WIREDGOV

Coverage: Great Britain (unless otherwise stated)

Theme: Social and Welfare

Client Group Analysis:-
Families with Children:
At November, 2003:

* 2.8 million children (21 per cent of the total population of children aged under 16 and young adults aged 16 to 18 in full-time education), were living in families claiming a key benefit and receiving additional amounts of benefit and/or CTC for them.

* 64 per cent of them had been on benefit for at least two years.

Population of Working Age:
At November, 2003:

* 4.88 million people of working age (13.7 per cent) were claiming a key benefit.

* 48 per cent of claimants were women.

Population over State Pension Age:

At November, 2003:

* Just over 10.6 million (99.6 per cent) people over State Pension age were claiming a key benefit.

* 37 per cent of claimants were men.

Income Support - Aged Under 60
At 1st December, 2003:

* All claimants: 2.2 million (89 per week)

* Lone parents (excluding the disabled) represent 37 per cent of the IS caseload -819 thousand (111 per week).

* Disabled recipients represent 51 per cent of the caseload - 1,114 thousand (79 per week) and has been increasing since 1993.

* Almost two thirds of recipients are women.

* Pension Credit (PC) replaced the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) in Income Support on 6th October 2003.

Aged 60 and over - Pension Credit/Minimum Income Guarantee:

At 1st December, 2003:

* From 6th October 2003 Pension Credit (PC) replaced the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG)

* PC caseload: 2.1 million compared to 1.8 million MIG at November 2002

* PC average amounts (45 per week). Care should be taken when comparing PC amounts to MIG amounts because of other changes that were introduced on 6th October 2003.

Jobseeker's Allowance (not seasonally adjusted):

At 13th November, 2003:

* Total claimants: 852 thousand.

* Total recipients: 764 thousand, 151 thousand with only contribution-based JSA, 613 thousand with income-based JSA (including 16 thousand with underlying entitlement to contribution-based benefit).

* Average weekly entitlement: 61 income-based, 52
contribution-based.

* Just over a quarter of claimants are women

Incapacity Benefit:

At 30th November, 2003:

* Total claimants: 2.4 million.

* Total recipients: 1.5 million.

* Average amount: 83 per week.

* Almost two-thirds of recipients are men

Attendance Allowance:
At 30th November, 2003:

* Total recipients: 1.4 million of whom 692 thousand receive the higher rate and 686 thousand the lower.

* Average amount: 48 per week.

* 70 per cent of recipients were women.

Carer's Allowance:

At 30th November, 2003:

* Total entitled: 593 thousand of whom 419 thousand are in payment.

* Average amount: 46 per week.

* 75 per cent of recipients were women.

Disability Living Allowance:

At 30th November, 2003:

* Total recipients: 2.6 million.

* Average amount: 56 per week.

* 567 thousand received only the mobility component, 340 thousand received only the care component and 1.7 million received both mobility and care components

* Nearly half of recipients were women.

Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit:

At 30th September, 2003:

* New Claims in the quarter (Accidents and Prescribed Diseases): 15.2 thousand
* 13 per cent of these new claims were from women.

* New claims in the quarter (Reduced Earnings Allowance): 1.0 thousand

* Total people in payment (Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit and Reduced Earnings Allowance): 342.3 thousand (40 per week).

Housing Benefit:

At 14thAugust, 2003:

* Total recipients: 3.8 million.

* Average weekly amount: 56

* Total recipients (aged over 60): 1.5 million

* Total recipients (with dependants): 1.2 million (at May 2002).

* 71 per cent of HB recipients are also in receipt of IS or JSA (income based)

Note: Figures for November 2003 are expected to be available for the next statistical summary.

Council Tax Benefit:

At 14hAugust, 2003:

* Total recipients: 4.7 million (excludes second adult rebates).

* Average weekly amount: 12

* Total recipients (aged over 60): 2.3 million

* Total recipients (with dependants): 1.2 million (at May 2002).

* 69 per cent of CTB recipients are also in receipt of IS or JSA (income based).

Note: Figures for November 2003 are expected to be available for the next statistical summary.

Child Support Agency:

At 30th November, 2003:

* From the 3 March 2003 all new applications have been assessed under a new scheme. These cases are stored on a new computer system with some old scheme cases linked to new cases. There have been 217.1thousand applications and 52.3 thousand calculations made.

* There are up to 120 thousand cases assessed under old rules that are currently administered on the new IT system. These cases are not included in this section.

* Total 'live' and fully assessed cases on the "old" system: 809.7 thousand.

State Pension:

At 30th September, 2003:

* Total recipients: 11.4 million, of which 1million reside overseas.

* Average amount of entitlement to State Pension:
All pensioners: 78 per week.
Men: 95 per week.
Women: 66 per week.
* 63 per cent of recipients are women.

The Appeals Service:

Quarter ending September 2003:

* Number of new lodgements: 59.2 thousand.

* Total number of appeals cleared at hearings: 42.9 thousand. Of these, 19.3 thousand (45 per cent) were found in favour of the appellant.

* 52.6 per cent of appeals heard at oral hearings were found in the appellant's favour.

* 22.6 per cent of appeals heard at paper hearings were found in the appellant's favour.

Widow's Benefits:

At 30th September, 2003:

* Total recipients: 181.9 thousand

* Average amount of entitlement: 77 per week.

* All of recipients are women.

Bereavement Benefits:

At 30th September, 2003:

* Total recipients: 45.8 thousand

* Average amount of entitlement: 82 per week.

* 66 per cent of recipients are women.

Note: These figures exclude Bereavement Payment

New Deal for Young People:

By end of December 2003:

* Over 1 million (1,081,680) starts on New Deal by the end of December 2003; 995.3 thousand have left, leaving 86.4 thousand participants at the end of December 2003.

* Of the leavers, 39 per cent have entered sustained unsubsidised jobs, 12 per cent have transferred to other benefits, 20 per cent have left for other known reasons, and 30 per cent for unknown reasons.

Young People into Employment:

By end of December 2003:

* 479.7 thousand young people in jobs to the end of December 2003. Of which, 380.3,270 thousand were sustained jobs, and 99.4 thousand were jobs lasting less than 13 weeks.

New Deal for Lone Parents:

By end of December 2003.

* Starts on the NDLP caseload reached 577.7 thousand at the end of December 2003, an increase of 37.0 thousand on September 2003.

* A total of 478.3 thousand lone parents had left NDLP by end of December 2003.

* 99.5 thousand lone parents were participating on NDLP at end of December 2003.

Lone Parents into Employment:

By end of December 2003:

* 276.1 thousand jobs gained by participants on New Deal for Lone Parents.

New Deal for Long Term Unemployed People aged 25+:
By end of December 2003:

* 673.9 thousand starts on New Deal by the end of December 2003 - 588.7 thousand have left. A total of 56.9 thousand were participating on the enhanced programme at the end of December 2003 (some 3 thousand are still recorded as participating on the pre-April 2001 programme).

Long Term Unemployed People aged 25+ into Employment:

By end of December 2003:

* 173.7 thousand people on New Deal into jobs to the end of December 2003. Of which, 136.5 thousand were sustained jobs, and 37.2 thousand were jobs lasting less than 13 weeks.

Employment Zone Participants:

By the end of June 2003:

* 82,900 people started on an Employment Zone for the first time, with another 23,640 returning to an Employment Zone for a subsequent spell. 84 per cent of all entrants were male, 68 per cent were white, and 21 per cent were recorded as having a disability.

* On 30th June 2003, there were 28,030 people participating on an Employment Zone, of whom 11,500 were returning for a repeat spell.

Employment Zone Participants into Employment:
By end of June 2003:

* 38,170 Employment Zone participants entered employment by June 2003, of which 5,760 were returning participants

* 28,530 Employment Zone participants had been employed for 13 weeks or more by the end of June 2003

New Deal for Disabled People:

By end of December 2003:

* 69 thousand starts to NDDP, of which 64 per cent were male, and 36 per cent were female.

* 52 thousand current participants, of which 73 per cent were aged 35 and over

New Deal for Disabled People into Jobs:

By end of December 2003:

* 29 thousand people into jobs through NDDP, of which 62 per cent were male, and 38 per cent were female.

Work Based Learning for Adults:

By end of September 2003:

* 181 thousand starts to Work Based Learning for Adults of which 154 thousand have left, leaving 27 thousand participants.

* Of the leavers, 40 percent have gained a job within 13 weeks of leaving

Work Based Learning for Adults into Employment:

By the end of June 2003:

* 41 thousand people into jobs from Work Based Learning for Adults. Of these, 6 thousand people gained jobs from Basic Employability Training, 13 thousand from Short Job Focused Training, 15 thousand from Longer Occupational Training, and 6 thousand from Self Employment.

Notes to Editors

The DWP Statistical Summary is a National Statistics publication and is produced to the high professional standards outlined in the National Statistics Code of Practice. National Statistics publications undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

The purpose of the DWP Statistical Summary is to provide an up-to-date overview of the most important benefits, schemes, agencies and associated bodies administered by the DWP in a concise format. Users seeking more detailed information are directed to the web pages listed or to the contact point on the front page. The Department's web pages provide easy and convenient access to the latest information about a wide range of DWP responsibility.

* From June 2003, the Department releases most of its statistics on the same day. All tables previously published within individual benefit publications are now available on the Department's Internet site at: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/statistics.asp.

Figures in this, and future DWP publications are affected by the introduction of Child Tax Credit (CTC) in April 2003. The main changes are:

* Child dependency increases paid with non-income related benefits are abolished for new claims to State Pension, Bereavement Benefit, Incapacity Benefit and Carer's Allowance from April 2003.

* CTC will replace the child elements of Income Support (IS) and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA(IB)). This will happen from April 2004 onwards.

Dates when there may be particular changes in the figures are: * April 2003, when Child dependency increases paid with non-income related benefits are abolished for new claims.

* October 2003, when it is planned that families on Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) with children will have child elements migrated to CTC.

* Financial year 2004/05, when families on Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance will have child elements migrated to CTC.

A small number of IS/ JSA(IB) recipients will no longer be eligible once CTC is in payment. This is because CTC payments will raise total income above the IS/JSA(IB) threshold, or other income exceeds the threshold once child allowances are removed. We therefore advise that customers exercise caution when performing year on year comparisons, or when comparing with the previous quarter.

Additional financial year benefit expenditure information is available in the Department for Work and Pensions Departmental Report 2003
(http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dwp/2003/dwpreport/index.asp).

The average weekly amounts and caseloads in this summary are derived from administrative data which have been validated, cleaned and published by DWP. Many of these statistics are calculated from samples drawn at particular points in time and are therefore subject to some sampling variability. The figures have not been seasonally adjusted. Average amounts are rounded to the nearest pound.

Issued by:
Information Centre
Information and Analysis Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions

Telephone
Public Enquiries : 020 7712 2171

Website :
www.dwp.gov.uk

Martin McGill
Information Centre
Information and Analysis Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions
Room 157A
Benton Park View
Benton Park Road
Longbenton
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
NE98 1YX

17 June 2004
DWP STATISTICAL SUMMARY - MARCH 2004