HC Deb 03 February 1992 vol 203 cc94-5W
Mr. Allen

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants of(a) income support and (b) housing benefit during 1991 had their benefit reduced by the presence of non-dependants; and how many of these were (i) working more than 24 hours a week, (ii) working between 16 and 24 hours a week and (iii) working less than 16 hours.

Miss Widdecombe

Data drawn from the 1990 housing benefit management information statistics and the 1990 annual statistical inquiry indicate that the number of beneficiaries whose benefit is calculated to take account of the presence of non-dependants and the associated number of non-dependants on 31 May 1990 were as follows:

Income Support Housing Benefit
Number of claimants 30,000 350,000
Number of non-dependants 38,000 510,000

Information on hours worked by non-dependants is not available from these sources. However, modelling using data drawn from the 1986–88 family expenditure surveys uprated to 1991–92 prices and benefit levels suggest that the proportions of non-dependants working for the hours stated would be:

Non-dependants who give rise to a non-dependant deduction: estimated percentage working stated hours per week
Claimants benefit
Hours worked Income support Housing benefit
Less than 16 32 38
16-23 1 6
24 or more 67 56

Housing benefit—Great Britain
(i)Local authority tenants (ii) and (iii)Private and housing association tenants
Premium (a) Pensioner (b) Family (c) Other (a) Pensioner (b) Family (c) Other
(x) Maxmimum benefit 723,00 530,000 416,000 235,000 132,000 273,000
(y) Maximum with non-dependant deduction 101,000 32,000 71,000 12,000 4,000 9,000
(z) Other lesser amount 812,000 78,000 165,000 186,000 21,000 196,000

Notes:

  1. (1) Fifty-seven per cent. of local authority tenants receive housing benefit, of which 32 per cent. are pensioners, 13 per cent. are families and 13 per cent. other.
  2. (2) Forty-seven per cent. of private and housing association tenants receive housing benefit, of which 19 per cent. are pensioners, 7 per cent. families and 21 per cent. other.
  3. (3) Estimates of regional figures are unreliable.
  4. (4) May 1991 information is not yet available.

Source: Housing Benefit Management Information System.

Mr. Soley

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will change the rules on housing benefit so that a local authority that successfully uncovers a fraud does not lose subsidy.

Miss Widdecombe

A local authority which successfully detects fraud and recovers wrongly paid benefit need not lose financially. It receives partial subsidy on the overpayment and retains all the money it recovers. If an authority received the same full rate of subsidy for fraudulent housing benefit awards as for legitimate ones, there would be little if any financial incentive to put resources into verifying new claims. Under the present rules, however, authorities have an incentive to scrutinize