WIREDGOV

ON KEY BENEFITS - February 2002

Coverage: Great Britain
Theme: Social and Welfare

This series comprises people of working age who claim a key social security benefit and who receive an additional allowance for a child under 16 years of age or for a young adult dependant aged between 16 and 18 in full-time education. It has been developed from existing data on individual benefits to give a more coherent picture for this group. It is published on a regular basis via the attached statistical bulletin. See notes to editors for further details.

Main findings

At February 2002, 2.51m children (19.% of all children in Great Britain) were living in families claiming a key benefit (the term 'children' refers collectively to children aged 0-15 and young adult dependants aged 16-18 in full-time education). This number of children in families claiming a key benefit was 7.2% down on two years earlier. While numbers classed as 'unemployed' fell by 30.2% over this period, and those classed as 'lone parents' by 6.2%, the number of children in families claiming a key benefit in the 'sick and/or disabled' category rose by 2.6%.

Although the number of families with children less than 16 years, where the benefit claimant was single fell between February 2000 and February 2002 (as did the number where the claimant had a partner), a greater proportion of children were living in families where the claimant was single (72.3% compared with 70.2% two years earlier).

Among the Sick and Disabled, proportionally fewer children were under the age of five, reflecting the older age profile of those claiming a sickness and/or disability benefit.

The percentage of children on benefit for at least two years was 63% in February 2002. This increased from 60% in February 2000. Conversely, the percentage of children on benefit for under one year has dropped from 26% in February 2000 to 22% in February 2002. For the Sick and Disabled Group the figure was higher: 76% at February 2002.

The percentage of children(aged under 16 or aged 16-18 and in full-time education) living in families claiming a key benefit varied from 27% in the London government office region down to 12% in the South East GOR.

67% of 'key benefit' children were in families that were claiming IS only.

While 4% of families claiming child benefit had four or more children (February 2002), the figure was 8% for families on key benefits. For the unemployed the figure was even higher at 12%.

Key benefits Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) Incapacity Benefit (IB) Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) Disability Living Allowance (DLA) Income Support (IS) National Insurance Credits (through JSA or IB)

Notes to editors

DWP Analytical Services Division (ASD) have developed these analyses from its existing samples of administrative data on the population of working age. This work was done primarily to help improve the relevance of DWP data to monitor the government’s welfare reform agenda.

By matching data from individual 5% samples, an estimate can be made of the number of people who were claiming at least one of the key benefits that are available to the population of working age with the main exception of Widow’s Benefit, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Information on the key characteristics of these claimants is also available, such as age, sex, geography, family type, client group, duration of claim and number of children. It is also possible to look at changes in the composition of this group in the benefits system over time, including those that affect individual claimants.

These analyses are based on information collected for the administration of benefits. This means that analyses of such things as family type and number of children are based only on those for whom some additional allowance of benefit is payable.

The bulletin includes appendices on Child Benefit, the Child Support Agency and Maternity Allowance. The latest quarterly Maternity Allowance figures are also available from today on request.

Figures are published on a quarterly basis via the attached statistical bulletin. The definitive estimates of caseloads and characteristics of claimants of each individual benefit can be found in the separate publications and press releases that ASD also issues on behalf of DWP.

Tables 14 to 20 cover children in families on benefits and/or tax credits. Family Credit (FC) and Disability Working Allowance (DWA) ceased to be available to new claimants in October 1999 and were completely phased out by April 2000. They were replaced by Working Families’ Tax Credit (WFTC) and Disabled Person’s Tax Credit (DPTC) and are administered by Inland Revenue. Data on awards of WFTC and DPTC are supplied by, and used with agreement of, Inland Revenue.

For further copies of this bulletin contact:

Iain Bell
Information Centre
Analytical Services Division
Department for Work and Pensions
BP5201
Benton Park View
Benton Park Road
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
NE98 1YX

Telephone : 0191 225 9704
Facsimile : 0191 225 3193

Issued by:
Information Centre
Analytical Services Division
Department for Work and Pensions

Telephone :
Press Office : 020 7238 0866
Public Enquiries : 020 7712 2171

DWP website : www.dwp.gov.uk

Statistician:
Victoria Robinson
Information Centre
Analytical Services Division
Department for Work and Pensions
Room BP5 2 01
Benton Park View
Benton Park Road
Longbenton
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
NE98 1YX

Telephone : 0191 225 4087
Facsimile : 0191 225 3193

Next Publication: 24th October 2002(To be confirmed)