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Lone Parents
33. Mr. Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much he estimates lone parents will be better off in work than on benefits following reform of their benefit entitlement. [23084]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The latest independent research by the Policy Studies Institute suggest that the average additional income for lone parents already in work and on Family Credit is over £50 a week above the estimate of their out-of-work income. No estimate is currently available for the likely impact on this figure of the changes to the Family Premium in the income-related benefits; changes to Child Benefit for lone parents; or the increase in the help available through the Childcare Disregard in the in-work benefits.
34. Mr. Chisholm: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment she has made of the effect of lone-parent benefit reductions on the New Deal for Lone Parents. [23085]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The evaluation of the New Deal for Lone Parents will identify any points which have affected the programme's success. We need to keep these benefit changes in perspective.
Research suggests that lone parents in work and on Family Credit are better off than those on Income Support. To emphasise reductions in lone parent benefits is to underestimate the boost in morale, as well as the financial
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gain, which the New Deal for Lone Parents can provide. The Government do not believe that the benefit changes will stop lone parents from moving into work.
The changes will apply only to lone parents making new benefit claims. In order to preserve work incentives for most current claimants, lone parents who are receiving Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance with the lone parent rate of family premium will be able to claim the lone parent rate of Child Benefit when they move into work.
We are addressing the real barriers to work with the New Deal for Lone Parents and the National Childcare Strategy.
Mr. Rooney:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if the lone parent premium of an income support claimant will be protected if the claimant participates in a waged option of the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds and then returns to benefit at the end of the option. [25556]
Mr. Keith Bradley:
Lone parents can choose whether to claim Income Support or Jobseeker's Allowance. Those claiming Jobseeker's Allowance will have access to the New Deal for 18 to 24-year-olds. No specific protection has been built in to address these particular circumstances.
Mrs. Ballard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will list the numbers claiming lone parent benefits by (a) constituency and (b) benefit agency district office. [23525]
Mr. Keith Bradley:
The administration of Social Security benefits is a matter for Peter Mathison, Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
A live load figure is a snapshot in time count.
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Mr. Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if she will estimate the percentage of the savings achieved by abolishing lone parent premium and one parent benefit borne by each decile of the income distribution in 1999-2000. [24678]
Mr. Keith Bradley: The information is not available in the form requested as it is not possible to forecast the position in a future income distribution of new claimants to Lone Parent Premium and One Parent Benefit. Such information as is available is set out in the tables:
| Before housing costs | After housing costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom 10 per cent. | 10 | 13 |
| Next 10 per cent. | 30 | 47 |
| Next 10 per cent. | 28 | 22 |
| Next 20 per cent. | 21 | 11 |
| Top 50 per cent. | 10 | 7 |
Notes:
1. The data comes from the Department's Households Below Average Income (HBAI) series, based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS) for the 1995-96 financial year and covering Great Britain. The FRS data was used to achieve a large enough sample size to provide more robust information. All results are subject to sampling error.
2. The income measure used in the answer is weekly net (disposable) equivalised household income. The definition of income used follows that in the published HBAI series for FRS based results; figures are given both before and after housing costs in line with usual HBAI practice.
3. The measure of income used covers household income. A household can include more than one benefit unit, for example, a household containing a pensioner and their grown-up child or two single unrelated people sharing a household. The estimates assume that all of the people within a household have the same standard of living.
4. Percentage figures may not add to 100 per cent. due to rounding.
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