Jamie

Whatdotheyknow.com

(by email)

3 December 2008

Dear Jamie

Freedom of Information Request No 1238 (2008)

I am writing to confirm that I am now in a position to reply to your request for information which you made on 28 November 2008.

You asked:

I would greatly appreciate it if you could provide me with the most up to date claimant figures for the following benefits:

Job Seekers Allowance in the Glasgow South West CHCP area, the Glasgow area and then Scotland as a whole.

Incapacity Benefits in the Glasgow South West CHCP area, the Glasgow area and then Scotland as a whole.

Lone parents benefits in the Glasgow South West CHCP area, the Glasgow area and then Scotland as a whole.

All other benefits in the Glasgow South West CHCP area, the Glasgow area and then Scotland as a whole.

Section 21 of the Act allows us to direct you to information which is already reasonably accessible to you. The Department publishes a vast quantity of statistics on benefit claimants both on our website through the Tabulation Tool at www.dwp..gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp , and on Nomis, the Office for National Statistics official website of labour market statistics at www.nomisweb.co.uk , both of which allow you to construct your own tables. We tabulate and publish benefit statistics for the standard geographical areas of country, region, local authority area, ward and lower super output area (LSOA), or Data zones in Scotland, but not for health geographies. However it may be possible for you to come up with a good estimate if the CHCP required is a good fit to combinations of the geographic areas which we do publish.

To produce a local authority table from the Tabulation Tool go to www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp

Select WPLS under Benefit data.

Under Benefit/Scheme, select for example Incapacity Benefit / Severe Disablement Allowance - combined information

Then choose

Analysis = caseload

Row = local authority of claimant

Column = gender (this produces the least columns if just looking for caseload)

Subset = none

Date = May 2008 (most recent available)

And click Get Table.

To produce statistics for ward or LSOA/Data zone, again go to www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/tabtool.asp and scroll down to Ward and Super Output Area/Data Zone. Select Individual benefits and the benefit and date you require.

If you have any queries about this letter please contact me. Please quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are not satisfied with my handling of your request please tell me why within two calendar months of the date of this letter. I will then arrange for someone to conduct an internal review of your request and my handling. The review will be conducted by another officer, usually of a more senior grade to myself. This person will have taken no part in my original decision. You will be advised of their decision in writing.

If you are still not content with the outcome of the internal review you have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner to look into the way your request has been handled. Please note that generally the Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have first exhausted DWP's own complaints procedure. The Commissioner can be contacted at:

FoI Complaints Resolution

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Fax: 01625 545 510

email:[email address]

Yours sincerely

Central FoI Team