HC Deb 27 November 2001 vol 375 cc862-3W
Mr. Howard

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people received(a) tax credits and (b) means-tested benefits in the constituency of Folkestone and Hythe for each year since April 1997. [17738]

Dawn Primarolo

The available information for Folkestone and Hythe is in the following table.

Recipients of (a) tax credits and (b) certain income related benefits in the Folkestone and Hythe constituency
May
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC)/ Family Credit (FC) 1,100 1,300 1,000 1,800 2,200
Disabled Person's Tax Credit (DPTC)/Disability Working Allowance (DWA) 12 18 35 37 45
Income Support (IS) 6,900 6,800 6,900 7,100 7,200
Jobseeker's Allowance (income based) (JSA) 2,600 2,000 1,800 1,500 1,100
Total 10,600 10,100 9,800 10,400 10,600

Notes:

1. Apart from DPTC and DWA, the figures are based on a 5 per cent. sample. They are subject to sampling error and therefore shown to the nearest 100.

2. Recipients of WFTC/FC or DPTC/DWA who also receive IS or JSA are included only in the first two columns. This eliminates double counting in the total.

3. WFTC and DPTC replaced FC and DWA from October 1999.

4. DPTC and DWA figures are for April.

Sources:

Income Support Quarterly Statistical Enquiries May 1997-May 2000

Jobseeker's Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiries May 1997-May 2001

Working Families Tax Credit/Family Credit Quarterly Statistical Enquiries May 1997-May 2001.

Disabled Person's Tax Credit/Disability Working Allowance Quarterly Statistical Enquiries April 1997-April 2001.

Housing benefit and council tax benefit figures are not available for the Folkestone and Hythe constituency but are available for the Shepway local authority.

Recipients of housing benefit and council tax benefit in Shepway
Housing benefit Council tax benefit
May 1997 7,900 9,640
May 1998 7,630 9,290
May 1999 7,460 9,030
May 2000 6,640 8,150
May 2001 6,260 7,740

Notes:

1. The data refer to benefit units, which can be single persons or couples.

2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Source:

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock.