HC Deb 29 March 1994 vol 240 cc723-4W
Mr. Viggers

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the administrative cost of disallowing income support for one day in the case of applicants who absent themselves from the United Kingdom for one day.

Mr. Burt

The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. It is not possible to give an accurate estimate as such costs are wholly dependent on the circumstances of each individual case.

Dr. Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many single people with no dependants who work between 16 and 24 hours a week are now excluded from entitlement to income support.

Mr. Hague

The information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Mrs. Mahon

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the maximum number of taught hours an unemployed adult can undertake without affecting his entitlement to family income support;

(2) what assessment he has made of the move of the Further Education Funding Council to mode 3 learning; to what extent the concept of full-time or part-time course or student still applies; and if he will make it his policy that that concept should not be used by his Department in determining eligibility for benefit.

Mr. Hague

People aged 19 or over but under pension age who are attending a full-time course at an educational establishment are not entitled to income support other than in a limited number of circumstances.

People attending a part-time course may under certain circumstances continue to receive IS but only if the course is not more than 21 hours.

The Further Education Funding Council's new funding methodology is concerned solely with the distribution of recurrent funding to colleges in the FE sector. It will not affect entitlement to social security benefits.