§ 37. Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what has been the net redistributive effect to a married man with three children earning £20 a week as a result of the extra social service benefits and extra National Insurance contributions he has so far announced.
§ Sir K. JosephFrom 21st September such a man will pay no more than 3p a week extra in national insurance contributions when working. In return he will receive an extra £2.50 a week in flat-rate benefit for himself and his dependants if he falls sick or becomes unemployed or, alternatively, up to £6.80 more if he becomes chronically sick. Also, considerably higher benefits will be payable to him and his wife when he retires, or to his widow in the event of his death. This takes no account of the extra 97p a week he will gain with effect from 6th April as a result of the recent income tax changes. Assuming he pays a fairly typical rent, he and his dependants are already entitled to free prescriptions and dental and optical treatment, and his children are entitled to free welfare milk and school meals.
§ Mr. MeacherDespite this list of exceptional circumstances, will the right hon. Gentleman nevertheless confirm that even this low-paid £20 a week man with three children, because he is excluded from the family income supplement scheme and, therefore, ineligible for the passport system, will, net of price rises since June, 1970, and net of the Government's proposed rent increases, make a net loss from the Government's total fiscal and welfare policies whilst the man paid at 20 times that level will make a huge net gain of over £2,000 a year?
§ Sir K. JosephNo. The hon. Gentleman chose the figure, and at that figure there are considerable net advantages to the particular family; and, of course, earnings have gone up since last June, as we all know.