Income Support for new residents (FOI)

Request

Please would you be kind enough to provide me with the following statistics:

A

How many new comers (total of individuals to include children and other family members) to the Island are receiving income support (to include disability and rent rebate) who have been in the Island for less than five years in 2016?

B

What was the total value of income support in 2016 which was provided to these new comers (as per request A)?

C

How many new comers (total of individuals to include children and other family members) to the Island are receiving income support (to include disability and rent rebate) who have been in the Island for more than five years but have paid into the Social Security Scheme for less than five years in 2016.

D

What was the total value of income support in 2016 which was provided to these new comers (as per request C)?

Response

A 

Income Support is payable to eligible households where at least one adult has satisfied a minimum of five years continuous residence on island. Where any other adult does not satisfy the residence conditions they do not receive any personal components of the Income Support benefit. Therefore, no adult newcomers receive Income Support who have been in the island less than five years.

The Income Support legislation does not apply a residence test to children under the school leaving age (under 16 on 30 June in any year). As the Income Support benefit does not have rules for residence in respect of children, this data is not held as part of Income Support claims.

In respect of adults, there is provision within the Income Support legislation, in exceptional circumstances, for the Social Security Minister to provide financial assistance to a household that does not meet the qualifying criteria. This is typically provided where an adult member of the household is very close to meeting the residence test and has experienced an unexpected drop in income, for example due to a medical emergency.

The number of these households who received any payment in 2016 is less than five. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 exempts the authority from providing information that constitutes personal data. In this case the number of claims is small enough that to provide more detail could lead to individual claimants being identified.

B

As stated in the response to request A, adults who do not pass the residence test are not receiving payment from Income Support and their households are not paid anything extra in respect of them.

As the Income Support benefit does not have rules for residence in respect of children, this data is not held as part of Income Support claims.

It is not possible to provide the value of Ministerial Discretionary payments approved in exceptional circumstances for payment during 2016 in respect of individuals who were very close to satisfying the Income Support residency criteria. In this case the number of claims is small enough that to provide more detail could lead to individual claimants being identified. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 exempts the authority from providing information that constitutes personal data.

C 

Income Support is funded through general taxation rather than the Social Security Fund, and so there is no link between entitlement to Income Support and the payment of Social Security contributions. In addition, Income Support is a benefit paid to households based on the combined need of that entire household, so it is possible for different members of a low-income household to have different records of Social Security contributions. As the Income Support benefit does not have rules in respect of Social Security contributions, this data is not held as part of Income Support claims.

D

As per the response to request C above, this data is not held as part of Income Support claims.

Exemption applied

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.