§ Mr. AshdownTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in(a) Yeovil constituency and (b) South Somerset have been in receipt of (i) Income 211W Support, (ii) Disability Living Allowance, (iii) Incapacity Benefit, (iv) Unemployment Benefit, and (v) Housing Benefit in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [126580]
§ Mr. BayleyThe administration of benefits is a matter for Alexis Cleveland, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. She will write to the right hon. Member.
Letter from Alexis Cleveland to Mr. Paddy Ashdown, dated 20 June 2000:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to respond to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) South Somerset have been in receipt of (i) income support, (ii) disability living allowance, (iii) incapacity benefit, (iv) unemployment benefit, and (v) housing benefit in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.The data is not available in the requested format, however the information that is available is supplied in the attached tables.I hope this is helpful.
(i) Income Support Year Yeovil PC South Somerset LA August 1998 5,000 — August 1999 5,000 — February 2000 4,900 — February 1993 — 9,9000 February 1994 — 10,200 February 1995 — 10,000 February 1996 — 9,800 February 1997 — 6,900 February 1998 — 6,700 February 1999 — 6,700 February 2000 — 6,900 Notes:
1. Claimant figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Sample size 5 per cent., therefore subject to sampling error.
3.Figures for parliamentary constituency are not available prior to August 1998.
4. Figures for South Somerset are not readily available prior to February 1993.
Source:
Income Support Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, February 1994 to February 2000.
(ii) Disability Living Allowance—recipients of Disability Living Allowance Year Yeovil PC South Somerset LA May 1993 1,600 1,900 May 1994 1,700 2,200 May 1995 1,700 2,300 May 1996 2,000 2,700 May 1997 2,200 3,000 May 1998 2,313 3,311 May 1999 2,447 3,494 Notes:
1. Figures relate to 31 May.
2. Figures based on a 5 per cent. data for years up to 1997 and on 100 per cent. data for years 1998 and 1999.
2. Figures prior to 1993 not available. Disability Living Allowance was introduced in April 1992.
Source:
DSS Information Centre
212W
(iii) Incapacity Benefit—Incapacity Benefit recipients in the South Somerset area for May 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 South Somerset 31 May 1996 2,600 31 May 1997 2,700 31 May 1998 2,600 31 May 1999 2,500 30 November 1999 2,700 Notes:
1. These figures are taken from a 5 per cent. sample of the benefit computer system, and exclude a small number of cases held clerically. All the May figures for South Somerset are subject to a rating factor to account for missing postcodes. The figures are rounded to the nearest hundred.
2. Figures for parliamentary constituency are not available. Figures for South Somerset are not readily available prior to May 1996.
3. Incapacity Benefit replaced Sickness Benefit and Invalidity Benefit in April 1995.
Unemployment Benefit
No figures are available for Unemployment Benefit by either Parliamentary Constituency or Local Authority however figures for Jobseekers Allowance are provided in the table below.
Unemployment benefit ceased on 6th October 1996 and Jobseekers Allowance began from 7th October 1996
(iv)Jobseeker's Allowance Year Yeovil PC South Somerset LA August 1998 1,300 — August 1999 1,000 — August 2000 1,000 — August 1997 — 2,100 February 1998 — 1,600 February 1999 — 1,600 February 2000 — 1,500 Notes:
1. Claimant figures have been rounded to the nearest hundred. Sample size 5 per cent., therefore subject to sampling error.
2. Jobseeker's Allowance replaced Income Support for the unemployed in October 1996.
3. Figures are for all claimants including those with nil benefit.
Source:
Jobseeker's Allowance Statistics Quarterly Enquiry, August 1997 to February 2000
(v) Housing Benefit-Housing Benefit recipients in South Somerset: May 1990 to May 1997 Number of people in receipt of Housing Benefit May 1990 8,470 May 1991 9,380 May 1992 8,770 May 1993 8,400 May 1994 7,810 May 1995 8,940 May 1996 9,030 May 1997 8,930 May 1998 8,530 May 1999 8,170 Notes:
1. Information refers to the number of benefit units.
2. The figures are rounded to the nearest ten.
The number of people in receipt of Housing Benefit for the years from 1990 to 1999 in the Yeovil constituency is unavailable, as the data are not collected at this level.
Source:
Housing Benefit Management Information System, quarterly 100 per cent. case load stock-counts, taken on the last working day in May 1990 to May 1997 and on the second Thursday of May 1998 and May 1999.