Employment and Support Allowance

Mr. Harper
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been spent on (a) employment and support allowance and (b) incapacity benefit in the latest year for which figures are available; and how much is expected to be spent on each in each of the next five years.

Mrs. McGuire
In 2006-07, nominal expenditure on incapacity benefit was £6,566 million. For the available information about future incapacity benefit expenditure, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 July 2008, Official Report, column 472W.

For the available information about employment and support allowance expenditure, I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 13 June 2008, Official Report, column 617W.