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Housing Benefit
Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will detail for each of the years between 1982-83 and 1995-96 (a) the total cost of housing benefit in Scotland paid to (i) tenants of new towns, Scottish Homes and local authorities, (ii) tenants of housing associations and (iii) tenants of private landlords and (b) the number of households in Scotland receiving housing benefit in each of the above categories. [11140]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The available information is set out in the table.
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Notes:
1. Figures for recipients have been rounded to the nearest thousand and are averages of four quarters data. Expenditure figures have been rounded to the nearest £ million.
2. Figures for recipients refer to benefit units which may be a single person or a couple.
3. Expenditure figures are not available for 1982-83.
4. Information on Housing Benefit recipients on Scotland is not available prior to 1988-89.
5. Information on the number of housing association tenants was not collected prior to May 1992.
6. Housing association expenditure figures have been estimated from a one per cent. sample of recipients.
Source:
Recipients: housing benefit management information system, quarterly 100 per cent. caseload enquiries taken on the last working day in May, August, November and February.
Expenditure: Department of Social Security planning and finance division.
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Mr. Watson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many young single people aged 16 to 24 years (a) living in the private rented sector and (b) living in self-contained private rented sector accommodation in Scotland currently receive housing benefit; and in each case at what cost. [11161]
Mr. Evans:
The latest available figures show that, as at May 1994, there were 15,000 recipients of housing benefit in Scotland who were aged 16 to 24 and living in privately rented accommodation; the estimated total cost of housing benefit paid to this group during the 1994-95 financial year was £41 million. Information is not routinely collected to differentiate between self-contained and non self-contained accommodation.
Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the number of (a) males and (b) females covered by SERPs; and what percentage of the work force it constituted in (i) 1993, (ii) 1994 and (iii) 1995. [12833]
Mr. Heald:
Figures are not available for 1994 or 1995. The latest figures available 1 show that in 1992-93, 3.3 million men and 3.2 million women in the United Kingdom would accrue SERPS entitlement 2 , representing 22.8 per cent. of the work force 3 .
Notes:
1 Source: 1 per cent. sample of national insurance records.
2 This is the number of people who paid class 1 national insurance contributions at the not contracted out rate over the year 1992-93 whose earnings factor was equal to or above the annual lower earnings limit.
3 Source: Employment Gazette December 1995. Workforce includes self-employed persons, HM Forces, people on Government training programmes and the claimant unemployed.
4 Information on the workforce is provided quarterly and is a point in time figures. In order to assess the number throughout the year the four quarters have been averaged. The percentage covered by SERPS has then been calculated using the average figure. The breakdown by sex is unavailable.
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Mr. Pike:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much money was lent on social fund loans at the last date for which figures are available; how many people have such loans; what is the average loan at the time of issue; and what is the average repayment period. [12834]
Mr. Roger Evans:
The information for the period April to December 1995 is set out in the table.
| Budgeting loan | Crisis loan | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of awards | 702,751 | 621,048 |
| Total amount awarded | £190,294,974 | £41,161,827 |
| Average payment | £270.78 | £66.27 |
| Average length of repayment for loan repaid during this period | 34.7 weeks | 14.6 weeks |
1. The number of discretionary awards made after review is not included.
2. The repayment terms for social fund loans are designed to be affordable to the applicant. The rate of repayment depends upon the applicant's individual circumstances. Although most loans are repaid within 78 weeks, the period of repayment may be extended up to 104 weeks.
Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what has been the average time taken to process a claim on the social fund for each year since its inception; and if he will indicate the total number of claims (a) met, (b) refused and (c) appealed against. [12265]
Mr. Evans [holding answer 31 January 1996]: The information is set out in the tables.
Performance monitoring by the Benefits Agency of clearance times for funeral payments and maternity payments did not commence until September 1992.
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1. As claims for maternity and funeral payments are from the regulated part of the social fund there are rights of appeal to a social security appeal tribunal. The grievance procedure for dissatisfied applicants to the discretionary social fund is by review process.
2. The difference between applications received, awards and refusals is due to: applications being withdrawn by applicants; applications where there is no response from applicants; and applications not decided at the time the count was made.
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