HC Deb 06 November 1995 vol 265 cc580-1
2. Mr. Flynn

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security in what circumstances the widow's payment will be uprated. [39685]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Social Security (Mr. Oliver Heald)

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State continues to keep the level of the widow's payment under review.

Mr. Flynn

Why is the widow's payment, which replaced a payment that was uprated annually, still stuck at £1,000, when, if it had been increased in line with earnings, it would now be £1,881? Why is the maternity payment still £100, when it should be £141? Meanest of all, the additional payment to pensioners over the age of 80 should by now be £3.55, but it is still a miserable 25p. Will the Minister make it clear that any handouts to the super-rich in the Budget will be paid for by continuing to cheat the poor, the elderly, the sick and widows?

Mr. Heald

As the hon. Gentleman knows, I do not entirely accept his figures. The widow's payment is a tax-free lump sum, paid to help widows to adjust to new circumstances and, importantly, it is payable immediately. It complements the widow's pension and widowed mother's allowance, which have been uprated annually.

The Labour party seems to be having another look at welfare and social security issues. The hon. Gentleman, who is a senior Back Bencher, once said that, when he became Prime Minister, things would change in a very different way. Perhaps he would like to give his advice to Labour Front Benchers. As it would cost £1.7 billion to implement the upratings that he wants—equivalent to a penny on income tax—perhaps Labour Front Benchers will tell us whether this is the latest move in the Labour party's abandonment of sensible economic policy.