§ 9. Mr. Blenkinsopasked the Minister of Social Security whether she will make a statement on the future level of payment of family allowances.
§ Miss HerbisonI have nothing at present to add to my replies to Questions on this subject on 30th January. [Vol. 740, c. 28-30.]
§ Mr. BlenkinsopWould not my right hon. Friend agree that it is highly desirable that a statement should be made as early as possible in view of the very considerable anxiety on both sides of the House about this matter?
§ Miss HerbisonI certainly agree, and the Government are getting on as urgently as possible.
§ Mr. Maurice MacmillanMay I ask the right hon. Lady whether, when making the statement, she will include factors other than purely financial, such as the effect of housing, and perhaps the need for care in kind for those families which for one reason or another have shown themselves unable to cope, and might not be fully benefiting by the 1088 allowances? Will she include these elements, too?
§ Miss HerbisonThe hon. Gentleman will be aware that my Department is responsible for the financial aspects, but I assure him that all the other social aspects are being considered.
§ 24. Mr. Hooleyasked the Minister of Social Security what is the present value of family allowances expressed in terms of their monetary value in 1956, when they were last revised.
§ Miss HerbisonOn the basis of the Retail Prices Index, family allowances are now worth about 74 per cent. of their value at the time of the last revision in October, 1956.
§ Mr. HooleyDoes my right hon. Friend agree that it is scandalous that a social security benefit of this importance should be allowed to decline in value over a period of 11 years without action being taken? Will she treat the revision of these allowances as a matter of the greatest urgency?
§ Miss HerbisonThe Government are treating this as a matter of great urgency, especially as we have found from our review that there are about 500,000 children whose families are living on a lower income than the supplementary benefits income.
§ Miss VickersHas the right hon. Lady any thought of tying family allowances to the cost of living?
§ Miss HerbisonI do not know whether that would be a very good thing. It is like tying pensions and other similar provisions to the cost of living. Pensioners would be very much worse off today if their pensions had been tied to the cost of living.