§ 17. Mr. KnapmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans he has to promote a debate on the balance between selective and universal benefits.
§ Mr. ScottThrough my hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Security's Mais lecture in June and "The Growth of Social Security" published in July we have fuelled a widespread debate on the British social security system. In due course, we will put forward specific proposals for reform. These will be subject to extensive debate in Parliament and elsewhere.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the number of recipients of(a) housing benefit, (b) income support, (c) family credit and (d) invalidity benefit by region and the percentage of the eligible regional population receiving this benefit in each of the last three years for which figures are available.
§ Mr. Burt[holding answer 22 July 1993]: I wrote to the hon. Member on 24 August 1993. The information is as follows:
Pursuant to my reply of 22 July in which I said I would let you have such information as is available. I am now pleased to be in a position to give you a reply.Information on the eligible population for each benefit on a regional basis is not available. Such information as is available is in the tables attached.165W
Housing Benefit Recipients without Income Support (000) Region/year 1990 1991 1992 Northern 171 151 140 Yorkshire and Humberside 143 126 158 East Midlands 104 99 117 East Anglia 50 53 59 South East 445 451 458 South West 118 107 112 South Midlands 91 181 181 North West 260 194 182 Scotland 238 239 237
Region/year 1990 1991 1992 Wales 89 84 86 Great Britain 1,709 1,685 1,730
Income Support Recipients (000) Region/year 1990 1991 1992 North Eastern 674 688 753 London North 638 735 891 South Western 274 310 357 Wales 248 257 287 Midlands 665 699 800 North Western 643 669 731 Scotland 481 487 519 London South 558 641 749 Great Britain 4,180 4,487 5,088
Family Credit Recipients (000) Region/Year 1990 1991 1992 North Eastern 59 63 82 London North 35 38 52 South Western 26 28 37 Wales 22 22 29 Midlands 59 66 84 North Western 56 58 74 Scotland 40 43 54 London South 29 32 45 Great Britain 327 350 457
Invalidity Benefit Recipients (000) Region/Year 1989 1990 1991 Northern 110 117 126 Yorkshire and Humberside 107 118 125 East Midlands 61 66 74 East Anglia 24 26 29 South East 192 205 219 South Western 60 66 72 West Midlands 90 97 106 North Western 185 200 220 Scotland 158 169 181 Wales 132 137 147 Overseas 7 7 7 Great Britain 1,126 1,209 1,306 Sources:
Housing Benefit/Community Charge Benefit annual 1 per cent. sample, May 1990–1992.
Income Support Statistics Annual Enquiry, May 1990–1992.
Family Credit 5 per cent. sample of awards, October 1990–1992.
Invalidity Benefit 1 per cent. sample of claimants, April 1989, March 1990–1991
Notes:
1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. The regions given for Income Support and Family Credit are the Social Security Administrative Regions used by the Department prior to 1988. The regions given for Housing Benefit and Invalidity Benefit are the Standard Statistical Regions.
3. Figures are given for each benefit. People receiving one benefit may also receive one or more of the others.
4. Figures come from "Point in time" surveys carried out on different dates; care should be taken in comparing figures between benefits.
5. Invalidity Benefit figure includes overseas recipients.
6. Figures for the eligible regional population for each benefit are not available.