§ Mr. WicksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many two-parent families are in receipt of(a) income support, (b) family credit and (c) disability working allowance; and for each benefit how many two-parent families are estimated to include a qualifying child for the purposes of the Child Support Act 1991.
§ Mr. BurtThe number of two-parent families in receipt of the specified benefits is contained in the table.
Number Income support 403,000 Family credit 215,000 Disability working allowance 478 On the best information available, the number of two-parent families in receipt of the specified benefits who are estimated to include a qualifying child for the purposes of the Child Support Act 1991 are contained in the table.
Number Income support 34,000 Family credit 17,000 Disability working allowance 38 Notes:
1. The figures for the numbers of two-parent families in receipt of income support and family credit are taken from the income support statistics annual inquiry 1991.
2. Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand.
328W
§ Mr. WicksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate(a) the savings in income support expenditure which will be achieved as a result of increased payments of child support maintenance and (b) the savings if a disregard were to be introduced into income support for child maintenance at the rate of (i) £5 and (ii) £15, in the first year of implementation and the following three years.
§ Mr. BurtBest available estimates are for the long run. As stated in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Lady Olga Maitland) on 30 November at columns4–5, we expect that as a result of the child support initiative absent parents will, in the long run, contribute around £600 million to the maintenance of their children in families on income supprt. Latest estimates of the long-run costs of a maintenance disregard in income support are £115 million for a £5 disregard and £335 million for a £15 disregard.