§ Dr. HendronTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many single parents are claiming social security benefit in(a) west Belfast and (b) Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. HanleyResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Social Security Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Alec Wylie. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. Wylie to Dr. Joe Hendron, dated 11 December 1992:
As I am responsible for Social Security operational matters your recent Parliamentary Question on the number of single parents claiming social security benefit has been passed to me for a reply.Information available on the number of single parents claiming social security benefit is as follows:
Income support West Belfast Area Numbers of lone parents in receipts of income support Andersonstown Social Security Office 2,570 Falls Road Social Security Office 2,398 Shankill Social Security Office 1,139 Total 6,107 Northern Ireland Total 33,183
Other Benefits Information is not available for specific areas and the figures
supplied are for Northern Ireland as a whole. Some single parents
may be getting more than one of these benefits.
Benefit Numbers of lone parents in receipt Family Credit 5,500 One Parent/Child Benefit 28,000 Widowed Mothers Allowance 2,500 Sickness and Invalidity Benefit 400 I hope you find this information helpful. A copy of this reply will appear in the Official Report and copies will be placed in the Library.