§ Mr. RooneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the annual number of new claims for jobseeker's allowance where the claimant had been in class one employment but contribution conditions were not satisfied; how many of these received(a) income-related jobseeker's allowance and (b) credits only; and how many of each group failed to meet contribution conditions because their earnings were below the lower earnings limit. [18282]
Mr. BradleyThe information is not available in the format requested, as the Benefits Agency Management Information Statistics can only provide information on the numbers of claims allowed and disallowed on an annual basis. However, the Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly676W Statistical Inquiry shows a snap-shot of the stock of claims by benefit reason. Such information as is available is as follows.
In February 1997, 1,473,000 claimants were not in receipt of contribution-based Jobseeker's Allowance. Of these, 986,000 did not qualify because of a contribution deficiency, of whom 940,000 claimants were in receipt of income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and 46,000 claimants were receiving credits only.It is not known how many of these claimants had been in Class 1 employment, or had earnings below the lower earning limit.Notes:
1. Figures rounded to the nearest thousand.
2. Sample size 5 per cent.
Source:
Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiry—February 1997.