§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in receipt of income support in the Warrington, North constituency had weekly deductions paid to(a) British Gas and (b) North West Water for each of the past five years. [58316]
§ Angela EagleThe administration of Income Support is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Helen Jones, dated 9 November 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked Peter Mathison to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in receipt of Income Support in the Warrington North constituency had weekly deductions paid to (a) British Gas and (b) North West Water for each of the past five years. As Mr Mathison is away from the office on leave, I am replying.The information is not available in the format requested. The Benefits Agency (BA) collate Income Support (IS) statistics by BA District which do not correspond to Parliamentary Constituency boundaries. The BA North Cheshire District with offices at Warrington and Widnes is one such District. Information for this District is shown on the attached table.It has not been possible to list payments solely to British Gas nor North West Water. Direct payment statistics record a deduction as either "fuel" or "water". No distinction is drawn between gas and electricity suppliers, or between the different water suppliers.I hope this reply is helpful.167W
Number of IS recipients in the North Cheshire BA District having weekly deductions for fuel and water 1993–98 Year Fuel deductions applications accepted Water deductions applications accepted 1993–94 1,799 1,745 1994–95 1,901 1,922 1995–96 2,117 1,843 1996–97 1,484 1,684 1997–98 1,470 1,097 Notes
- 1. A customer may be recorded more than once if their claim to IS ended and they later reclaimed.
- 2. Figures are provisional and subject to change.
Source
Figures supplied by the Central Data Unit of BA Banking and Accountancy Branch.