Income Support

DWP describe Income Support (IS) as a benefit that may be available to people who can't be available for full-time work due to such reasons as sickness or disability or being a lone parent or carer, and don't have enough money to live on. Eligibility for IS is dependent on personal factors including health, family, savings and employment. Changes are being made to the way lone parents claim benefits which will result in some moving off IS and onto Job Seekers Allowance during late 2008 and 2009.

Figure 1: Income Support Claimants (February 2001 to February 2011)

*Relevant population is the population of any relevant qualifying age group described above.

4.4% of working age people in Highland receive Income Support (IS), lower than both the Scotland average of 5.5% and the Great Britain average of 4.8%. The gentle decline since 2004 in the percentage of people receiving IS in Highland matches similar declines in both Scotland and Great Britain. The latest figures (February 2011) show no evidence of numbers increasing as a result of the credit crunch and developing recession.

The large drop in Income Support Claimants in November 2003, as shown in the graph above, is caused by claimants aged over 60 being transferred to Pension Credits at this point.

Income Support Claimants by Multi-Member Wards ( February 2011 )

There is a wide variation in the number of people in each ward receiving IS and wards containing deprived areas have over 5 times as many claimants as less deprived wards.The wards with the highest percentage of people receiving IS are Inverness Central (9.6%), Wick (8.1%) and Cromarty Firth (7.6%) while the lowest are Black Isle (1.7%), Inverness South (2.4%). Only 4 wards have a higher percentage of people receiving IS than the Scotland average.

Ward No	Ward Name	All Income Support Claimants	% of population aged 16 to 59 claiming Income Support
1	North, West and Central Sutherland	110	3.6
2	Thurso	220	5.4
3	Wick	305	8.1
4	Landward Caithness	205	3.3
5	East Sutherland and Edderton	155	4.0
6	Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh	210	3.4
7	Cromarty Firth	510	7.6
8	Tain and Easter Ross	295	6.2
9	Dingwall and Seaforth	300	4.2
10	Black Isle	90	1.7
11	Eilean a' Cheò	205	3.6
12	Caol and Mallaig	150	3.5
13	Aird and Loch Ness	145	2.4
14	Inverness West	270	5.4
15	Inverness Central	795	9.6
16	Inverness Ness-Side	205	3.6
17	Inverness Millburn	150	3.2
18	Culloden and Ardersier	250	3.8
19	Nairn	255	4.1
20	Inverness South	185	2.4
21	Badenoch and Strathspey	190	2.8
22	Fort William and Ardnamurchan	275	4.3
39	Highland	5,440	4.4
Source: Department for Work and Pensions data from NOMIS

Income Support Claimants by Local Authority ( February 2011 )

Glasgow has the highest claimant rate (9.4%) and Aberdeenshire has the lowest (2.5%). The number of people claiming IS fell in all Authorities over the last 12 months, with a reduction of 6.5% in Highland.

Local Authority	Claimants	% of population aged 16 to 59 claiming Income Support	% change in claims over the last 12 months
Aberdeen City	5,400	4.0	-10.7
Aberdeenshire	3,540	2.5	-3.8
Angus	2,600	4.3	-7.5
Argyll & Bute	1,970	4.0	-9.6
Clackmannanshire	1,890	6.4	-7.8
Dumfries & Galloway	3,850	4.8	-6.1
Dundee City	6,510	7.6	-7.7
East Ayrshire	4,490	6.4	-9.7
East Dunbartonshire	1,800	3.0	-10.4
East Lothian	2,210	4.0	-8.7
East Renfrewshire	1,550	3.1	-7.2
Edinburgh, City of	13,810	4.4	-8.5
Eilean Siar	440	3.1	-10.2
Falkirk	4,520	5.0	-4.8
Fife	10,890	5.2	-6.9
Glasgow City	36,100	9.4	-10.2
Highland	5,440	4.4	-6.5
Inverclyde	3,800	8.1	-7.8
Midlothian	2,370	5.1	-2.5
Moray	1,690	3.4	-7.1
North Ayrshire	5,510	7.2	-8.8
North Lanarkshire	12,560	6.4	-9.6
Orkney Islands	300	2.7	-9.1
Perthshire & Kinross	2,850	3.5	-6.3
Renfrewshire	6,080	6.0	-8.8
Scottish Borders	2,340	3.8	-4.9
Shetland Islands	310	2.4	-11.4
South Ayrshire	3,520	5.7	-8.8
South Lanarkshire	10,230	5.6	-7.8
Stirling	2,150	4.2	-3.6
West Dunbartonshire	4,420	8.1	-8.1
West Lothian	5,410	5.2	-6.9
Scotland	170,540	5.5	-8.3
United Kingdom	1,738,470	4.8	-7.8
Source: Department for Work and Pensions data from NOMIS