HC Deb 29 January 2002 vol 379 c257W
Ms Buck

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the(a) number of recipients of working families tax credit who are also in receipt of housing benefit (i) in England and (ii) each English region and (b) estimated current net cost of discounting working families tax credit for the purposes of calculating housing benefit for existing claimants. [26244]

Malcolm Wicks

Information on the number of housing benefit recipients in England who are also receiving working families tax credit by Government office region is in the table.

It is estimated that the net cost in 2000–01 of discounting working families tax credit in calculating entitlement to housing benefit for benefit recipients in Great Britain at May 2000 would have been £250 million.

Government office region Number of housing benefit recipients also receiving working families tax credit
North East 12,000
North West 26,000
Yorkshire and Humberside 20,000
East Midlands 14,000
West Midlands 21,000
East 16,000
London 28,000
South East 29,000
South West 19,000
England Total 185,000

Notes:

1. The data refer to households, which may be a single person, a 1couple or a family.

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

3. Figures include those people in receipt of either the standard working families tax credit or the 30 hour premium working families tax credit.

Source:

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, annual one per cent, sample, taken in May 2000. This is the latest available data source that provides the number of housing benefit recipients who also receive working families tax credit.