FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN ON KEY BENEFITS
18 Sep 2003 10:45 AM
Coverage: Great Britain
Theme: Social and Welfare
This series comprises people of working age who claim a key 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 of claimants
rather than claims. It is published on a regular basis via a National
Statistics bulletin. Please see Notes to Editors for further details.
Main findings
At May 2003, 2.5 million children (19.2 per cent of all children in
Great Britain) were living in families claiming a key benefit. This
number of children in families claiming a key benefit was down 1.0
per cent from last year. While numbers classed as Unemployed fell by
2.8 per cent over this period, and those classed as Lone Parents" by
1.2 per cent, the number of children in the Sick / Disabled category
increased by 0.3 per cent.
67 per cent of key benefit children were in families that were
claiming Income Support only.
Although the number of single parent families with children less than
16 years of age fell from the previous year (as did the number where
the claimant had a partner), a greater proportion of children were
living in families where the claimant was single (73.1 per cent
compared with 72.6 per cent a year earlier).
Family size
While 4.2 per cent of families claiming Child Benefit had four or
more children at the end of May 2003, the figure was 8.5 per cent for
families on key benefits. For the Unemployed group the figure was
higher at 11.1 per cent.
Age Groups
Among the Sick / Disabled group, proportionally fewer children were
under the age of five compared to other statistical groups. This
reflects the older age profile of those claiming a sickness and/or
disability benefit.
Duration of claim
Of those children in families on a key benefit, 65 per cent had been
on benefit for at least two years, an increase from 64 per cent in
May 2002. For the Sick / Disabled Group the figure was higher: 77 per
cent at May 2003 compared to 76 per cent at May 2002. The percentage
of children in families claiming benefit for under one year has
remained at 22 per cent from May 2002 to May 2003.
Regions
The percentage of children living in families claiming a key benefit
varied from 28 per cent in the London government office region down
to 13 per cent in the South East GORs.
Notes to editors
For the purposes of the statistical bulletin key benefits are defined
as:
- 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)
The Information and Analysis Directorate (IAD) of DWP have developed
these analyses from 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 per cent 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
people. The main exceptions are Widow's and Bereavement Benefits,
Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Information on the
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.
Figures in these tables are affected by the introduction of new tax
credits in April 2003. Please see the Methodology section in bulletin
for further details.
The bulletin includes appendices on Child Benefit, the Child Support
Agency and Maternity Allowance.
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 IAD 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.
£ is equivalent to pounds.
The Quarterly Bulletin on families with children on key benefits 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.
Contact point for enquiries:
e-mail: paul.mcready@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Issued by:
Information Centre
Information and Analysis Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions
Telephone :
Public Enquiries : 020 7712 2171
DWP website : www.dwp.gov.uk
Statistician:
Neil Sorensen
Information Centre
Information and Analysis Directorate
Department for Work and Pensions
Room BP5 2 01
Benton Park View
Benton Park Road
Longbenton
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
NE98 1YX
Facsimile : 0191 225 3193
email : neil.sorensen@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
Next Publication: 18th December 2003