Family Income Supplement (Hansard, 27 July 1976)

§ 8. Mrs. Hayman
asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will reduce to 24 hours the minimum working week for FIS claimants.

§ The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security (Mr. Eric Deakins)
No, Sir. Family income supplement is intended to provide assistance to low-income working families in full-time work, and I have no intention of introducing a disincentive to full-time work. Assistance for low-income families unable to work full-time is available through the supplementary benefit scheme.

§ Mrs. Hayman
Is the Minister aware that this is a very disappointing reply, particularly in view of replies given previously, which suggested that this idea was under active consideration. Is he aware that there are many families who would benefit from this, and that it would not be such an expensive reform for his Department? There would be a saving on supplementary benefit if a person with family responsibilities could claim family income supplement when he or she had a three-quarter-time job.

§ Mr. Deakins
My hon. Friend may have misunderstood the situation. We are 236 considering a proposal, which was one of the suggestions of the Finer Committee, that there should be an easement in the number of hours of full-time work for FIS payment for one-parent families.

§ Mr. McCrindle
Should not the Government cast aside their prejudices about the use of FIS and use it much more as an instrument to combat family poverty? Although this is a means-tested benefit, the fact is that it is paid to people in work. This is some sort of answer to the abuses of social security benefits of which we have seen so much recently.

§ Mr. Deakins
We have taken steps to uprate FIS in line with the rise in the cost of living, but there are other ways of dealing with the problems of low incomes. One of these ways is to see that low pay is increased in many industries?

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
When does the Minister expect the consultations to which he has previously referred to be completed?

§ Mr. Deakins
I am sorry to say they will not be completed this side of the Summer Recess, so I will not be able to make any announcement before the House rises. We have to consider this proposal, which is one with which we have a great deal of sympathy, but we also have to take account of public expenditure considerations.

§ Sir B. Rhys Williams
Is not the right answer to bring in a generous child endowment and phase out means-tested benefits altogether?

§ Mr. Deakins
In the long term, the answer will be the putting together of the social security system, the tax system, and the system of low pay. However, we do not have the time to do that just at the moment.