§ Mr. LeightonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will change the rules to allow income support to be backdated to the date of entitlement of disability living allowance or attendance allowance for claimants and their carers in cases where a delay of more than 12 months occurs.
§ Mr. BurtTime limits form an accepted and necessary part of the social security system. It is not envisaged that claims will take more than 52 weeks to decide.
Income support may be backdated for up to 52 weeks in appropriate circumstances. We have no plans to change the current rules.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what would be the total cost of uprating the level of income support received by people aged 18 to 24 years to the level enjoyed by those aged 25 and over.
§ Mr. KnoxTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 November,Official Report, column 595, if he will now show how many (a) women and (b) men were dependent upon income support in May 1991, either as claimants or as the spouses or partners of claimants; of these totals how many (a) women and (b) men were above pension age; and how many were below pension age.
§ Mr. BurtThe information is in the table.
Numbers Females dependent on income support Total of claimants and partners 3,248 of which: under age 60 1,909 over age 60 1,339 Males dependent on income support Total of claimants and partners 2,001 of which: under age 65 1,723 over age 65 278 Note: All figures are thousands, rounded to the nearest thousand.
Source: Income Support Statistics Annual Inquiry May 1991.