HC Deb 24 October 1995 vol 264 cc638-9W
Mr. William Powell

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of recipients and cost to the public of council tax benefit; and what are the figures for each of the last five years. [38332]

Mr. Roger Evans

The available information is set out in the table.

Number of recipients and benefit expenditure on council tax benefit
Year1 Number of recipients(000s)2 Financial year Benefitexpenditure£ million3
19934 5,290 1993–94 1,901
1994 5,549 1994–95 2,005
1995 5,674 1995–96 2,039

Notes:

1 Number of recipients obtained from quarterly aggregate counts taken on last working day of May of each given year.

Housing benefit recipients by tenancy in Great Britain
Thousands
Year Total housing benefit cases Rent Rebate Local authority tenants Total housing associations tenants and private tenants Rent Allowance Housing association tenants Private rented excluding housing association tenants
1991 4,030 2,945 1,085 n/a n/a
1992 4,325 3,034 1,292 340 952
1993 4,533 3,053 1,481 412 1,068
1994 4,650 3,016 1,634 509 1,125
1995 4,734 2,967 1,766 610 1,156

Notes:

1. Number of recipients obtained from quarterly aggregate counts taken on last working day of May for each given year.

2. Figures refer to the number of benefit units. These maybe a single person or a couple.

3. Separate figures for housing association and private rented accommodation tenants excluding housing association tenants are not available for 1991.

4. Totals may not sum due to rounding of figures to the nearest thousand.