§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many applications have been(a) received and (b) approved for Sure Start maternity grant (i) in total and (ii) at the Twickenham Job Centre Plus office; and what estimate he has made of the numbers who are entitled to this benefit. [176772]
§ Mr. PondThe information is not available in the format requested. The available information is in the tables.
Sure Start maternity grants for Thames Valley social fund district 2000–01 Number Applications 2,351 Awards 1,934
Sure Start maternity grants for area covered by Hounslow and Twickenham social fund district Applications Awards 2001–02 1,170 934 2002–03 1,412 1,092 2003–04 (To November) 893 664
Sure Start maternity grants for area covered by the South London Jobcentre Plus district Applications Awards 2003–04 (From December) 1,557 1,205 2004–05 (April only) 354 264
Sure Start Maternity Grants for Great Britain Applications Awards 1999–2000 223 33 2000–01 200,941 170,293 2001–02 242,406 201,376 2002–03 289,132 232,414 2003–04 316,814 237,776 2004–05 (April only) 24,633 17,834 Notes: 1. In March 2000 Twickenham office was part of Thames Valley social fund district. In April 2001 it was moved to the newly created Hounslow and Twickenham social fund district. In December 2003 it was moved again, to become part of South London Jobcentre Plus district. 2. Sure Start maternity grants were introduced on 27 March 2000. The very small number of Thames Valley cases for 1999–2000 have been excluded for data protection reasons. 3. We have made no estimate of the number of people eligible for the Sure Start maternity grant. 4. Information regarding the number of people eligible for the Sure Start maternity grant is not available and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Source: DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.