By Jonathan Bell

As of last month, there were 2,625 people on Financial Assistance, while there have been 60 confirmed cases of fraud uncovered by two officials.

There were 2,462 getting assistance as of January 2014.

The number peaked in December, at 2,637, but rose overall by 163 in the year overall. Minister of Community, Culture and Sport Patricia Gordon-Pamplin said there were 2,021 black clients as opposed to 157 white clients in the January 2015 figure.

Of the total, 973 were male clients and 1,205 female.

The figures came to the House of Assembly in response to questions from Progressive Labour Party MP Rolfe Commissiong. The two sparred after Mr Commissiong asked the minister if there had been efforts to amend the sharp racial disparity in Financial Assistance.

“Is the honourable Member asking for more people to balance it?” Ms Gordon-Pamplin replied, prompting Mr Commissiong to call her remarks “disingenuous”.