§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will list(a) the number of widows who currently receive the war widows' rent allowance, (b) the average amount paid per recipient and (c) the total amount paid in each of the last five years as a percentage of total social security expenditure; [9339]
(2) how many new claims were made in the last available year for the war widows' rent allowance, indicating the number of these that were (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful. [9340]
§ Mr. HealdAs at 30 September 1996, the last date for which figures are available, 1,060 widows were in receipt of rent allowance. The current maximum amount payable is £30 a week. The average amount paid per recipient is estimated at £23 per week. During the period January 1996 to September 1996, the only period for which figures are available, 491 new claims were received. During the same period, 447 decisions were made, of which 50 resulted in awards. The decisions made in any one period may not necessarily relate to the claims made during the same period.
The total amount paid by way of rent allowance over the last five years is not available. Expenditure for 1996–97 is estimated at about £1 million. This is 0.0014 per cent. of total social security expenditure.