HC Deb 22 July 1998 vol 316 cc597-9W
Mr. Browne

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many lone parents in Kilmarnock and Loudoun were on income support in the periods(a) May 1995 to 1996, (b) May 1996 to 1997 and (c) May 1997 to 1998. [51631]

Mr. Keith Bradley

The administration of Social Security benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Desmond Browne, dated 21 July 1998: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many lone parents in Kilmarnock and Loudoun were on Income Support (IS) in the periods May 1995 to 1996, May 1996 to 1997 and May 1997 to 1998. The information is not available in the format requested. The Benefits Agency (BA) collates IS statistics by BA District. These Districts do not correspond to constituency boundaries, Local Authority areas or specific geographical areas. Such information as is available is provided in the attached annex. It relates to the BA's South West Scotland District which is made up of offices in Irvine, Kilmarnock, Ayr, Dumfries and Stranraer. The information is provisional and may be subject to change. I hope that this is helpful.

Number of lone parents on Income Support in BA's SW Scotland District
Year May August November February
1995 9,610 9,804 9,581 9,673
1996 9,660 9,842 9,575 9,609
1997 9,649 9,712 9,363 9,401
1998 9,322

The figures represent only those lone parents who are in receipt of the lone parent rate of family premium.

Mr. Browne

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the number of lone parents in Kilmarnock and Loudoun who have taken up in-work benefits in the periods(a) May 1995 to 1996, (b) May 1996 to 1997, (c) May 1997 to 1998 and (d) May 1998 to July 1998. [51630]

Mr. Keith Bradley

The administration of in work benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Desmond Browne, dated 21 July 1998: The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for an estimate of the number of lone parent families in Kilmarnock and Loudoun who have taken up in work benefits in the periods (a) May 1995 to 1996, (b) May 1996 to 1997, (c) May 1997 to 1998 and (d) May 1998 to July 1998. The information is not available in the format requested. In work benefits, namely Family Credit (FC) and Disability Working Allowance (DWA), are administered centrally by the Benefits Agency's (BA) Income Related Benefits Directorate based at Preston. Statistics are produced on a national basis and provide a snapshot of the number of families in receipt of FC or DWA within a particular BA office area at a given date. These statistics do not provide a breakdown of the numbers of single and two parent families in receipt of the benefits. However, national figures indicate that 53% of all recipients of FC and DWA are single parent families. Using the above information, the details provided below estimate the number of single and two parent families in receipt of in work benefits in Kilmarnock at the dates shown.

Date FC/DWA lone parent awards FC/DWA two parent awards
July 1995 704 625
August 1996 795 705
August 1997 811 720
April 1998 795 706

I hope this information is useful.
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