§ Mr. Alan HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest estimate of the number of(a) men and (b) women who have received a back-to-work bonus; what has been the average amount of the bonus in each case; and what has been the total cost of the scheme to date. [15075]
§ Mr. BurtThe information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is set out in the table:
Back-to-work bonus statistics1 All claimants Number of bonus payments made from October 1996 to January 19912 3,000 Total amount of bonus payments made from October 1996 to January 19973 £248,000 Estimated average bonus payment4 £85.34 Estimated administrative cost of bonus payments made from October 1996 to January 19975 £18,263 Claimants with an accrued bonus at the end of January 19976 119,000 Sources: 1. Back-to-work bonus management information statistics. 2. The departmental "Ready Reckoner" and "The Benefit Agency Whole Unit Guide". Notes: 1 Provisional data based on claims held on the income support computer system (ISCS) and the jobseeker's allowance payment system (JSAPS). No clerically processed claims included. Numbers are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2 Claims authorised for payment recorded on JSAPS and ISCS. 3 Total amount authorised for payment recorded on ISCS and JSAPS. 4 Based on total amount authorised for payment recorded on ISCS and JSAPS. 5 the cost of processing 3,000 bonus payments based on average salaries. Includes superannuation and employers' national insurance costs. 6 Live claims on ISCS and JSAPS with a bonus accrual plus claims which have ended with a bonus accrual but no bonus payment has been made (claimants who return to benefit within 12 weeks and have not claimed a bonus retain the amount accrued during the previous claim).