I refer the hon. Gentleman to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr. Hammond) on 13 September 2006, Official Report, column 2367W.
The Personal Capability Assessment (PCA) is the process used to assess individuals' eligibility for incapacity benefits. There have been no recent legislative changes involving the PCA that have had an impact on the number of people eligible for incapacity benefits.
The available information is in the following table.
Number of awards 2001-02 2,770 2002-03 3,300 2003-04 3,150 2004-05 3,190 2005-06 3,260 2006-07 to 30 November 2,250 Notes: 1. Data are not available by parliamentary constituency but only by Jobcentre Plus District. 2. Leeds Jobcentre Plus District was previously known as Leeds Social Fund District. 3. Figures are for all awards, irrespective of whether the award was made to the mother or her partner. 4. Some women will have received more than one Sure Start Maternity Grant since 2001-02. 5. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: DWP Social Fund Policy, Budget and Management Information System.
The available information is in the following tables.
£ million, real terms 2005-06 prices (excluding administration costs) Income support (under 60) Income support/minimum income guarantee (over 60) Total incapacity benefit Disability living allowance 1996-97 13,206 4,739 9,518 5,588 1997-98 9,890 4,554 8,948 5,980 1998-99 9,621 4,260 8,536 6,259 1999-2000 9,580 4,362 7,835 6,531 2000-01 10,271 4,660 7,699 6,877 2001-02 10,687 4,986 7,502 7,314 2002-03 10,516 4,835 7,286 7,603 2003-04 10,831 — 7,041 7,939 2004-05 10,219 — 6,788 8,232 2005-06 9,126 — 6,644 8,617 Notes: 1. Benefit expenditure figures are in real terms 2005-06 prices, rounded to the nearest £ million and are consistent with pre-Budget report 2006. 2. The 1996-97 income support figures include around six months of income support paid to the unemployed. 3. Figures from 1996-97 to 2005-06 are out-turn. 4. Incapacity benefit figures do not include severe disablement allowance.
£ million, real terms 2005-06 prices (excluding administration costs) Attendance allowance Social fund Contributory retirement pension (basic state pension) Contributory retirement pension earnings-related/S2P Pension credit 1996-97 2,973 297 36,323 3,423 — 1997-98 3,044 224 36,688 3,822 — 1998-99 3,155 234 37,572 4,309 — 1999-2000 3,257 214 38,516 5,074 — 2000-01 3,363 267 38,674 5,384 — 2001-02 3,473 278 40,644 5,922 — 2002-03 3,505 324 41,477 6,328 — 2003-04 3,620 341 41,702 6,961 4,742 2004-05 3,743 336 42,194 7,502 5,111 2005-06 3,923 364 43,218 8,174 5,407 Notes: 1. Benefit expenditure figures are in real terms 2005-06 prices, rounded to the nearest £ million and are consistent with pre-Budget report 2006. 2. The 2003-04 pension credit figure includes around £2.5 billion of minimum income guarantee, as pension credit was introduced on 6 October 2003 (rounded to nearest half £ billion). 3. Figures from 1996-97 to 2005-06 are out-turn.
£ million, 2005-06 prices Income support Total incapacity benefit Disability living allowance Attendance allowance Contributory retirement pension (basic state pension) and retirement pension earnings-related/S2P 1996-97 1,349 453 183 102 376 1997-98 866 355 198 92 377 1998-99 684 441 140 38 370 Notes: 1. Information on administrative costs prior to the creation of DWP in 2001 is not comparable to administrative costs now due to considerable organisational change. 2. Administration expenditure information is rounded to the nearest £ million in 2005-06 prices and has been taken from the 1998, 1999 and 1999-2000 Department for Social Security departmental reports. Information is only available to 1998-99. 3. The income support figures include expenditure on income support for the under 60s and over 60s. 4. From 1999-2000 the cost of administration is accounted for separately within the departmental expenditure limit (DEL) and the information requested on administration costs is not available in the format requested. 5. Administration expenditure is only available for the sum of contributory retirement pension (basic state pension) and retirement pension earnings-related/S2P expenditure. 6. Incapacity benefit figures do not include severe disablement allowance
Income support Total incapacity benefit Disability living allowance Attendance allowance Contributory retirement pension (basic state pension) and retirement pension earnings-related/S2P 1996-97 8 5 3 3 1 1997-98 6 4 3 3 1 1998-99 5 5 2 1 1 Notes 1. Information on administrative costs prior to the creation of DWP in 2001 is not comparable to administrative costs now due to considerable organisational change. 2. Income support administration percentage is of the sum of income support for the under 60s and income support for the over 60s, except for 1996-97 which includes around six months expenditure on the unemployed in the percentage calculation. 3. Figures have been rounded to nearest whole percentage. 4. Incapacity benefit figures do not include severe disablement allowance.
Including loans and recoveries (£ million, 2005-06 prices) Social fund, Administration cost of social fund Administration percentage by benefit 1996-97 1,042 224 21 1997-98 1,264 194 15 1998-99 1,311 253 19 Notes: 1. Information on administrative costs prior to the creation of DWP in 2001 is not comparable to administrative costs now due to considerable organisational change. 2. Administration costs for the net social fund is unavailable so the administration costs for the social fund, including loans and recoveries, has been shown, along with the consistent social fund expenditure. 3. Administration percentage has been rounded to nearest whole percentage.
The information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.