§ Earl Russellasked Her Majesty's Government:
What proportion of lone parents on income support are subject to deductions from their benefits; what is the average amount of these deductions; and what are the causes for which they are being paid. [HL382]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)At February 2001, 57.6 per cent of income support lone parent cases had one or more deductions from their benefit. Information by number of cases, deduction type and amount is in the table.
Deductions from Income Support Payments to Lone Parents by Type and Average Weekly Amount, as at February 2001 Type of deduction Number of cases (thousands) Average amount deducted (£pw) Cases with a deduction as a percentage of all lone parents on Income Support All types1 756.3 10.92 Electricity 7.7 12.15 0.9 Gas 17.3 11.00 1.9 Water and sewerage 69.6 6.64 7.8 Mortgage Interest 49.3 50.16 5.5 Other housing costs 56.7 4.74 6.3 Community charge— lower 11.2 2.64 1.2 Community charge— higher — — — Council tax 86.3 2.63 9.6 Fines recovery 6.0 2.63 0.7 Social Fund recovery 387.3 10.70 43.3 Overpayment recovery 64.9 5.44 7.3 Notes:
1. "All types" total does not represent the number of cases with a deduction but the total number of deductions being made across all cases. Therefore this figure cannot be expressed as a percentage of the lone parent IS caseload.
2. Figures are based on a 5 per cent sample and are therefore subject to a degree of sampling error.
3. Lone parents are defined as single claimants aged under age 60, with dependents, where the claimant does not receive a disability premium.
4. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and are expressed in thousands. Totals may not sum due to rounding.
5. "—" denotes nil or negligible.
6. "." denotes that the figure is not appropriate.
Source: Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiry, February 2001.