§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people were claiming income support in Scotland for the most recent date for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the total number of partners and dependants of those claimants;
(2) if he will give the most recently available figure for the income support live load in each of his Department's offices, and by each Benefit Agency district, in Scotland.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of income support is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Henry McLeish, dated 29 April 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Questions to the Secretary of State for Social Security asking, 579W how many people were claiming Income Support in Scotland for the most recent date for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the total number of partners and dependants of those claimants.
You also ask, if he will give the most recently available figure for the Income Support live load in each of his Department's offices, and by each Benefits Agency district, in Scotland.
The information is not available in the format you requested and some of it is only available at a disproportionate cost. This is because statistics relate to the number of Income Support recipients rather than the number of claims.
Information about the numbers of partners and dependants of people claiming Income Support is not routinely collected. However, estimates of the numbers of partners and dependants of Income Support recipients are available from the Income Support Annual Statistical Enquiry (ASE). This is a point in time survey based on a one per cent sample of all people in receipt of Income Support.
The latest information from the ASE relates to May 1991. The estimates from this were 487,000 recipients, 69,000 partners and 249,000 dependants in Scotland.
I have appended the information relating to the Income Support live load per office and district as requested. This information is based on the Management Information Statistics as at 28 February 1993.
I hope this reply is helpful. A copy of this letter will appear in the Official Report and a copy will also be placed in the Library.
580W
Annex Number Glasgow West District Office Glasgow Anniesland 10,614 Glasgow Partick 7,701 District total 18,315 Glasgow City District Office Glasgow City 8,673 Glasgow Cranstonhill 1,585 Glasgow Maryhill 10,085 District total 20,343 Glasgow East District Office Glasgow Bridgeton 8,411 Glasgow Provan 12,841 Glasgow Shettleston 12,341 District total 33,593 Glasgow Laurieston District Office East Kilbride 6,349 Glasgow Laurieston 15,202 Glasgow Rutherglen 12,969 District total 34,520 Glasgow South West District Office Glasgow Craigton 11,492 Glasgow South West 12,952 District total 24,444 Renfrew District Renfrew 22,592 District total 24,592 Springburn and Cumbernauld District Council Glasgow Cumbernauld 10,404 Glasgow Springburn 13,925 District total 24,329 581W
Annex Number Clyde Coast and Cowal District Office Greenock 12,557 Port Glasgow 4,489 District total 17,046 Coatbridge District Office Airdrie 7,353 Belshill 6,796 Coatbridge 6,691 District total 20,840 Forth Valley District Office Falkirk 12,939 Stirling 11,575 District total 24,514 Highlands and Islands District Office Elgin 6,949 Fort William 2,939 Inverness 12,825 Stornoway 4,096 Wick 4,862 District total 31,671 Irvine and Kilmarnock District Office Irvine 15,946 Kilmarnock 10,251 District total 26,197 Lomond and Argyll District Office Campbeltown 1,554 Clydebank 15,651 Oban 1,911 District total 19,116 Clyde Valley District Office Hamilton 16,676 Motherwell 12,317 District total 28,993 South West Scotland District Office Ayr 16,365 Dumfries 8,795 Stranraer 3,349 District total 28,509 East Lowlands District Office Edinburgh East 11,697 Edinburgh South 12,155 Galashiels 6,997 District total 30,849 Fife District Office Cowdenbeath 4,786 Dunfermline 6,809 Kirkcaldy 12,613 Leven 5,581 District total 29,789 Grampian/Shetland District Office Aberdeen 20,585 Lerwick 1,293 Peterhead 4,865 District total 26,743
Annex Number Lothian and Borders District Office Edinburgh City 11,161 Edinburgh North 10,760 District total 21,921 Lothian West District Office Bathgate 14,180 Edinburgh West 11,062 District total 25,242 Tayside District Office Arbroath 7,228 Dundee 22,841 Perth 9,281 District total 39,350 SCOTLAND Total live figure as at 28 February 1993 = 584,916