Industrial and Provident Societies (Hansard, 11 April 2000)

§ Dr. Naysmith
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what assessment he has made of the responses to 139W the recent consultation exercise on the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts; and for what reasons the results have not yet been published; [118200]
(2) if, after discussions with the Co-operative Movement are completed, he intends to propose amendments to the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts. [118201]

§ Miss Melanie Johnson
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Love) on 20 March 2000,Official Report, column 446W.

Number of claimants

1970 1980 1999

Benefit:

Income Support (Supplementary Benefit in 1970 and 1980) 191,000 316,000 ¹1,030,000

Jobseeker's Allowance (Income based) n/a n/a 14,000

Housing Benefit² n/a n/a 1,016,000

Family Credit (Family Income Supplement in 1971 and 1980) 15,000 52,000 ³405,000

Widowed Mothers Allowance⁴ 100,000 79,000 47,000

Annual cost⁵ (£ billion) 1.1 £1.4 9.1

Proportion of DSS budget (percentage) 3 3 9

¹ This is the number of "single Income Support claimants with dependants". Therefore this figure includes some who are claiming Income Support (IS) due to disability or being over pension age as well as those claiming IS due to being a lone parent.

² Figures for Housing Benefit are for 1998. The current Housing Benefit scheme was introduced in 1988. Prior to 1988 figures were not collected separately for lone parents and so they have not been included in the table.

³ Figures for Family Income Supplement are for 1971 and 1980. Figures for Family Credit (FC) only go up to September 1999. From October 1999, FC was replaced by Working Families Tax Credit.

⁴ Figures for Widowed Mothers Allowance (WMA) are for December 1971, November 1981 and March 1999.

⁵ The expenditure figures are given in real 1999–2000 prices. They are based on 1970–71, 1980–81 and 1999–2000 with the following exceptions: WMA is based on 1971–72 and 1981–82. FIS is based on 1981–82 and FC refers to 1998–99 (ie the last full year of FC). Therefore the proportion of expenditure for 1970–71, 1980–81 and 1999–2000 are approximate figures.

Notes:

1. Estimates of the numbers on benefit are based on 1 per cent. and 5 per cent. scans of benefit computer systems. These scans select 1 per cent. or 5 per cent. of the relevant cases and so are subject to some degree of sampling error.

2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand.

3. Some lone parents will be in receipt of other benefits such as IB, SDA or Industrial Injuries Benefit. We have not included them in this table, as we cannot separately identify lone parents on the computer systems for these benefits.

4. Figures cannot be added together as some cases will be in receipt of more than one of these benefits.
Sources:

1. Income Support: Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999.

2. Supplementary Benefit: Supplementary Benefit Annual Statistical Enquiries.

3. JSA (IB): Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, November 1999.

4. Family Credit: Family Credit Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, August 1999.

5. Widowed Mothers Allowance: 5 per cent. sample of Pension Strategy Computer System. March 1999.

6. Housing Benefit: Housing Benefit Management Information System, annual 1 per cent. sample inquiry, taken as at the second Thursday of May 1998.

§ Mr. Gerald Howarth
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of households headed by a single mother are currently in receipt of(a) housing benefit, (b) other social security benefits, excluding child benefit, (c) income support, (d) social security loans and (e) free school meals. [117531]

§ Angela Eagle
The information is in the table.

Percentage

Proportion of all lone mothers in receipt

Housing Benefit 59

Other Social Security Benefits 28

Income Support 60

Social Fund Loans 24

Free School Meals ¹—

¹ Information for free school meals is not available by family type.

Number of claimants
	1970	1980	1999
Benefit:
Income Support (Supplementary Benefit in 1970 and 1980)	191,000	316,000	¹1,030,000
Jobseeker's Allowance (Income based)	n/a	n/a	14,000
Housing Benefit²	n/a	n/a	1,016,000
Family Credit (Family Income Supplement in 1971 and 1980)	15,000	52,000	³405,000
Widowed Mothers Allowance⁴	100,000	79,000	47,000
Annual cost⁵ (£ billion)	1.1	£1.4	9.1
Proportion of DSS budget (percentage)	3	3	9
¹ This is the number of "single Income Support claimants with dependants". Therefore this figure includes some who are claiming Income Support (IS) due to disability or being over pension age as well as those claiming IS due to being a lone parent.
² Figures for Housing Benefit are for 1998. The current Housing Benefit scheme was introduced in 1988. Prior to 1988 figures were not collected separately for lone parents and so they have not been included in the table.
³ Figures for Family Income Supplement are for 1971 and 1980. Figures for Family Credit (FC) only go up to September 1999. From October 1999, FC was replaced by Working Families Tax Credit.
⁴ Figures for Widowed Mothers Allowance (WMA) are for December 1971, November 1981 and March 1999.
⁵ The expenditure figures are given in real 1999–2000 prices. They are based on 1970–71, 1980–81 and 1999–2000 with the following exceptions: WMA is based on 1971–72 and 1981–82. FIS is based on 1981–82 and FC refers to 1998–99 (ie the last full year of FC). Therefore the proportion of expenditure for 1970–71, 1980–81 and 1999–2000 are approximate figures.

Percentage
	Proportion of all lone mothers in receipt
Housing Benefit	59
Other Social Security Benefits	28
Income Support	60
Social Fund Loans	24
Free School Meals	¹—
¹ Information for free school meals is not available by family type.