§ Mr. Ralph HowellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Norfolk, North, 15 April,Official Report, column 98, how many people are at present receiving invalidity benefit; what were the comparable figures in 1980, 1985 and 1990; and how he accounts for the change.
§ Mr. ScottI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Chesham and Amersham (Sir I. Gilmour) on 30 January 1991 at columns548–49.
The estimated average number of people receiving invalidity benefit at present is 1,350,0001. Comparable figures for earlier years are in the table:
Number 1980–81 1620,000 1985–86 1865,000 1990–91 11,270,000 1 The Government's Expenditure White Paper. Unlike the figures quoted in my answer of 15 April, the above figures relate only to invalidity benefit.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many women over the age of 60 years receive invalidity benefit calculated according to their retirement pension contributions.
§ Miss WiddecombeThe information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
However, the total number of women aged 60 and over receiving invalidity benefit at 31 March 1990, the latest date for which information is available, was 29,100. This figure includes women with title under the special arrangements for some widows, those where the incapacity 846W is due to the effects of an industrial accident or disease, and those where title is based upon their own retirement pension entitlement.