§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many families are currently in receipt of family credit in(a) the City of Durham constituency and (b) the northern region; and what has been the cost of this benefit in each year since 1989–90. [10641]
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of family credit is a matter for Peter Mathison, chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 24 January 1996:
360WThe Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about how many families are currently in receipt of Family Credit (FC) in (a) the City of Durham constituency and (b) the Northern Region; and what has been the cost of this benefit in each year since 1989–90.The information is not available in the format requested. This is because statistics are not kept which are specific to Parliamentary Constituencies, the borders of which are not the same as those of benefit offices. Statistics are available for the North Durham District which includes the Durham, Chester le street, Peterlee and Seaham offices. The number of families claiming FC in North Durham District is 4080, as at 10 November 1995. These figures are provisional and subject to change.The Benefits Agency is no longer organised on a regional basis and is now divided into Areas and Territories. FC figures for Scotland and Northern Territory could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.Annexe A gives details of the national cost of FC since 1989/90.I hope you find this reply helpful.
Annexe A Year Family credit outturn £ million 1989–90 425 1990–91 494 1991–92 626 1992–93 929 1993–94 1,208 1994–95 1,441 Note:
Figures are provisional and subject to amendment.
Source:
Family Credit Statistics Quarterly Enquiry April 1995.
1995 Departmental Report.