HC Deb 09 May 1978 vol 949 cc962-3
11. Mr. Ovenden

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the latest number of children in one-parent families whose parents are dependent on supplementary benefit.

Mr. Orme

About 610,000 at the end of 1976.

Mr. Ovenden

Will my right hon. Friend ensure that the parents that he has mentioned, who are indisputably those in the greatest need, receive the full benefit of the child benefit increases announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget Statement? Does he accept that it would be disgraceful if the fact that child benefit levels are soon to be above supplementary benefit rates were to be used as an excuse to deprive parents of their full entitlement to supplementary benefit?

Mr. Orme

It is not an excuse. The purpose of raising child benefit to the level that it has been raised by the Government is to take people off supplementary benefit. If not, we would be paying two benefits to the same person for the same issue. We note seriously what my hon. Friend has said, but it would be our desire eventually to raise child benefits to a level higher than the dependancy allowance, or to the same rate.

Mr. MacKay

Will the right hon. Gentleman confirm that many divorcees are not obtaining their rightful maintenance from their ex-husbands, which is putting intolerable strains on the social security system? What does the Secretary of State intend to do to rectify this sad and unfair situation?

Mr. Orme

I think that the hon. Gentleman and the House will recognise that it is an extremely difficult job collecting the payments. The Department spends a great deal of time doing so and has a great deal of success, but obviously the success is not 100 per cent. In the meantime supplementary benefit will, quite rightly, have taken care of these parents.

Mrs. Chalker

In view of the Minister's comment about the complications of supplementary benefit, is he able to tell us when we may expect publication of the review by the Supplementary Benefits Commission, which we hope will go some way to clarifying an increasingly confused benefit situation?

Mr. Orme

My right hon. Friend and I have the review before us and it is hoped to publish it some time in June.