§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many(a) 16-year-olds and (b) 17-year-olds in the Doncaster area applied for severe hardship payments in each year from 1988; and what percentage of applicants were successful.
§ Mr. BurtThis 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.
Letter from Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 18 January 1994:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about Severe Hardship Payments to 16 and 17-year-olds in the Doncaster area.
The information requested in this question is not available in the format required and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. This is because the statistics kept cover the number of applications, rather than the number of individuals who have claimed. Some customers may have made more than one application. Also, the statistics collected do not distinguish between 16 and 17-year-olds.
However, I have provided figures from the earliest date available, 1989, in the attached appendix, relating to successful applications for Severe Hardship Payments.
I should point out that the statistics relate to Benefits Agency Districts and are not routinely collected to show the number of claims specific to a town. The statistics given for Doncaster relate to the Benefits Agency's Doncaster East and Doncaster West offices.
16/17-year-olds severe hardship applications—Doncaster district office Year Total applications Number successful Percentage successful 1989 97 64 66 1990 103 68 66 1991 349 263 75 1992 541 382 71 1993 650 543 84