Housing Benefit (Portsmouth) (Hansard, 2 July 1997)

HC Deb 02 July 1997 vol 297 c204W 204W

§ Mr. Hancock
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are claiming housing benefit in Portsmouth; and what were the figures for(a) 1974, (b) 1979, (c) 1988 and (d) 1996. [4742]

§ Mr Keith Bradley
The existing Housing Benefit scheme was introduced only in 1988. In November 1996, the latest date for which figures are available, Portsmouth City Council paid housing benefit to 21,190 recipients.
Source: Housing Benefit Management Information System (HBMIS) quarterly caseload count.
Notes: 1. Recipients may he a single person or a couple. 2. The local authority advises that 3,900 of the recipients were tenants of Portsmouth council properties in Havant.