§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his current estimate of eligible persons in(a) Inverclyde, (b) Strathclyde and (c) Scotland who do not claim income support; what means are being used to improve the take-up rate; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BurtTake-up figures for income support are not available on a regional or local basis. Estimates for the take-up of income-related benefits for Great Britain were published in January 1993 in "Income Related Benefit Estimates of Take-up for 1989" and showed that 87 per cent. of available income support was being received by 75 per cent. of those eligible to claim it.
Social security legislation puts the onus of claiming benefit on individuals who may decide, for various reasons, not to take up benefit entitlement. The Department's role is to ensure that people are in a position to make informed choices.
In this respect, the Benefits Agency are responsible for a wide range of initiatives to increase awareness of entitlement: Exhibitions talks, liaison with citizens advice bureaux, operation of multilingual freelines, participation in local radio phone-ins and now the one-stop initiative.