§ Mr. BettsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people previously receiving invalidity benefit have been taken off that benefit on the grounds of being capable of work in each month over the last two years.
§ Mr. ScottThe information is not available in the form requested. Quarterly estimates of sickness and invalidity benefit claims disallowed because the claimant is not incapable of work are being collected from April 1993. The latest available estimate, for the quarter ending 30 June 1993, shows 15,400 such disallowances, based on a 5 per cent, sample of examinations, rounded to the nearest hundred.
§ Mr. PickthallTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his Department's policy on counting voluntary work as proof of capacity for work; and if he will make a statement about the effect of his policy on recipients of invalidity benefit.
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§ Mr. ScottPeople receiving invalidity benefit may undertake voluntary work, so long as they continue to satisfy the entitlement conditions for receiving the benefit. Recipients who are thinking of doing some voluntary work are advised to discuss the matter first with their doctor, before checking with their local social security office to find out if it will affect their benefit.
Average weekly amount Year Number receiving IS help with mortgage interest Total amount paid Cases with full interest Cases with 50 per cent, interest 000s £ million £ £ 1988 300 286 18.56 16.71 1989 281 353 24.46 21.86 1990 310 553 34.42 33.69 1991 411 949 46.34 35.61 1992 499 1,143 46.01 30.59 Notes:
- 1. Figures are for the amount of mortgage interest that is included in the IS assessment.
- 2. Figures are from the annual statistical enquiry (ASE), a 1 per cent. sample survey of claimants receiving regular weekly payments of IS in May each year.
- 3. Information on the number of new claims with mortgage interest is not available.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the tariff income schedule of cuts in savings within the income support means tests; what is the equivalent system of savings assessment in the housing benefit system; on what dates the schemes were last revised; and what plans he has to review the assessment of savings in means-tested benefits.
§ Mr. BurtIn all the income-related benefits, capital up to £3,000 is ignored. In income support (IS), deductions from benefit of £1 a week are made for each £250, or part of £250, of capital between £3,000 and the upper capital limit of £8,000. Similar rules apply in housing benefit (HB), but the 65 per cent. taper reduces the effect of the deductions, and the upper capital limit is set at £16,000. These rules were last revised in April 1990 when the upper capital limits were raised to their present levels, from £6,000 in IS and from £8,000 in HB. The rules are kept under review but we have no current plans for change.
§ Mr. Ieuan Wyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish figures indicating the income support and social fund budgets allocated to the social security offices in the Ynys Mön constituency during each of the last two years; and what was the monthly amount spent on income support and the social fund by each office in that period.
§ Mr. BurtThe administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from M. Bichard to Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones, dated 2 November 1993:
As Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency it is my responsibility to answer questions raised about relevant operational matters. I am therefore replying to your recent Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Social Security, asking if he will publish figures indicating the income support and Social Fund budgets allocated to the social security