DWP - benefit claimants February 2006
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Source:
DWP Information Directorate
Date of data:
February 2006
Data supplied:
July 2006
Claimants on Income Support, Pension Credit, Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance
Income Support
Introduced 11 April 1988 and is non-contributory, means tested and taxable.
Income Support can be paid to a person who:
- is in Great Britain
- is aged 16 or over
- is not working 16 hours or more a week
- has less money coming in than the law says they need to live on.
From October 1996, Jobseeker’s Allowance replaced IS for unemployed people. In general IS is now only available to people who are not required to be available for work such as carers, lone parents and sick and disabled people. Pension Credit replaced the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) on 6 October 2003, adding a Savings Credit element to the guarantee element already present under MIG. Claimants receiving MIG on 6 October 2003 were automatically transferred onto Pension Credit. Pension Credit is shown in separate excel tables.
For detailed eligibility conditions and rules for claiming IS see DWP Website: http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/cms.asp?Page=/Home/Customers/WorkingAgeBenefits/493
Pension Credit
Pension Credit, introduced on 6 October 2003, is an entitlement for people aged 60 and over living in Great Britain. It is not necessary to have paid National Insurance contributions to be eligible.
Pension Credit has replaced the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG ). However, the principle of a guaranteed minimum income continues to apply.
There are two parts to Pension Credit: the guarantee credit and the savings credit.
The guarantee credit provides financial help for people aged 60 or over whose income is below a certain level set by the law. The level that applies depends on your circumstances, this is the standard, minimum guarantee. The awarded amount will depend on other sources of income, such as other pensions and savings. Extra amounts will be added to the standard minimum guarantee for those who have:
- relevant housing costs
- severe disabilities
- caring responsibilities
The savings credit is an extra amount for people aged 65 or over who have made some provision for their retirement (such as savings or a second pension) which brings their income above a level set by Parliament, called the ‘savings credit threshold’. The aim is to reward pensioners who have modest income or savings. You can get a savings credit on top of a guarantee credit. You may still get a savings credit even if your income is above the standard minimum guarantee level.
For further and up-to-date information on Pension Credit see: http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/pensioncredit/home.asp
Disability Living Allowance
Introduced 1 April 1992 and is non-contributory, not means tested and is non-taxable
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a benefit for people who become disabled before the age of 65. It replaced and extended Attendance Allowance and Mobility Allowance. People who could not qualify for Mobility Allowance or Attendance Allowance can get the lower rates of Disability Living Allowance.
Disability Living Allowance is payable to people who are disabled and need help with personal care, getting around or both.
DLA consists of two components
- the care component for people who need help with personal care.
- the mobility component for people who need help with getting around.
Children under 5 cannot get the mobility component.
There are three rates of the care component and two rates of the mobility component.
To get DLA the claimant must have needed help for three months (the qualifying period) and be expected to need help for at least a further six months (the prospective test). People who are not expected to live longer than six months because they have a terminal illness do not have to satisfy either the qualifying period or the prospective test. Once a claimant has been awarded DLA they will get it as long as they meet the conditions of entitlement.
For detailed eligibility conditions and rules for claiming DLA see DWP Website:
For those aged 16 and over: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/disability_liv_allowance.asp
For those aged under 16: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/disability_liv_allowance2.asp
Attendance Allowance
Introduced 6 December 1971 and is non-contributory, not income related and is non-taxable
Attendance Allowance (AA) is a benefit for people over the age of 65 who are so severely disabled, physically or mentally, that they need a great deal of help with personal care or supervision. They could need either frequent attention coping with their bodily functions or continual supervision to stop them hurting themselves or others. This could be either during the day or at night.
If they need help both night and day they get the higher rate.
People who have a terminal illness, and are unlikely to live longer than 6 months can claim Attendance Allowance under the ‘special rules’ provisions. This means that they will automatically receive the higher rate of Attendance Allowance even if they have no care or supervision needs and without the need to satisfy the normal 6 month qualifying criteria.
People disabled before the age of 65 can claim Disability Living Allowance provided they make their claim prior to their 65th birthday. DLA was introduced in April 1992.
For detailed and up-to-date eligibility conditions and rules for claiming Attendance Allowance see the DWP Website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/attendance_allowance.asp
Notes:
- All figures supplied have been rounded to protect the confidentiality of claimants.
- All data represent a snapshot in time of claimants on the Computer System, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically.
- Geo-referencing tools, obtained from the Office of National Statistics, have been used to assign claimants to geographies
- Tables, maps and charts show claimants on Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Income Support or Disability Living Allowance. Any individual claimant of more than one benefit has only been counted once. Separate claimants within the same household have each been counted.
- Tables, maps and charts show all entitled claimants.