioner premium.

3 Not including cases where neither income support nor unemployment benefit are in payment.

Notes:

  1. (1) The available figures relate to a combination of data on income support and non-income support cases. The income support data relates to statistical inquiries carried out in May of each year. The non-income support data relate to those carried out in September of each year except 1984 (October) and 1988 and 1989 (May).
  2. (2) Data on community charge rebates in Scotland for 1989 and community charge benefit in Great Britain as a whole for 1990 are not available. The 1989 figures shown, therefore, relate to England and Wales only.