§ 16. Mr. RostTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what will be the total value to a two-child family of the three increases in child benefit which will have taken place in the year to April 1992.
§ Mr. JackFor a two-child family, those increases will be worth £2.95 a week, taking total child benefit to £17.45 a week. For a family on average income, that is equal to an increase in gross earnings of £1,350 a year.
§ Mr. RostWill my hon. Friend confirm that, as a result of the Government's generous increase in child benefit, our provision now compares favourably with that of many other European countries? For example, will he compare our provision with that of socialist France?
§ Mr. JackClearly, my hon. Friend has been doing his research extremely well, because in France there is no equivalent to the benefit that we pay for the first child. If the French scheme were to be replicated here, 40 per cent.
13 of mothers would not receive child benefit. In several other EC countries, there are extra entitlement conditions. Greece, Germany and Italy have means tests, while Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Spain link eligibility to insurance. My hon. Friend is right to say that our provision is generous.