§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many children were living in poverty in Shrewsbury and Atcham on(a) 1 May 1997 and (b) the most recent date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [119468]
§ Mr. BayleyI refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave him on 20 March 2000,Official Report, columns 453–54W.
The estimates in the answer provided on 20 March are the most recent available with the exception of estimates of the numbers of dependants aged under 16 included in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based) claims. Figures for February 1997, the nearest date prior to 1 May 1997, and November 1999, are given in the table.
Number of dependants under age 16 included in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based) claims for Shrewsbury and Atcham Thousand February 1997 2.9 November 1999 2.0 Notes:
- 1. Numbers are taken from the Income Support/Jobseeker's Allowance Statistics Quarterly Enquiries for February 1997 and November 1999, which are point in time surveys based on a 5 per cent. sample of Income Support/Jobseeker's Allowance claimants.
- 2. The figures include the unemployed who until 1996 were included in Income Support caseloads. Income Support for the unemployed was replaced by income-based Jobseeker's Allowance from October 1996.
- 3. Numbers are based on sample cases and will therefore be subject to sampling error.
- 4. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest hundred and expressed in thousands.
- 5. The local authority district is assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant 1997 version 1 and 1999 version 2 postcode directories.