§ Earl Russellasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many applications there have been for incapacity benefit since May 1997; how many of these applicants have been successful; how many unsuccessful; and what proportion of the applications have been successful; and [HL802]
What proportion of the population have applied for incapacity benefit in each region of the United Kingdom; and what has been the rate of success in each region. [HL803]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Hollis of Heigham)In order to make a successful claim for incapacity benefit, a person must satisfy the appropriate contribution conditions; in cases where an application does not result in an award, it is usually because these conditions have not been met. Occupational and personal pensions may also be taken into consideration, with an award reduced by half of any excess over £85; however, people who receive the highest rate of the care component of disability living allowance are not affected.
The available information is in the table.
The number of incapacity benefit claims made, claims refused and commencements since September 1997 Period between Claims received1 Claims refused1 %Claims refused Claims commencing2 Sept 1997–Aug 1998 1,227,210 n/a n/a 842,000 Sept 1998–Aug 1999 1,807,855 n/a n/a 805,000 Sept 1999–Aug 2000 1,284,645 466,865 36.3 775,600 Sept 2000–Aug 2001 1,216,785 435,010 35.8 757,700 Sept 2001–Aug 2002 1,180,505 428,555 36.3 725,300 Sept 2002–Aug 2003 1,131,380 432,640 38.2 685,400 Source: 1Central Data Unit (CDU) 100% count. 2DWP Information Centre, 5% sample. Notes:
1. CDU figures for claims processed are rounded to the nearest five.
2. Figures for IB commencements are rounded to the nearest hundred.
3. Figures have been updated to include late notified claims commencing.
45WA
The number of incapacity benefit (IB) claims made, claims refused and commencements by Government Office Region from 1 September 2002 to 31 August 2003 Claims received1 Claims made as % of working age population3 Claims refused1 % Claims refused1 Claims commencing2 Total 1,131,380 3.2 432,640 38 685,400 North East 67,135 4.4 30,175 45 47,800 North west 158,260 3.8 66,460 42 107,800 Yorkshire & Humber 113,285 3.7 43,595 38 67,300 East Midlands 79,635 3.1 25,210 32 45,300 West Midlands 99,115 3.1 37,785 38 62,200 East 78,005 2.4 25,330 32 45,400 London 116,585 2.4 47,250 41 67,900 South East 129,295 2.6 42,540 33 56,700 South west 81,285 2.7 28,795 35 50,500 Wales 73,255 4.2 29,470 40 46,800 Scotland 135,525 4.3 56,030 41 87,900 Source: 1 Central Data Unit (CDU) 100% count. 2 DWP Information Centre, 5% sample. 3 ONS, Mid 2002 Population estimates. Notes:
1. CDU figures for claims processed are rounded to the nearest five.
2. Figures for claims commencing are rounded to the nearest hundred. Figures refer to claims and therefore include multiple occurrences of those who have made more than one claim to IB in the period.
3. Claims commencing figures include late notifications onto the system. As figures for more recent quarters include fewer late notifications, these figures are subject to significant revision in future.