§ 36. Mrs. Castleasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many families in receipt of National Assistance are affected by the wage stop; how many dependent children are involved; and in how many cases the deduction from assistance under the wage stop regulation is more than £1 and £2 per week, respectively.
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe National Assistance Board estimates that, in December last, some 25,000 weekly National Assistance allowances payable to persons registering as unemployed were restricted in amount by reference to the recipient's earning capacity; that the total number of dependent children in families whose allowances were so restricted was of the order of 100,000; and that the amount deducted in the assessment of the allowance exceeded £1 a week in about 10,000 cases and £2 a week in about 3,000 of the 10,000.
§ Mrs. CastleDoes not the reply show that thousands of children in this country are being penalised because they belong to large families and their father is an unskilled worker on a low wage? By allowing this state of affairs to continue, is not the hon. Lady encouraging, or, perhaps, doing nothing to prevent, the child neglect which it is the purpose of the Children and Young Persons Bill now before Parliament to prevent? Will she raise the matter with the National Assistance Board in order to get this regulation changed, or have a word with her right hon. Friend in charge of the Children and Young Persons Bill to see whether special children's allowances can be paid under that Bill in cases where the wage stop applies?
§ Mrs. ThatcherThe hon. Lady knows —because she sat through most of the debate on the National Insurance Bill—that the limit here is the amount which the man earns during work and that while he is in receipt of National Assistance he does not get more. I am sure that she and the House will be happy to know that the Board's officers are on the lookout for any special hardship so that they can give special grants to alleviate it.
§ Mr. LawsonIs the hon. Lady aware that in some cases at least the National Assistance Board appears to reduce the scale or the classification of the person concerned? I know of a person whose classification at the employment exchange as a general labourer was changed into that of a person capable only of very light labouring. Therefore, the amount of money which he can be paid is still further reduced. I understand that in my constituency about one unemployed person in every five is in this position—
§ Mr. SpeakerWe cannot have supplementary questions which are speeches, because we shall never get on.
§ Mrs. CastleIs the hon. Lady aware that it is not a question of looking out for special cases of hardship and that by definition a family which has to be brought up on less than the National Assistance scales must be suffering hardship, because the National Assistance scales are the barest minimum for bringing up a family in standards of decency? In view of this, will the hon. Lady please look into the matter and see whether anything can be done in conjunction with her right hon. Friend under the Children and Young Persons Bill [Lords]?
§ Mrs. ThatcherWhat the Answer shows is that National Assistance scales have risen so rapidly that they have overtaken some minimum wage rates.
§ Mrs. CastleIn view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.