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Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many new applications have been made to the Child Support Agency by (a) parents with care claiming income support and (b) other parents with care in each of the last 24 months. [260115]

Kitty Ussher: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have therefore asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested.

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Letter from Stephen Geraghty:

In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many new applications have been made to the Child Support Agency by (a) parents with care claiming income support and (b) other parents with care in each of the last 24 months.

Information on the number of applications received each month is routinely published in Table 2.1 of the Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS). The latest copy of which is in the House of Commons library or online at the following link:

http://www.childmaintenance.org/publications/statistics.html

The Child Maintenance and other Payments Act 2008 changed the nature of the relationship between the child maintenance and benefits systems; ending the compulsion on parents with care in receipt of income based benefits to use the Child Support Agency. Prior to 14 July 2008 all parents with care making a new application for either Income Support or income based Jobseekers Allowance were compelled to make an application for child maintenance to the Child Support Agency. The Agency therefore recorded information on new applications distinguishing between those notified by Jobcentre Plus in respect of parents claiming Income Support and Jobseekers Allowance or those which were classed as a ‘private’ application made by either parent without compulsion.

Such information as is available on child maintenance applications by source is provided in the attached table.

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Current scheme applications by source of application
	Jobcentre Plus applications	Private applications
January 2007	19,000	5,600
February 2007	27,700	5,900
March 2007	21,400	5,900
April 2007	16,500	5,900
May 2007	18,800	6,000
June 2007	19,600	6,400
July 2007	18,600	6,100
August 2007	20,300	6,400
September 2007	18,600	6,400
October 2007	20,300	7,100
November 2007	20,900	6,100
December 2007	14,100	4,000
January 2008	21,300	6,900
February 2008	20,500	6,500
March 2008	15,700	6,000
April 2008	17,800	6,700
May 2008	16,200	6,300
June 2008	17,400	6,700
July 2008	18,500	6,700
August 2008	10,600	5,900
September 2008	5,100	6,800
October 2008	900	7,000
November 2008	—	7,300
December 2008	—	5,300
Notes: 1. A change in legislation in October 2008 removed the compulsion for parents with care on income based benefit (Income Support or Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income Based)) to pursue a claim for child support through the Agency. After this date, it is expected that some parents with care will opt to end their child support claim with CSA. This can be seen as a fall in overall caseload after October 2008. 2. In the run up to the change, a further legislative repeal in July 2008 means that single parents making a new claim for income based benefit will no longer be referred to CSA. Some will make direct arrangements with the Agency, but they are not compelled to do so. This change can be seen as a huge fall (to zero) in the numbers of potential new claims received directly from Jobcentre Plus from October 2008. 3. All cases received from October 2008 were classed as private intake. Any cases that were received from this time will be classed as private intake regardless of benefit status. 4. Jobcentre Plus applications include all applications originating from Jobcentre Plus where the parent with care is in receipt of Income Support or income based Jobseekers’ Allowance at the time of application. It is not possible to identify those on Income Support separately.

Cold Weather Payments: Leyton

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid in cold weather payments to people in Leyton and Wanstead constituency in 2008-09. [252124]

Kitty Ussher: Estimates of cold weather payment expenditure in 2008-09 to date are not available by parliamentary constituency or local authority, but only by weather station.

Community Care Grants

David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what budget his Department allocated for community care grants in 2007-08; [252698]

(2) what the maximum sum awarded to (a) an individual and (b) a family was under the community care grant in 2007-08; [252699]

(3) how many individuals received community care grants (a) once and (b) more than once in 2007-08; [252700]

(4) how many asylum seekers have received community care grants in each of the last five years. [252934]

Kitty Ussher: The Department allocated a budget of £141 million for community care grants for Great Britain in 2007-08. There was also a contingency reserve of £1 million, which was available to cover unforeseen spending, for example, on flooding.

The remaining information requested is not available.

However, the maximum community care grant awarded in 2007-08 for all successful applicants (as opposed to individuals and families separately) was £5,081.46. The number of successful applicants (as opposed to individuals) who received community care grants in 2007-08 (a) once was 229,100 and (b) more than once was 23,900 (both figures rounded to the nearest 100).

Source:

Analysis of a scan of Community Care Grant final decisions taken in 2007-08 and held on the Social Fund Computer System on 31 July 2008. A final decision is either an initial decision or a review decision. An application is successful if an award is made initially and/or on review. Successful applications on which initial decisions were made before 2007-08, but which were reviewed in 2007-08 are included. Successful applications on which initial decisions were made in 2007-08 but which were reviewed after the year ended are not included.

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Council Tax Benefits

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of (a) housing benefit and (b) council tax benefit recipients were (i) pensioners and (ii) of working age in each local authority area in each of the last 24 months; and if he will make a statement. [260113]

Kitty Ussher: The latest available information has been placed in the Library.

Information is not available broken down by month.

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many children living in poverty live in households which are not eligible for (a) full and (b) partial council tax benefit. [261558]

Kitty Ussher [holding answer 6 March 2009]: Estimates of the population entitled to council tax benefit among children in households below average income are not available.

The latest estimates of take-up of and entitlement to means-tested benefits in Great Britain, covering income support, pension credit, housing benefit, council tax benefit and jobseeker’s allowance (income based) are published in the report “Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up in 2006-07”. This report has been placed in the Library.

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) pensioners and (b) people of working age are (i) in receipt of council tax benefit and (ii) eligible for council tax benefit and live in households where no one is eligible to pay income tax. [261559]

Kitty Ussher [holding answer 6 March 2009]: The information requested is in the table.

Total number of recipients of council tax benefit in Great Britain aged under/over 60: August 2007
	Number
Number of benefit units in receipt of council tax benefit	5,079,080
Number of benefit units in receipt of council tax benefit where claimant aged 60 and over	2,528,950
Number of benefit units in receipt of council tax benefit where claimant aged 59 and under	2,550,140
Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Council tax benefit totals exclude any second adult rebate cases. 5. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 6. From February 2007, DWP has been collecting more detailed HB/CTB data electronically from local authorities. Over time this will improve the accuracy, timeliness and level of detail available in the published statistics. However, until the new data have been fully quality assured to National Statistics standards, the most recent summary statistics available are for August 2007. 7. Administrative HB/CTB Information contains two age breakdowns on the basis of the age of individual who makes the claim (i) those under the age of 60 and (ii) those aged 60 and over. Therefore ‘Pensioners’ refers to recipient benefit units where the person who claimed is aged 60 or over: the partner may be under 60. Source: Housing benefit and council tax benefit management information system quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count taken in August 2007.

Analysis of the Family Resources survey for 2006-07 suggests that 61 per cent. of pensioners entitled to council tax benefit are not liable to pay income tax.

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For people of working age 81 per cent. of families entitled to council tax benefit are not liable to pay income tax.

These estimates refer to Great Britain and are based on survey data and modelling so are subject to sample variation and to other forms of errors.

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) pensioners and (b) people of working age at each household income level are (i) in receipt of and (ii) eligible for council tax benefit. [261561]

Kitty Ussher [holding answer 6 March 2009]: The table gives the available information on council tax benefit recipients and eligible population by household income bands, for 2006-07 in Great Britain.

Percentage
Banded weekly household income	(i) Recipients of council tax benefit	(ii) Entitled population to council tax benefit
(a) Pensioners
Less than £100 a week	2	4
£100 but less than £200	36	38
£200 but less than £300	40	36
£300 but less than £400	16	15
£400 but less than £500	4	4
More than £500	2	4
Total	100	100
(b) Non Pensioners
Less than £100 a week	4	7
£100 but less than £200	33	26
£200 but less than £300	34	29
£300 but less than £400	16	17
£400 but less than £500	7	10
More than £500	6	10
Total	100	100
Notes: 1. The data refer to household incomes. Note that a household income can be higher than the income of the family receiving council tax benefit, as a household can contain two or more families. 2. The figures are presented as proportions because point estimates of the entitled population are potentially misleading given the presence of sample bias. 3. Council tax benefit totals include second adult rebate cases. 4. Pensioner families are defined as where at least one person aged 60 or more. Source: Family Resources Survey Data 2006-07.

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