Written Answers to Questions
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Work and Pensions
Child Poverty Bill
Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if she will estimate the monetary value in 2009-10 prices of the relative poverty threshold contained in her Department's Child Poverty Bill for (a) a single adult, (b) a childless couple and (c) a couple with one dependent child; and if she will make a statement. [295019]
Helen Goodman [holding answer 22 October 2009]: Estimates of the monetary value in 2009-10 prices of the relative poverty threshold are not available. The thresholds for 2007-08 (the latest Households Below Average Income statistics available) are (a) £158 per week for a single adult; (b) £236 per week for a couple without children; and (c) £283 per week for a couple with one child under 14, and £314 per week for a couple with one child who is 14 or over.
Cold Weather Payments: Bedfordshire
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cold weather payments have been made to residents of Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in each year since 2003. [295417]
Helen Goodman: Mid-Bedfordshire constituency is linked to Bedford weather station. The number of times cold weather payments have been triggered at this weather station in each year since 2002-03 is given in the following table:
| Cold weather payment triggers at Bedford weather station | |
| Number | |
| Source: DWP records. | |
It is not possible to give the estimated number of payments made in 2002-03 and 2008-09 to residents of Mid-Bedfordshire constituency as this information is not available at constituency level but only by weather station (and Bedford weather station covers a wider area than just this constituency).
Housing Benefit
Ms Buck:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households living in the private rented sector were claiming housing benefit in (a) England, (b) each English region and (c) each
London borough in (i) 2005-06 and (ii) the most recent year for which figures are available. [296185]
Helen Goodman: Such information as is available is in the following tables.
| Number of households in private rented sector receiving housing benefit in England and each English region: May 2005 | |
| Number | |
| Number of households in private rented sector receiving housing benefit in England and each English region: May 2009 | |
| Number | |
| Number of households in private rented sector receiving housing benefit in London boroughs: May 2005 | |
| Number | |
| Number of households in private rented sector receiving housing benefit in London boroughs: May 2009 | |
| Number | |
| (1) Estimates of the four missing London boroughs have been used to get these figures. (2) Denotes information not available until revised figures are released on 11 November 2009. Please visit http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/hb_ctb/Methodology_revision_webpage.pdf for an understanding of improvements in methodology for housing benefit/council tax benefit caseload national statistics. 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 10. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Figures may not sum due to rounding. 5. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 6. Private tenants exclude registered social landlords. Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent, taken in May 2005 and Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in May 2009 | |
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