§ 13. Mr. Robin F. Cookasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consultations she has had with the Supplementary Benefits Commission on the abolition of the wage stop rule; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alec JonesIn my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Mr. Newens) on 19th November—[Vol. 881, c. 373]—it was explained that my right hon. Friend would keep this suggestion under consideration. At present she has no statement to make. My right hon. Friend is, however, in close touch with the Supplementary Benefits Commission on this as on other matters concerning supplementary benefits.
§ Mr. CookI am grateful to my hon. Friend for that faint gleam of hope. In carrying out this consultation with the Supplementary Benefits Commission, will my hon. Friend convey to it the reply he gave to a recent Question of mine which showed that the great majority of those who were wage stopped had been unemployed for more than a year? How does my hon. Friend justify the existence of a rule which notoriously discriminates against the long-term unemployed, the disabled and those who have large families when they are precisely the groups which the Department ought to try to help most?
§ Mr. JonesI will ensure that the point made by my hon. Friend is conveyed to the Supplementary Benefits Commission. I realise that the subject of the wage stop is one of the irritants to which many hon. Members have referred on numerous occasions. When we consider this matter we ought to be considering it as part of the general problem associated with low wages and family support.