§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many parents in the London, south-east and eastern regions, receive the lone parent element of(a) income support (b) child benefit. [19359]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThe administration of Income Support and Child Benefit 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. Harry Cohen, dated 5 December 1997:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many parents in the London, south-east and eastern regions, receive the lone parent element of (a) Income Support (IS) and (b) Child Benefit (CHB).The information is not available in the format requested. The Benefits Agency (BA) collates statistics by BA District Offices. These Districts do not correspond to constituency boundaries or specific geographical areas.From April this year, the lone parent premium was replaced by a higher rate of family premium for lone parents. Information relating to parents in receipt of the lone parent rate of family premium is shown in the attached Annex.Information relating to parents in receipt of the lone parent element of CHB could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.I hope you find this reply helpful.474W
Annex: Income support customers in receipt of the lone parent rate of family premium as at 31 August 1997 Number of lone parent rate of family premium recipients Benefits Agency Area Directorates AD1—East London and Anglia1 108,666 AD21—Chilterns2 104,289 SD31—London South3 147,945
Annex: Income support customers in receipt of the lone parent rate of family premium as at 31 August 1997 Number of lone parent rate of family premium recipients London4 193,948 The BA collates statistics by Distric Offices. These Districts do not correspond to constituency boundaries or this specific geographical area. The 125 Districts are grouped together into 13 Area Directorates. 1 Includes the BA Districts of Barking and Havering, Cambridgeshire, City East, Essex South East, Essex South West, Hackney and Islington, Lea Roding, Leaside, Newham, North Essex, Norwich and Suffolk. 2 Includes the BA Districts of Barnet, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Ealing, Euston, Harrow and Hillingdon, Neasden, North and East Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Thames Valley and West Hertfordshire. 3 Includes the BA Districts of Bankside, East Kent, East Sussex, Hampshire North, London Central, North and West Kent, Palace, Solent and New Forest, South Circular, Central Sussex, South East Hampshire and Isle of Wight, South West Thames, Surrey Unit, Thameside and West Sussex. 4 Includes the BA Districts of City East, Hackney and Islington, Lea Roding, Leaside, Newham, Barnet, Ealing, Euston, Neasden, Harrow and Hillingdon, Bankside, London Central, Surrey Unit, Palace, South Circular, South West Thames, Thameside and North and West Kent. The information has been provided by the BA's Central Data Unit, it is provisional and maybe subject to change. The figures provided relate to the number of income support customers in receipt of the lone parent rate of family premium as at 31 August 1997. It does not include those lone parents customers who are pensioners nor those registered sick who would qualify for a higher rate premium such as a pensioner or disability premium.