Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 16th June 1986.
Mr. Meacher Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of, average amount paid, and annual cost of, housing benefit paid to (a) 16-year olds, (b) 17-year-olds and (c) 18-year-olds, respectively, for the latest available year.
Mr. Major This information is not collected centrally, and, I regret, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 16th June 1986.
Mr. Marlow Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his best estimates as to the number of foreigners in receipt of supplementary benefit and the cost in the following categories (a) Irish, (b) other non-United Kingdom citizens of the EEC, (c) Commonwealth, (d) other foreigners and (e) total.
Mr. Major Details of the citizenship or nationality of persons claiming supplementary benefit are not relevant to the determination of claims and are not, therefore, generally collected. Some statistics are available for nationals of the European Community – excluding Eire – to whom 1,078 awards were made in 1985. The circumstances of claimants vary widely and it is not possible to estimate costs.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 10th June 1986.
Mr. Mason Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were in receipt of supplementary benefit in Barnsley during each of the years from 1979 to the latest year for which figures are available.
Mr. Major Barnsley is covered for social security purposes by two of the Department’s offices; their boundaries are not conterminous with those of the town. The table shows the number of people in receipt of supplementary benefit from those two offices at 6 May 1986 and at comparable dates since 1979.
Year | Number
1979 | 9,805
1980 | 9,882
1981 | 11,943
1982 | 14,563
1983 | 15,016
1984 | 17,623
1985 | 18,690
1986 | 19,565
Source: 100 per cent. count of live cases in action.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Unclaimed Benefits on 9th June 1986.
Sir Brandon Rhys Williams Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the amount of social security benefits left unclaimed on an annual basis, distinguishing between the main benefits.
Mr. Major The following table sets out the latest available published figures:
Benefit | Year | Amount unclaimed in £ million
Supplementary Benefit | 1981 | 760
Family Income Supplement | 1981-82 | 57
One Parent Benefit 1982-83 | 18
First estimates of unclaimed housing benefits, and further estimates for supplementary benefit, family income supplement and one parent benefit, will be available shortly.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on the Enterprise Allowance on 9th June 1986.
Mr. Barnett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what information he has as to how many recipients of the enterprise allowance who were also in receipt of housing benefit had the enterprise allowance treated as unearned income for the purposes of entitlement of housing benefit; and in how many cases it was treated as a business receipt;
(2) if he has any plans to compensate those who have been financially disadvantaged by the decision to treat the enterprise allowance as unearned income under the housing benefit regulations; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Major No such information is collected centrally as the day-to-day administration of the housing benefit scheme is the statutory responsibility of local authorities. The guidance issued by the Department to local authorities is that enterprise allowance should be regarded as a business receipt for the purposes of deciding the income of housing benefit applicants – paragraph 7.15 of the housing benefits guidance manual, a copy of which is in the Library. If the hon. Member has a particular case in mind, he should raise it in the first instance with the local authority concerned.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Fraud) on 5th June 1986.
Mr. Marlow Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his best estimate of the numbers drawing unemployment or supplementary benefit who are also working without disclosing their work.
Mr. Major It is a criminal offence for any claimant to draw unemployment benefit or supplementary benefit without declaring that he is working. In 1981, in his report on payments of benefits to unemployed people, Sir Derek Rayner estimated that a minimum of around 8 per cent. of claimants are working while claiming benefit. The Department is making substantial efforts to reduce the level of fraud in this area and the Secretary of State has recently announced the allocation of 500 additional fraud staff to augment the Department’s overall anti-fraud effort.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Foreign Nationals) on 5th June 1986.
Mr. Marlow Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services under what conditions foreign nationals are entitled to supplementary benefit or unemployment benefit.
Mr. Major Foreign nationals living in Great Britain who have paid the relevant contributions are entitled to unemployment benefit subject to the normal rules. Some foreign nationals are helped to qualify under the European social security regulations and the reciprocal arrangements on social security with certain other countries. Supplementary benefit has no residence, nationality or contribution test and the entitlement of foreign nationals is dependent upon their immigration status.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Housing Benefit on 4th June 1986.
Mr. Raynsford Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate (a) the number of awards of the supplementary benefit non-householder housing addition to those aged 21 to 24 years, (b) the number of households receiving housing benefit containing non-dependants between the ages of 21 and 24 years, in respect of whom deductions from housing benefit are made and (c) the net annual saving in benefit expenditure he expects to make as a result of the proposed changes to the rules governing non-householders and non-dependants aged between 21 and 24 years in July 1986.
Mr. Major [pursuant to his reply, 12 May 1986, c. 381.]: Precise information is not available. We estimate that there are 180,000 non-householders aged 21-24 in receipt of supplementary benefit who receive the non-householder addition. Information is not collected centrally on non-dependent deductions from housing benefit but we can make some estimates based on a computer simulation model of housing benefit entitlement. These suggest that some 180,000 households which receive housing benefit contain non-dependants between the ages of 21-24 in respect of whom deductions are made. Of these there are about 30,000 where the non-dependants receive supplementary benefit. The figures available would suggest a gross saving of about £8 million to £9 million in 1986-87 and £26 million in 1987-88. We estimate that the corresponding change to the arrangements for non-dependants might reduce the gross savings by around a tenth. The year 1987-88 is the only full year before the wider social security changes which are planned, and since the change applies to new claims it will not affect all claimants.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Supplementary Benefit on 3rd June 1986.
Mr. Nellist Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people are presently in receipt of supplementary benefit in Coventry; and what was the comparable figure in May 1979.
Mr. Major 39,769 people are in receipt of supplementary benefit at the two Coventry local offices compared with 22,088 in May 1979.
Mr. Frank Cook Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) since the introduction of the Supplementary Benefits (Requirements) Amendment Regulations in November 1985 (a) how many requests local offices of his Department have received under schedule 2A, paragraph 5(4)(m) of those regulations for him to use his discretion in order to avoid exceptional hardship being suffered, (b) how many such requests have been referred on to the section dealing with them in headquarters and (c) in how many cases he has used his discretionary power;
(2) since the introduction of the Supplementary Benefits (Requirements) Amendment Regulations in November 1985 (a) how many requests have been received by each of the Stockton, Middlesbrough, Redcar, Eston and Hartlepool offices of his Department under schedule 2A, paragraph 5(4)(m) of those regulations for him to use his discretion in order to avoid exceptional hardship being suffered, (b) how many such requests from each of the above local offices have been referred on to the section dealing with them in headquarters and (c) in how many cases for each of the above local offices he has used his discretionary power.
Mr. Major Requests to local social security offices under schedule 2A, paragraph 5(4)(m) of the Supplementary Benefit Requirements Regulations are referred to headquarters. In respect of the individual offices mentioned by the hon. Member, four requests have been forwarded, all from the local office in Middlesbrough, of which one was successful. Overall, 94 requests have been received, of which 21 were successful.
Mr. Clay Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people were in receipt of supplementary benefit in (a) the northern region and (b) Sunderland for each year since 1979.
Mr. Major Sunderland is covered for social security purposes by the Department’s offices at Sunderland (South) and Sunderland (North) and is situated in the Department’s north-eastern region. North-eastern region was formed in 1982 by the amalgamation of the former Yorkshire and Humberside region with the major part of the former northern region. The table shows the total number of people receiving supplementary benefit in(a) both Sunderland local offices and (b) Northern and Yorkshire Humberside regions together for 1979-81 and north-eastern region from 1982 onwards. Figures given show the position at 6 May 1986, the latest available, and at comparable dates for each of the years since 1979.
Year | Sunderland | Region
1979 | 22,859 | 489,380
1980 | 23,137 | 497,297
1981 | 26,456 | 524,270
1982 | 31,272 | 663,069
1983 | 33,490 | 710,426
1984 | 36,248 | 756,721
1985 | 37,572 | 791,634
1986 | 38,678 | 804,115
Source: 100 per cent. count of live cases in action.
Below is the text of Mr Major’s written Parliamentary Answer on Benefits (Students) on 3rd June 1986.
Mr. Freud Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received in respect of the proposal to restrict student eligibility for benefits.
Mr. Newton Since publication of the White Paper we have received approximately 1,230 written representations and inquiries on these proposals.
Mr. Andrew F. Bennett Asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list those elements of the mandatory student grant, other than the £181 for books and equipment, which are deductible for the calculation of the student’s entitlement to supplementary benefit during term-
Mr. Major The other grant elements which are deducted when calculating any entitlement to supplementary benefit during term time are any grant paid to a disabled student in respect of his additional expenditure by reason of his disability; any grant paid in respect of any dependent child or spouse outside the United Kingdom; any sum which is intended and used for meeting expenses reasonably incurred by a student while living in accommodation away from his home for the purpose of attending his course; any sum which is intended and used for travelling expenses; any sum awarded in respect of special equipment requirements.