§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have(a) applied for and (b) been awarded incapacity benefit in each year since April 1995 in (i) Staffordshire and (ii) the West Midlands. [58275]
98W
§ Mr. TimmsThe administration of Incapacity Benefit 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. Brian Jenkins, dated 5 November 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking for the number of people in the Staffordshire and West Midlands areas who have applied for, and been awarded, Incapacity Benefit (IB) in each year since April 1995.Information on the number of IB claims received is only available by each of the Agency's district, which do not match county boundaries. To obtain this information in the format requested would involve disproportionate cost.Information on the number of awards of IB broken down by geographical areas has only been available since November 1996. Information from that date is shown in the attached table.hope the information is helpful.
Incapacity benefit awards 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 West Midlands 24,516 36,945 5,053 Staffordshire 9,091 15,809 2,318 Notes:
Figures provided by Analytical Services Division.
Figures are provisional and subject to change.