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SOCIAL SECURITY

National Insurance Numbers

Mr. Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many national insurance numbers have been issued in each of the past five years for which figures are available to individuals who are not citizens of the United Kingdom but are (a) European Economic Area nationals or (b) nationals of countries outside the European Economic Area. [13734]

Mr. Heald: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table.

National Insurance numbers issued to persons arriving from:

	An EEA member state	Outside the EEA
1990-91	64,800	119,900
1991-92	44,000	100,500
1992-93	43,100	86,000
1993-94	52,700	85,400
1994-95	50,600	72,500

Notes:

EEA--European Economic Area.

The differentiation between EEA member states and countries outside the EEA is not based on nationality, it is based on the person's country of residence before arrival in the UK.Source:

1 per cent. sample of the national insurance recording system (NIRS).

Cold Weather Payments

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom the number of cold weather payments made in each year since 1992. [15158]

Mr. Roger Evans: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is contained in the social fund statistical series, "Cold Weather Payments by District Offices" held in the statistical section of the Library.

Disability Living Allowance

Mr. Clelland: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many new claimants appealed against the rejection of their claim to disability living allowance in the year 1994-95; and how many of those claimants were successful in their appeal; [15199]

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(2) if he will estimate the average cost to the Benefits Agency of each appeal against the rejection of a new claim to disability living allowance in 1994-95. [15200]

Mr. Andrew Mitchell: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is below.

In 1994-95, 33,799 appeals against adjudication officers' decisions on claims to disability living allowance, disability working allowance or attendance allowance were heard by disability appeal tribunals at an estimated average cost to the independent tribunal service of £315 per appeal.

Benefits (Pensioners)

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list in real terms the amount paid out in benefits in the past 30 years; and if he will divide the data according to the amount paid to pensioners and non-pensioner claimants. [15234]

Mr. Heald [holding answer 15 February 1996]: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the tables.

The clients group analysis is available only for 1978-79 onwards.

Client group expenditure real terms (1994-95 prices) 1965-66 to 1994-95£ million

	Total benefit expenditure
1965-66	23,581
1966-67	23,947
1967-68	26,430
1968-69	28,597
1969-70	29,061
1970-71	28,774
1971-72	30,630
1972-73	32,211
1973-74	33,191
1974-75	35,204
1975-76	37,898
1976-77	40,088
1977-78	42,270

Client group anlysis£ million

	Pensioners	Non-pensioners	Total benefit expenditure
1978-79	25,526	20,769	46,295
1979-80	25,335	21,589	46,924
1980-81	25,627	22,227	47,854
1981-82	27,648	25,691	53,339
1982-83	28,952	27,906	56,858
1983-84	29,990	30,712	60,702
1984-85	30,255	32,275	62,530
1985-86	31,283	33,385	64,668
1986-87	32,664	34,948	67,613
1987-88	32,687	34,058	66,744

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£ million

	Elderly	Non elderly	Total benefit expenditure
1988-89	31,684	31,726	63,410
1989-90	32,201	30,628	62,828
1990-91	33,199	32,245	65,444
1991-92	34,495	37,659	72,154
1992-93	36,219	42,609	78,828
1993-94	37,672	46,272	83,944
1994-95	37,926	47,295	85,221

Note:

Information on pensioners is only available between 1978-79 and 1987-88; with the introduction of income support in April 1988, the definition was changed to elderly, ie to include expenditure for men aged 60-64.

Source:

The information has been calculated using data from the Annual Abstract of Statistics 1995.

Local Exchange and Trading Schemes

Mr. Chris Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how participation in a local exchange and trading scheme affects an individual's benefit entitlement. [15431]

Mr. Roger Evans: Credits obtained from participation in local exchange and trading schemes can be exchanged for goods and services in the same way as money. For benefit purposes, therefore, the value of credits is treated in exactly the same way as other earnings. In income support, family credit and disability working allowance, work undertaken within such schemes will also be taken into consideration when applying the 16 hours remunerative work rule.

Housing Benefit

Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the figure of housing benefit paid to private landlords in the most recent year. [15910]

Mr. Roger Evans: Information on the amount of housing benefit paid by local authorities directly to private landlords on behalf of their tenants is not routinely collected. However, during the 1994-95 financial year, a total of £4,878 million was paid in housing benefit to tenants of private landlords and housing associations.

Industrial Injury Benefit

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects to reply to the letter of 23 January from the hon. Member for Nottingham, North regarding Mr. D. Mitchell in respect of repayment of industrial injury benefit. [15714]

Mr. Roger Evans: The reply was sent on 16 February.

Housing and Council Tax Benefit

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the information contained in housing benefit and council tax benefit subsidy claim form MPF 720A submitted by each local authority in Gloucestershire in (a) 1992-93, (b) 1993-94 and (c) 1994-95. [16141]

Mr. Roger Evans: The information has been placed in the Library.

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Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each local authority in Gloucestershire in (a) 1992-93, (b) 1993-94 and (c) 1994-95 (i) statistic 124 of local authority housing benefit and council tax benefit administration data, (ii) statistic 122, quarterly stock costs, giving caseload--claimants with housing benefit and/or council tax benefit not in receipt of income support--and (iii) statistic 122, quarterly stock costs, giving caseload--claimants with housing benefit and/or council tax benefit also in receipt of income support. [16140]

Mr. Evans: Form STATS 124 is used to collect data concerning the administration of the housing benefit and council tax benefit schemes, and is used essentially for the purposes of producing national estimates. The Department does not publish information from this form on an individual local authority basis due to concerns about its robustness at that level.

Information from the quarterly caseload stock counts, taken on forms STATS 121 and 122, is set out in the tables.

Table 1: Average housing benefit/council tax benefit caseload for each local authority in Gloucestershire--1994-95

Local authority	Housing benefit with income support	Council tax benefit with income support	Housing benefit without income support	Council tax benefit without income support
Cheltenham	4,860	5,610	2,670	3,370
Cotswold	2,130	2,690	2,120	2,450
Forest of Dean	2,500	3,680	1,580	2,690
Gloucester	5,460	6,360	2,400	3,240
Stroud	3,300	4,380	2,410	3,640
Tewkesbury	1,880	2,460	1,500	2,330

Notes:

1. Figures given are an average of the four quarters in each year.

2. Figures refer to benefit rules which may be a single person or couple.

3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten.

4. Council tax benefit was introduced from April 1993.

Source:

Housing benefit management information system, quarterly 100 per cent. caseload enquiries taken at the end of May, August, November and February in each year given.

Table 2: Average housing benefit caseload for each local authority in Gloucestershire--1992-93

Local authority	Housing benefit with income support	Housing benefit without income support
Cheltenham	4,210	2,640
Cotswold	1,900	2,120
Forest of Dean	2,020	1,560
Gloucester	4,580	2,380
Stroud	2,940	2,500
Tewkesbury	1,690	1,550

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Table 3: Average housing benefit council tax benefit caseload for each local authority in Gloucestershire--1993-94

Local authority	Housing benefit with income support	Council tax benefit with income support	Housing benefit without income support	Council tax benefit without income support
Cheltenham	4,610	5,330	2,690	3,550
Cotswold	2,090	2,730	2,140	2,700
Forest of Dean	2,350	3,530	1,620	2,780
Gloucester	4,970	5,800	2,420	3,410
Stroud	3,210	4,320	2,410	3,910
Tewkesbury	1,840	2,460	1,520	2,520

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each local authority in Gloucestershire in (a) 1992-93, (b) 1993-94 and (c) 1994-95 the housing benefit expenditure incurred in meeting rents above the rent officer determined level for applicants not belonging to the groups described in regulations 11(3) and 6(b) of the Housing Benefit General Regulations 1987. [16142]

Mr. Evans: The information is as set out in the table:

	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95
	(£)	(£)	(£)
Cheltenham	1,840	3,206	1,304
Cotswold	4,143	3,042	3,688
Forest of Dean	1,272	2,157	1,928
Gloucester City	0	9,962	17,223
Stroud	5,331	13,154	13,581
Tewkesbury	1,674	2,254	2,836

Source:

Audited final housing benefit and community charge benefit/council tax benefit claim forms for each year.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each local authority in Gloucestershire the budget for the current year for discretionary payments of housing benefit in cases of exceptional hardship. [16144]

Mr. Evans: To meet cases of exceptional hardship, local authorities are able to spend up to 0.15 per cent. of their expenditure on deregulated tenancies referred to the rent officer. To help authorities with this cost, central Government provide a contribution by way of a subsidy addition. For 1995-96 the amount of subsidy addition available to authorities in Gloucestershire is as follows:

Authority	Amount £
Cheltenham	5,532
Cotswold	2,309
Forest of Dean	1,968
Gloucester City	7,951
Stroud	3,272
Tewkesbury	1,578

The maximum amount authorities will be able to spend is approximately double these sums.

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