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Anyone wishing to claim Incapacity Benefit or who has a query regarding the benefits should go directly to the (External) JobCentrePlus website or ring 0800 055 668 (8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday).
This report uses statistics provided by the Department for Work and Pensions Information Centre. The focus in this article is on results for the Lancashire area, but details for other parts of the country can be found by going to the (External) DWP website and using the Tabulation tool. The government site also contains full details of entitlement requirements for these two benefits in the A-Z list of services.
It is important to note that there are significant differences between the number of claimants and the number of beneficiaries of Incapacity Benefit, whereas for Severe Disablement Allowance the variation between the two is negligible. The differences between claimants and beneficiaries is shown down to the district level (see Table 3), whilst the information at ward level only measures the numbers of claimants.
Incapacity Benefit replaced Sickness Benefit and Invalidity Benefit in April 1995. It is paid to people who are assessed as being incapable of work and who meet certain contribution conditions.
There are three rates of Incapacity Benefit, as shown in Table 1. There are two short-term rates: the lower rate is paid for the first 28 weeks of sickness and the higher rate for weeks 29 to 52. The long-term rate applies to people who have been sick for more than a year. The higher short-term rate and the long-term rate are treated as taxable income. Please see the (External) DWP website for further details on entitlement.
From April 2001 there have been (External) no new claims to Severe Disablement Allowance . From this date, claimants under the age of 20 (or 25 if receiving training or education) may be entitled to Incapacity Benefit.
Table 3 details the caseload numbers for Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance for Great Britain, the North West, the Lancashire County Council 12-district area (excludes Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities) and the districts. Nationally, the caseload was almost 2.66 million in February 2008, which represented a decline of -0.3% since February 2007. Over the same period, the North West saw a decrease of -2.5% to 404,180, whilst in the Lancashire County Council area, the number in February 2008 amounted to 59,200 or -2.9% less than a year earlier.
39,940 (67.4%) of the 59,200 claimants in Lancashire were beneficiaries in receipt of IB&SDA payments.
At the local area level, Blackpool unitary authority recorded by far the largest number (11,515) whilst Blackburn with Darwen recorded the second highest figure (9,940). At the other extreme, the rural Ribble Valley District recorded a caseload of just 1,795.
Graph showing how the relative numbers of incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claimants in Lancashire County, the North West and Great Britain have changed from February 2000 to February 2008 - see text for details
Source
Department for Work and Pensions
Over time there are changes to the types of benefits, qualifying criteria and initiatives that can affect the number of claimants. It is possible that changes may be in part due to factors that cannot easily be distinguished without an in-depth knowledge of particular benefits.
In the near future for example, the introduction of changes in benefit regimes for Lone Parents and Incapacity Benefits claimants will generate an impact on the number of people claiming these benefits in Lancashire as they are introduced for new claimants in the Autumn of 2008 and for existing claimants in 2009. Jobcentre Plus guidance suggests that this will reduce the numbers of people claiming these benefits by around 12% in each case, but that this will result in a similar increase in Jobseeker Allowance claimants.
It is likely to be difficult to quantify the actual impact of a specific change at a time of contraction in the overall state of the economy.
From 27 October 2008, the Employment and Support Allowance replaces IB&SDA for new claimants.
Given the economic significance attached to getting people off benefits and back in to work, it is worth considering the number of claimants to these two benefits over a longer time period than just one year - even after accepting that some of the change may be the result of a variety of administrative or other factors. Figure 1 presents yearly results from February 2000 to February 2008. The numbers for February 2000 are given a value of 100 and subsequent years are measured in relation to the base figure. Initially, there was a pattern of increases at the county and national levels, but all three rates recorded a noticeable downward trend from 2004 onwards.
In the year from February 2007 to February 2008 the percentage reduction in claimants in the Lancashire County Council area has been more pronounced than the regional and national rates of decline.
Lancashire Profile contains a table that details the reasons people give for leaving the unemployment claimant count . One of the reasons is to claim Incapacity Benefit instead. The results for July 2008 reveal that for the broader 14-authority Lancashire area that includes Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool unitary authorities, only 225 of the 5,165 that left the claimant count in that particular month stated that they were leaving to claim Incapacity Benefit. Given the significant numbers in the 'not known' and 'failed to sign' categories, it is likely that the actual figure may be higher.
Table 4 shows the 25 wards in the Lancashire NUTS-2 area with the highest percentage of working age population claiming Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance. Two wards in Blackpool with over 22%, Claremont and Bloomfield, recorded more than 1,000 claimants each – figures noticeably in excess of any of the other wards in the county. Twelve wards in the unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool had 15.7% or more IB&SDA claimants, along with13 wards in the Lancashire County Council area.
Within the Lancashire County Council area, which excludes the two unitary authorities, Ribbleton Ward in Preston recorded the highest number of total claimants with 745. The highest percentage rate was in Bank Hall Ward, Burnley with 19.7%.
The distribution of claimants across wards in the broader Lancashire area is shown in Figure 2. Concentrations of wards with high percentages of working age people claiming IB and SDA are particularly apparent in central Blackpool, Blackburn and Burnley. Wards in Preston, Accrington, Nelson, Colne and Fleetwood also experienced high rates. The Lancashire NUTS-2 average was 9.5%.
Figure 2 Incapacity Benefit and Severe Disablement Allowance Claims, Lancashire Wards, February 2008Map showing the incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance claim rates for Lancashire's wards - see text for details Source Department for Work and Pensions
This page was compiled by Ann Weaver .
All enquiries from the media should be sent to Corporate.Communications@lancashire.gov.uk .
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For all enquiries about the county council's services , contact the Customer Service Centre on 0845 0530000 (01772 530000) or at Enquiries@css.lancscc.gov.uk .
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