§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to the Chancellor of the Exchequer's undertaking in his Budget speech,Official Report, 28 November 1995, column 1067, when he expects to bring forward regulations to increase capital disregard maximum from £8,000 to £16,000; and from which date the new regulations will take effect. [13015]
§ Mr. Roger EvansRegulations to increase the capital disregard maximum from £8,000 to £16,000 are expected to be laid before the House no later than 10 March. They will take effect from 1 April for housing benefit and 8 April for income support.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the number of claimants declaring disregarded income; if he will list the amount of income disregarded; and if he will divide these data according to each category of claimant. [13363]
§ Mr. EvansThe information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table.
Income Support recipients declaring disregarded income— February 1995 Client group Number of cases Average weekly amount disregarded(£) Estimated annual amount of income disregarded (£ millions) Elderly 455,000 36.79 870 Sick or disabled 249,000 43.87 568 Lone parents 74,000 18.08 70 Unemployed 44,000 7.97 18 Other 31,000 21.53 35
Family Credit recipients declaring disregarded income—February 1995 Client group Number of cases Average weekly amount disregarded(£) Estimated annual amount of income disregarded (£ millions) Lone parents 76,000 13.67 54 Couples 13,000 12,68 8
995W
Housing Benefit/Council Tax benefit recipients declaring disregarded income—May 1994 Client group Housing benefit Council tax benefit Elderly 169,000 264,000 Sick or disabled 57,000 75,000
Housing Benefit/Council Tax benefit recipients declaring disregarded income—May 1994 Client group Housing benefit Council benefit Lone parents 96,000 86,000 Unemployed 7,000 12,000 Other 188,000 184,000 Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiries May 1994 and February 1995.
Family Credit 5 per cent. sample of awards.
Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample without Income Support taken at the end of May 1994.
Notes:
1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand, amount of income disregarded to the nearest million.
2. A breakdown by category of claimant is not available for Family Credit.
3. Disability Working Allowance data is not available in this form.
4. The client Groups used are as follows:-
"Elderly"—claimant or partner aged 60 or over.
"Sick or Disabled"—claimant receives either the Disabled or Severe Disability Premium.
"Lone Parent"—claimant receives the Lone Parent Premium.
"Unemployed"—Income Support-claimant registers as unemployed.
—Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit-claimant receives Unemployment Benefit.
"Other"—all other cases with disregarded income.
5. Figures refer to benefit units which may be a single person or a couple.
6. There will be an overlap between the numbers on each benefit, as a person may receive one or more of the named benefits.
7. Information on the amount of disregarded income is not collected for Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit.
8. For the purposes of disregarded income both benefit and other income are included.
9. The annual amount of income disregarded has been estimated by multiplying the number of cases by the average weekly amount of income disregarded and multiplying by 52 to calculate an annual amount.