§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the number and proportion of unemployed claimants and lone parents on income support with mortgages to pay; how many are having their mortgage interest paid by his Department; and what were the comparable figures for each year from 1981 to 1985.
§ Miss WiddecombeInformation on the number of people on income support with mortgages to pay is not routinely collected. However, amounts may be included in the assessment of income support for interest on loans taken out to buy the homes, or to make certain essential repairs and improvements to the home. Estimates of the numbers and proportion of unemployed claimants and lone parents with amounts for mortgage interest included in the assessment of supplementary benefit from 1981–86 are given in the table, as are the latest available figures for income support:
575W
Year Unemployed claimants As proportion of all claimants receiving help with mortgages Per cent Lone parents As proportion of all claimants receiving help with mortgages Per cent Income Support 1990 88,000 28 77,000 25 Source: Annual Statistical Enquiries.
Notes: Figures for numbers of claimants are rounded to the nearest 1,000.
Figures from 1983 onwards are not comparable with earlier figures because they were collected on a different basis.
No Enquiry was undertaken in 1985.
Supplementary Benefit was replaced by Income Support in 1988.