§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the circumstances in which a deduction from income support can be made by the Benefits Agency, in the order in which they rank for payment, and the total deduction that can be made as a percentage of the total income support payment.
§ Mr. BurtPayments may be made direct from income support to certain third party creditors in the circumstances specified in schedules 9 and 9A to the Social Security (Claims and Payments) Regulations 1987, SI No. 1968.354W Also, deduction may be made for payment of unpaid community charge, council tax and fines and recovery of overpayments of benefit under the appropriate regulatory provisions—SI Nos. 507/1989 and 545/1990, 494/1993, 2182/1993 and 664/1988 respectively. Social fund loans are also recoverable by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, through deductions from income support. The rules governing limits on deductions and the priority order for deductions are contained in paragraphs 8 and 9 of schedule 9.
§ Mr. DewarTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many recipients of income support in England, Scotland, Wales and Britain there are; and what percentage of the total had deductions made from benefit for social fund repayments and fuel bills in the latest year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. BurtThe information is in the table.
Number of cases Percentage England Deductions for fuel 185,000 4.3 Deductions for Social Fund repayment 458,000 10.7 Deductions for fuel and Social Fund 84,000 2.0 Number of Income Support recipients 4,282,000 100.0 Wales Deductions for fuel 17,000 5.9 Deductions for Social Fund repayment 34,000 11.9 Deductions for fuel and Social Fund 8,000 2.8 Number of Income Support recipients 287,000 100.0 Scotland Deductions for fuel 42,000 8.1 Deductions for Social Fund repayment 94,000 18.1 Deductions for fuel and Social Fund 22,000 4.2 Number of Income Support recipients 519,000 100.0 Great Britain Deductions for fuel 243,000 4.8 Deductions for Social Fund repayment 586,000 11.5 Deductions for fuel and Social Fund 114,000 2.2 Number of Income Support recipients 5,088,000 100.0 Source: Income Support Statistics Annual Enquiry, May 1992.
Notes:
- 1. The figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand, percentages are correct to one decimal place.
- 2. Fuel costs include payments for gas and/or electricity. Deductions may be for current charges only or may include the standard amount in respect of arrears.
- 3. There will be a degree of overlap in the deductions figures in that people with deductions for fuel costs may also have a deduction for repayment of a social fund loan. Numbers with fuel cost deductions and those with social fund repayment deductions do not therefore exactly total.