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The most recent available information is in the following table.
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.
I have been asked to reply.
The available information is in the following table.
£ 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