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Council Tax Benefits: Hertfordshire

Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates were (a) eligible for and (b) in receipt of council tax benefit in (i) Hemel Hempstead and (ii) Hertfordshire in each year since 1997. [232752]

Kitty Ussher: The latest estimates of the number of entitled non-recipients of means-tested benefit in Great Britain are published in the report ‘Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2006-07’. These include council tax benefit, income support, pension credit, housing benefit and jobseeker's allowance (income-based). Copies are available in the Library.

Estimates of eligibility are not available below the level of Great Britain.

Information on recipients of council tax benefit at constituency level is not available.

The available information for Hertfordshire is in the table.

Number of recipients of council tax benefit in Hertfordshire as at May each year
	Number
1997	66,170
1998	63,480
1999	60,320
2000	57,280
2001	54,370
2002	54,270
2003	55,710
2004	58,130
2005	60,360
2006	62,440
2007	62,990
Notes: 1. Data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases. Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent caseload stock-count taken in May 1997 to May 2007

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Incapacity Benefit: Chelmsford

Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of the working-age population in West Chelmsford constituency received incapacity benefit in (a) June 2001, (b) May 2005 and (c) the latest period for which figures are available. [233185]

Jonathan Shaw: I will let the hon. Member have such information as is available as soon as possible.

Substantive answer from Jonathan Shaw to Simon Burns:

The available information is in the following table.

Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants as a percentage of the working age population in West Chelmsford parliamentary constituency
	Percentage
February 2008	3.7
May 2005	3.6
May 2001	3.3
Notes: 1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place. 2. Percentages have been calculated based on the ONS mid year population estimates at constituency level which are experimental data and therefore not part of the National Statistics. These experimental statistics are still under evaluation by ONS and should be interpreted with caution. 3. Data is quarterly, rather than monthly. The closest quarter to June 2001 ends at May 2001. 4. Figures include incapacity benefit credits only and severe disablement allowance cases. 5. Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance caseload figures for parliamentary constituencies are published on the internet at: http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html The population estimates are published at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=15095 Source: DWP Information Directorate 100 per cent WPLS

Income Support: Mortgages

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants were in receipt of mortgage interest payment as part of income support in each Government Office Region in each of the last 10 years. [232700]

Kitty Ussher [holding answer 3 November 2008]: The available information is in the following table.

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Number of income support claimants with mortgage interest payments, in Great Britain, by region
	As at February each year
	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Great Britain	270,500	252,400	243,600	231,000	218,700	115,600	105,400	98,900	91,900	83,300
North East	12,500	12,300	11,200	11,300	10,900	5,600	5,200	5,000	4,600	4,100
North West	42,100	38,900	37,800	35,000	33,000	17,500	16,200	15,500	14,400	12,700
Yorkshire and the Humber	23,400	21,900	22,000	20,500	18,700	11,100	10,400	9,800	8,700	8,100
East Midlands	17,900	17,500	16,000	15,000	14,000	7,300	6,500	6,400	6,100	6,000
West Midlands	26,400	24,700	24,800	23,800	23,100	12,500	12,100	11,000	10,600	9,500
East of England	23,200	21,000	20,200	18,700	17,300	9,400	8,600	8,200	7,300	6,900
London	36,600	33,800	31,700	29,900	27,900	14,900	13,100	12,400	11,600	10,400
South East	31,200	28,000	25,800	24,400	22,500	11,600	10,400	9,100	8,600	8,200
South West	21,200	19,900	18,900	17,400	15,800	7,900	6,900	6,400	6,100	5,500
Wales	19,300	17,700	17,300	16,300	15,900	9,000	8,000	7,400	6,900	5,800
Scotland	16,800	16,700	18,000	18,600	19,400	8,500	8,100	7,800	7,100	6,200
Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. 2. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Figures have been produced from a 5 per cent. sample and uprated in line with 100 per cent. WPLS totals. 4. Figures for February 2004 onwards are affected by claimants aged 60 or over who transferred to pension credit in October 2003. Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample.

Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to implement forthwith the change to eligibility for income support for mortgage interest payments planned for April 2009. [232701]

Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what administrative steps he plans to take (a) in reducing the present period for claims for income support for mortgage interest to 13 weeks by April 2009 and (b) in widening access to income support for mortgage interest arrangements to joint income households. [232865]

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) if he will reduce the qualification period for income support for mortgage interest to 13 weeks with immediate effect; [232499]

(2) if he will amend the system of income support for mortgage interest to provide support to two-income households when one borrower loses their source of income. [232500]

Kitty Ussher [holding answer 3 November 2008]: We share the concerns about the need for early introduction of the changes to help with mortgage costs, and therefore we have brought forward the date of introduction. We now plan to introduce the changes to Support for Mortgage Interest in January, including the reduction of the waiting period to 13 weeks. This is the earliest practicable date when we can do so.

Support for Mortgage Interest is available to those homeowners who qualify for one of the income-related benefits, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance or income-related employment and support allowance. It is an integral component of those benefits. Couples are treated as a single unit in these benefits and if one member of a couple is in remunerative work of 16 hours or more, or has income which exceeds their entitlement, then they cannot receive the benefit. Only those couples who are not in remunerative work and who meet the other qualifying conditions of the benefit can receive Support for Mortgage Interest. This is intended to ensure that resources are directed to where they are most needed.

Where two or more people share a household and a mortgage, but are not a couple, they can individually receive Support for Mortgage Interest for their share of the mortgage interest payments, subject to their meeting the other qualifying conditions of the benefit.

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