§ Mr. FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people are currently claiming severe disablement allowance in each quintile of income distribution. [73899]
§ Mr. BayleyThe information is in the table.
Number of people claiming severe disablement allowance in each quintile of income distribution Income quintile Before housing costs After housing costs Bottom 30,000 30,000 Second 70,000 70,000 Third 90,000 90,000 Fourth 50,000 50,000 Top 20,000 20,000 Total 260,000 260,000 Notes:
1. Estimates are rounded to the nearest ten thousand. Estimates may not sum owing to rounding.
2. Figures are an average of the recipients of Severe Disablement Allowance in the 1995–96 Households Below Average Income datasets based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and as such are subject to sampling error.
3. The measure of income used is household equivalised net income before housing costs and after housing costs. Incomes are equivalised to adjust for household size and composition. No adjustment is made to household income to reflect any additional needs that recipients of severe disablement allowance might have. A household can comprise more than one benefit unit, for example a pensioner living with their grown up children.
Source:
The dates are taken from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) and all estimates are subject to sampling error. The total of recipients of Severe Disablement Allowance living in private households is estimated to be 260,000 while the total 1996–97 caseload was 355,000. Part of this difference will be due to the fact that the FRS does not survey those who do not live in private households, for example those in residential homes. However, there may also be under-reporting of benefit receipt within the FRS.