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Housing Benefit

Volume 467: debated on Monday 19 November 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people are in receipt of housing benefit in (a) Ribble Valley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK. (165354)

I have been asked to reply.

The most recent available information is in the following table.

Households in Ribble Valley borough council, Lancashire, and Great Britain as at February 2007

Number

Ribble Valley

1,480

Lancashire

66,090

Great Britain

4,039,750

Notes:

1. The data refer to households, which may be a single person or a couple.

2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.

3. Housing benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases.

Source:

Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System, Quarterly 100 per cent. caseload stock-count, taken in February 2007.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was spent on housing benefit in (a) Ribble Valley, (b) Lancashire and (c) the UK in each of the last 10 years. (165355)

I have been asked to reply.

The available information is in the following table.

Housing benefit expenditure figures for Ribble Valley borough council, Lancashire and Great Britain in each year; in nominal terms

£ million

Ribble Valley borough council

Lancashire

Great Britain

1997-98

3.2

163.7

11,176.4

1998-99

3.2

163.6

11,064.8

1999-2000

3.3

169.1

11,063.3

2000-01

3.3

169.6

11,162.3

2001-02

3.4

175.2

11,588.3

2002-03

3.9

189.1

12,636.2

2003-04

3.5

183.7

12,340.9

2004-05

3.9

187.6

13,156.1

2005-06

4.4

195.2

13,982.2

2006-07

4.4

195.2

14,839.7

Notes:

1. Information sourced from local authority claims for housing revenue account subsidy and housing benefit and council tax benefit subsidy.

2. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000.

3. Figures prior to 2006-07 are audited, but may change in future if local authorities’ audited accounts are amended after a decision or appeal. Figures for recent years are more likely to be amended than older data.

4. 2006-07 figures are initial final (pre-audited) and are subject to change.

5. From 1999-2000 onwards, housing and council tax benefit expenditure on asylum seekers was funded by the National Asylum Support Service, and is therefore excluded from the figures presented at Great Britain. However, local authority level information includes all expenditure on these benefits relating to asylum seekers, as it is not possible to isolate at this level that part which applies to asylum seekers.

6. Figures relate to what local authorities spend on claimants, and include discretionary expenditure (mainly disregards of War Pensions), and overpayments except where benefit has been granted in advance (where the benefit is paid in the form of a rebate).

Source:

DWP Benefit expenditure tables.

DWP housing benefit and council tax benefit expenditure tables are available online at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/HBandCTB_expenditure.asp