§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have(a) applied for and (b) been awarded incapacity benefit in each of the last three years. [55935]
§ Mr. TimmsThe information is set out in the table.
Number of claims to and awards of incapacity benefit (IB) New claims IB awards1 1 March 1995–29 February 19962 1,072,456 535,100 1 March 1996–28 February 1997 1,067,919 495,600 1 March 1997–28 February 1998 1,012,827 455,380 1 Figures exclude a small number of clerical cases and cases entered onto the system after the extract periods 2 Includes period, 1 March 1995 to 12 April 1995, before Incapacity Benefit replaced Sickness Benefit and Invalidity Benefit on 13 April 1995 Sources:
New claims figures are received from Central Data Unit, these figures are subject to change.IB Awards figures are taken from a quarterly 5 per cent. sample of the computer system.