Hansard

Benefits

Volume 121: debated on Wednesday 28 October 1987

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Mr. Macdonald

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people in the Western Isles are currently in receipt of (a) supplementary benefit, (b) invalidity benefit, (c) housing benefit (d) sickness benefit, (e) mobility allowance and (f) maternity benefit; and how many people have received single payments in the current financial year.

Mr. Portillo

I have been asked to reply.Social security benefits for the Western Isles are paid by the Department's office at Stornaway. Housing benefit is dealt with by the Western Isles regional council. The information requested is as follows, the dates are the latest dates for which information is available.

  • 1. Supplementary benefit claimants as at 28 July 1987 were 4,574.
  • 2. Sickness and invalidity benefits claimants at 20 October 1987 were 717; separate records are not kept of recipients of sickness and invalidity benefit.
  • 3. Mobility allowance is administered centrally and details are not available of the numbers of beneficiaries in the Western Isles.
  • 4. Maternity benefit claimants at 20 October 1987 were five.
  • 5. Single payments: During the current financial year until 20 October 1987 there have been 519 decisions which resulted in either a full or part payment.
  • 6. Housing benefit: Information is not available in the precise form requested. In the current financial year the provisional figure for rate rebate recipients is 4,215. This figure is the normal pointer used for housing benefit recipients.