34. Mr. PRICEasked the Minister of Labour whether, in considering an application for transitional payment, a public assistance committee is acting in conformity with the regulations in ignoring the applicant's responsibility to maintain his wife under a separation order; and whether under the means test it is permissible for the committee to take into account the means of the household where the separated wife happens to be living?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of LABOUR (Mr. R. S. Hudson)There are no regulations under the Order-in-Council dealing with this matter which is within the discretion of the Local Committee.
§ 36. Mr. D. GRENFELLasked the Minister of Labour the number of persons on transitional benefit who have applied for public assistance; the number who have been granted nil awards, reduced benefit, and full benefit, respectively, to the latest available date; and the estimated difference between the amounts received by these beneficiaries and the full standard benefit which they would have drawn in the absence of a means test?
§ Mr. HUDSONI regret that the statistics available do not enable me to give the number of separate applicants for transitional payments. The determinations given by public assistance authorities and commissioners in respect of applications for transitional payments in Great Britain in the period 12th November, 1931, to 6th May, 1933, included 8,130,701 at full rates and 5,392,052 at less than full rates, while in 1,035,763 cases the needs of applicants were held not to justify payments. These figures include renewals and revisions as well as initial applications. It is estimated that the net saving from the operation of the needs test during the same period was about £20,500,000.