HC Deb 31 October 1996 vol 284 cc245-6W
Mr. Burden

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claimants received all forms of(a) invalidity benefit for each year since 1990 and (b) incapacity benefit for (i) 1995 and (ii) 1996. [733]

Mr. Burt

The information is in the table.

Benefit Number of beneficiaries
Invalidity benefit at 31 March 1990 1,209,000
Invalidity benefit at 30 March 1991 1,306,000
Invalidity benefit at 4 April 1992 1,439,000
Invalidity benefit at 3 April 1993 1,508,000
Invalidity benefit at 2 April 1994 1,681,000
Invalidity benefit at 12 April 1995 1,767,000
Incapacity benefit short-term higher rate and long-term rate at 31 May 1995 1,721,000

Benefit Number of beneficiaries
Incapacity benefit short-term higher rate and long-term rate at 31 May 1996 1.677,000
11.Figures for invalidity benefit are taken from a 1 per cent. sample of all claimants at the specified date.
22. Figures for incapacity benefit are taken from a 5 per cent. sample of the computer system at the specified date and exclude a small number of cases not held on the system.
33. When incapacity benefit was introduced on 13 April 1995 it replaced sickness benefit and invalidity benefit.
44. The information for incapacity benefit provides the numbers of recipients of short-term higher rate and long-term rate which are the direct equivalent of invalidity benefit in order to provide comparable figures.

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