| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Family Credit
Mrs. Maddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people in (a) the south-west region, (b) the county of Dorset and (c) each district in Dorset were in receipt of family credit in each of the last five financial years. [38165]
Mr. Roger Evans: The administration of family credit is a matter for Peter Mathison, chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mrs. Diana Maddock, dated 23 July 1996:
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 583
Data are provisional and subject to change.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 583
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in the South West Region, the County of Dorset and in each district of Dorset were in receipt of Family Credit (FC) in each of the last five financial years.
The information is not available in the format requested. The FC computer system holds records of the total number of claims received, awarded and disallowed on a national basis.
Statistics are not kept which are specific to the South West Region or individual towns or areas. However, statistics are available which indicate the number of families in receipt of Family Credit within a BA office area at a particular date. The available information shown in the attached tables relates to the BA's Dorset District which includes the offices at Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth.
Information is only available from 1993 as details relating to FC claims are normally destroyed after 18 months.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Families in receipt of Family Credit at that date
Date of Scan Bournemouth Poole Weymouth Total
20 August 1993 1,257 1,352 1,370 3,979
15 April 1994 1,424 1,463 1,471 4,358
10 November 1994 1,629 1,537 1,604 4,770
13 April 1995 1,853 1,592 1,767 5,212
10 November 1995 2,243 1,641 1,829 5,713
16 February 1996 2,471 1,554 1,877 5,902
7 June 1996 2,788 1,470 2,037 6,295
Ms Lynne:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what plans his Department has to monitor the impact that the Family Credit (General) Amendment Regulations 1996 will have on the staying-on rate for post-16 education for children whose parents are receiving family credit; and what consultations his Department held with the Department for Education and Employment before the implementation of these regulations. [39235]
Mr. Evans: We do not anticipate any impact on the staying-on rate. We estimate that the change will affect only about 15,000 families, all of whom will have already made a decision on school leaving. Family credit will remain in payment to families where the dependant has elected to remain in full-time non-advanced education.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 584
Mr. Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is his estimate of (a) the numbers gaining from and (b) the costs of introducing into the calculation for family credit (i) the disabled child's premium, (ii) the disability premium and (iii) the carer premium; [39185]
- (2) how many claimants of family credit have a disabled child. [39184]
Mr. Evans: Information is not currently available on which to base reliable estimates.
Mr. Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the cost of replacing the child care disregard with a cash allowance of the same value payable for (a) each child under five years and
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 585
(b) each child under 11 years in each of (i) family credit, (ii) disability working allowance, (iii) housing benefit and (iv) control tax benefit. [39002]
Mr. Evans: The cost of including an additional cash allowance of £60 a week per child in basic entitlement for family credit, disability allowance, housing benefit and council tax benefit is given in the table.
| Cost (£ billion) | |
|---|---|
| Cash allowance for each child under five years | Around 1.8 |
| Cash allowance for each child under 11 years | Around 4.7 |
Notes:
Estimates do not include behavioural effects.
Source:
Figures are based on the 1991-92-93 Family Expenditure Surveys, uprated to 1996-97 levels. Estimates are net of the savings from abolishing the childcare disregard.
Mr. Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the impact of the child care disregard on the hours worked by claimants of (i) family credit and (ii) disability working allowance. [39003]
Mr. Evans: The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many claims in total have been made for the child care disregard in respect of (i) family credit and (ii) disability working allowance; and how many have been disallowed for (a) being in receipt of the maximum benefit, (b) child care not being provided by a registered provider, (c) the child being aged over 11 years and (d) being one of a couple where the partner was not incapacitated. [39048]
Mr. Evans [holding answer 23 July 1996]: Since October 1994, there have been 77,000 family credit claims and 156 disability working allowance claims where an award of benefit has been made and where there has also been a claim for help with child care charges. Information is not available on claims which have not led to an award of FC or DWA.
| Reason for the non-receipt of extra benefit from the childcare disregard | Family credit | Disability working allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Receiving maximum FC/DWA | 18,000 | 17 |
| No registered childcare provider | 12,000 | 5 |
| Child aged 11 years or over | 3,000 | 4 |
| Only one partner working at least 16 hours a week (couple cases) | 6,000 | 8 |
| Partner not incapacitated (couple cases) | n/a | n/a |
Sources:
1. Five per cent. sample of family credit awards.
2. One hundred per cent. of disability working allowance awards.
Note:
n/a = not available.
24 Jul 1996 : Column: 586
Tribunal Venues
Mr. Ian McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many tribunal venues run by the independent tribunal service have been closed in the last 12 months; and where they were; [38492]
- (2) what plans there are to close tribunal venues currently run by the independent tribunal service in the next 12 months. [38494]
Mr. Roger Evans: The administrative arrangements for social security appeals tribunals are the responsibility of the independent tribunal service, which has been asked to write to the hon. Member.
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many tribunal venues there are in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the hearing of (a) social security appeal tribunals, (b) disability appeal tribunals, (c) child support appeal tribunals and (d) medical appeal tribunals. [38491]
Mr. Evans: The administrative arrangements for social security, disability, medical and child support appeals tribunals are the responsibility of the independent tribunal service and the independent tribunal service, Northern Ireland, which have been asked to write to the hon. Member.
Small Businesses
Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the impact of (a) his policies and (b) the work of his Department in helping small businesses in the last 12 months as against the previous 12 months; and if he will publish the performance indicators by which his Department monitors the impact and the statistical results of such monitoring. [39144]
Mr. Heald: The Government recognise the crucial role played by small firms in the UK economy and aim to help them by providing sound economic conditions--keeping inflation and interest rates low; reducing legislative, administrative and taxation burdens; and where appropriate provide direct assistance in the form of specialist advice and support and easing access to finance.
The reductions we have made to the lower rates of employers' national insurance contributions have helped to keep down the non-wage costs of UK businesses, including small business, and they are now among the lowest in Europe. The introduction of the employers' national insurance contribution "holiday" from April 1996 offers small businesses a further opportunity to reduce their non-wage costs. With the Inland Revenue, we have an on-going joint working programme to reduce the burdens on businesses of operating pay-as-you-earn and national insurance contributions. Successes of the programme so far include the piloting of a new employers telephone helpline and annual pack, and the provision of a joint application form to pay self-employed national insurance and tax for newly self-employed people.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |