Income Support Deductions (Hansard, 21 January 1991)

§ Mr. Wilson
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many, and what percentage of, income support claimants in Scotland(a) aged over 60 years and (b) aged under 60 years are repaying social fund budgeting loans or crisis loans by deductions from their benefit payments.

§ Mr. Scott
The table shows the number and the percentage of income support claimants in Scotland(a) 56W aged over 60 and (b) aged under 60 repaying social fund budgeting loans or crisis loans from their benefit payments at the end of November 1990.

Number of Recoveries November 1990 Percentage of IS Recipients repaying via benefit

(a) Aged over 60 3,860 2.6

(b) Aged under 60 82,803 24.3

§ Mr. Wilson
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many income support deductions are currently being made, in Scotland for(a) poll tax arrears, (b) social fund loan payments, (c) fuel payment arrears and (d) any other purposes; and what proportion of income support claimants are having such deductions made from benefit.

§ Miss Widdecombe
The latest available information is shown in the tables. The number of income support customers having one or more deductions made from their benefit is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Table 1

Deductions from income support (Social fund loan repayments, community charge, accommodation and fuel charges)

Purpose Number of deductions¹

Community charge arrears 17,556

Social fund loan repayments 86,663

Fuel 59,128²

Other purposes 9,739

¹Number at 30 November 1990 derived from the Department's management information system which, 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 only 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 10,288

Voluntary unemployment deductions 3,590

Note
The information is not collected routinely and derives from table 10 of the annual statistical inquiry in May 1989, a copy of which is in the Library.

	Number of Recoveries November 1990	Percentage of IS Recipients repaying via benefit
(a) Aged over 60	3,860	2.6
(b) Aged under 60	82,803	24.3

Table 1
Deductions from income support (Social fund loan repayments, community charge, accommodation and fuel charges)
Purpose	Number of deductions¹
Community charge arrears	17,556
Social fund loan repayments	86,663
Fuel	59,128²
Other purposes	9,739
¹Number at 30 November 1990 derived from the Department's management information system which, 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 only 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	10,288
Voluntary unemployment deductions	3,590