§ 3. Mr. LOGANasked the Minister of Labour the total amount of savings effected as a result of the working of the Anomalies Act up to the latest available date?
§ 6. Mr. T. WILLIAMSasked the Minister of Labour how many applications for transitional benefit have been dealt with 282 by public assistance committees; and what is the estimated saving effected by the imposition of the means test in this connection?
§ 13. Mr. LAWSONasked the Minister of Labour if he is now in a position to give the estimated savings arising from the operation of transitional payments?
§ 14. Captain PETER MACDONALDasked the Minister of Labour the estimated amount of saving that has been effected by the operation of the means test in connection with the payment of transitional benefit?
§ Sir H. BETTERTONThe weekly benefit paid to persons on the Live Register at the end of February, after allowing for the reduction in the rates of benefit, was about £185,000 less than would have been paid in respect of the same number of persons on the Live Register before the introduction of the Anomalies Regulations and the needs test. This saving is at the rate of about £9,500,000 a year, of which roughly £2,000,000 may be attributed to the Anomalies Regulations and £7,500,000 to the needs test. There was in addition a saving in respect of persons who, on ceasing to draw benefit or transitional payments, discontinued registration without finding employment; while it is difficult to estimate this further saving precisely I am satisfied that the total saving is at least as much as that estimated in the White Paper (Cmd. 3952) issued in connection with the Economy Bill. As regards the first part of the question by the hon. Member for Don Valley (Mr. T. Williams), between 12th November, 1931, and 20th February, 1932, 3,212,862 applications for transitional payments were submitted to public assistance committees in Great Britain for determination. This number included 1,421,484 initial applications and 1,791,378 renewal applications.