Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) Kent have claimed jobseeker's allowance in each of the last five years; and if he will estimate the annual cost to the public purse of such claims.

The information requested is publicly available. Benefit expenditure for parliamentary constituencies and local authorities is published at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2014

Information on Jobseeker’s Allowance caseloads is available at: http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/select/wizpopular.asp by choosing “claimant count with rates and proportions” and following the steps to select the required geography and time period.