To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many people currently benefit from his Department's therapeutic earnings allowance;(2) what figures he has on (i) the average number of hours worked per week and (ii) the average level of payment received per week by those people receiving therapeutic earnings.

Information on the number of people claiming an incapacity benefit and receiving earnings for therapeutic work is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Similarly, information on the number of hours worked and level of payment received is not collected centrally and is not held locally in all cases.