§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the expenditure in each of the last five years on the provision of help with mortgage interest payments for(a) all income support claimants and (b) lone parents receiving income support. [87176]
§ Angela EagleThe information is in the table.
Income Support (all cases) in Great Britain with mortgage interest 1993–98 Year Number of claimants Estimated annual expenditure £ million 1993–94 550,000 1,137 1994–95 517,000 995 1995–96 488,000 996 1996–97 377,000 671 1997–98 295,000 501
Income-based jobseeker's allowance (all cases) in Great Britain with mortgage interest 1996–98 Year Number of claimants Estimated expenditure £ million 1996–97 94,000 99 1997–98 67,000 144 294W
Income Support (lone parents) in Great Britain with mortgage interest 1993–98 Year Number of claimants Estimated annual expenditure £ million 1993–94 120,000 280 1994–95 120,000 274 1995–96 116,000 291 1996–97 101,000 233 1997–98 86,000 201
Income-based jobseeker's allowance (lone parents) in Great Britain with mortgage interest 1996–98 Year Number of claimants Estimated expenditure £ million 1996–97 2,000 2 1997–98 2,000 4 Notes:
1. Figures are based on a 1 per cent. sample in May 1993 and a 5 per cent. sample thereafter.
2. Figures are based on an average of payments and numbers of claimants in the inquiry week using an average of the four quarters of the financial year.
3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand, and the estimated annual expenditure is rounded to the nearest million pounds.
4. Prior to November 1995 figures on amounts of Income Support Mortgage Interest paid to claimants were published in the Quarterly Statistical Enquiry. From November 1995 onwards these have been replaced by figures on housing costs payable to claimants with mortgage interest payments. This change is due to alterations in Income Support rules and provides a more accurate reflection of the help actually provided to claimants under the housing cost rules. From 1993–94 onwards, the estimates that have been used for this answer have been based on amounts of housing requirements payable to claimants with mortgage interest payments, and will include amounts for ground rent and other miscellaneous housing costs, although the majority of the amount is paid for mortgage interest.
5. Income Support figures exclude the unemployed from October 1996, as Income Support for the unemployed was replaced by Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance from this point.
6. The February 1998 quarterly figure used in the annual 1997–98 Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) figure include nil mortgage cases (i.e., cases with housing requirements only). JSA estimated expenditure for 1996–97 represents a six month estimate from the introduction of Income-based JSA, the 1997–98 is an annual estimate.
7. Lone parents have been defined as single people with dependants not in receipt of a disability or pensioner premium.
Source
1. Jobseeker's Allowance Statistics Quarterly Enquiries, November 1996-February 1998.
2. Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiries, May 1993–February 1998.