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Introduction

This research monitor details Child Benefit Statistics released by HM Revenue & Customs and by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data refer to the number of families claiming Child Benefit (CB) (and their eligible dependents) and are derived from an extract from the CB computer system. Figures down to the district authority level are often first released on the HM Revenue & Customs website. The middle and lower super output level figures are published each year on the ONS Neighbourhood Statistics website.

Please also note that earlier editions of this research monitor can be found in the Research Monitors Archive.

Eligibility for Child Benefit

A Playground in Cliviger, Burnley District

Child Benefit (CB) was introduced in 1977 to replace Family Allowance and along with the State Pension is the most easily understood benefit. As the name suggests, it is a payment to people bringing up children or a young person and is designed to help with the extra costs this entails regardless of family income or savings. A person is entitled to receive the benefit if they are bringing up a child who is aged under 16, or is aged under 19 and in full-time further education, or has started a programme of approved training. It also includes young people aged under 18 who are registered for work or training with Connexions.

A person does not have to be the child's parent to get Child Benefit. They may get Child Benefit if they pay towards bringing up a child who does not live with them and no one else is claiming the benefit for them. Additional details regarding eligibility can be found be going to the HM Revenue & Customs website.

For the eldest child who qualifies, a claimant in the 2008/09, tax year receives £18.80 per week. For each other child who qualifies the amount is £12.55 per week.

The Lancashire Perspective

Table 1 reveals that for August 2006, there were 6.17 million Child Benefit Claimants in England, which represents a 0.9% increase over the past year. For the Lancashire NUTS-2 area, the total was 180,150, which was 0.5% higher than the figure for August 2005. At the sub-Lancashire level, Blackpool recorded a noticeable 1.6% increase in claimants over the year to August 2006, whilst Rossendale recorded a 1% increase. In contrast, the relatively affluent authorities of Fylde and Ribble recorded reductions in their claimant numbers of -0.8% and -0.4% respectively.

Families with one or two children represent the vast majority of claimants, whilst those with four or more account for just 4.4% of the total figure for England. In Blackburn with Darwen, which had the largest number of total claimants for any of the 14 Lancashire authorities, also had the highest percentage in the four or more children group (8.1%).

The Jubilee Playing Fields in Adlington, Chorley District

Table 2 presents the number of Child Benefit claimants by age whilst Table 3 lists the 2006 mid-year population estimates. The tables allow comparisons between the number of children in claimant families and the resident populations of each area.

The total number of children in claimant families in England aged under five equated to 97.1% of the resident population in this age-group. There are some restrictions to receiving the benefit (going abroad for a length of time, long-term hospital patients etc). The slightly different time periods between the two data sets, and perhaps other small methodological discrepancies may also account for some of the 2.9% differential. There is also the fact that some new family claims may await processing, but the relatively small differences between the two data sets emphasises the comprehensive take-up of this benefit for the under fives.

If the 15-19 year population estimates in Table 3 are reduced by 20%, a rough estimate can be made of the number of young people for whom Child Benefit could theoretically be available. The figures suggest that in England, Child Benefit is claimed for 94.7% of children aged 18 or under whilst at the Lancashire NUTS-2 level, the figure is slightly lower at 93.6%.

The Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) data for August 2006 are rounded to the nearest five and exclude a small number of cases held clerically. Table 4 and Figure 1 detail the MSOA results for Lancashire. The County Council has given each MSOA a name to supplement the identifier codes provided by the Office for National Statistics. In total there are 194 Middle Super Output Areas in Lancashire and 7,194 in England and Wales.

Table 4 highlights the fact that six MSOAs in Lancashire that are listed in the top 100 in England and Wales for the number of families claiming Child Benefit. These include the central Hyndburn area that recorded the seventh highest figure.

Child Benefit numbers do not directly indicate wealth or deprivation in a particular area but simply reveal the localities with high numbers of families receiving this universal benefit. The MSOA that incorporates Kirkham, Wesham and Wrea Green, is an affluent area of the county and is listed in Table 4 in 18th position. It is however more often the case that high concentrations of claimants are found in the central urban areas in Lancashire, which are localities that are often associated with deprivation. Figure 1 reveals the geographic positions of the 16 MSOAs in Lancashire that are listed in Table 4 and contain more than 1,300 families that receive Child Benefit.

Figure 1 Number of Families Claiming Child Benefit by Middle-Layer Super Output Areas, August 2006

Source Office for National Statistics

For further details, or if you have any ideas for improving the content of this article, please contact:
Bryan Moulding
Tel 01772 534172
Email Bryan.Moulding@lancashire.gov.uk