§ 50. Mr. Palmerasked the Minister of Social Security if she will make a statement on the estimated number of families likely to gain no benefit from increased family allowances because of a corresponding reduction in social security benefits and the estimated cash sum involved.
§ Mr. LoughlinThe numbers for which my hon. Friend asked are: some 150,000 families on supplementary benefit in April, and (taking into account the supplementary benefit increase promised for the autumn) up to 180,000 families receiving National Insurance benefits alone in October. The additional annual cost of giving the advantage of the 7s. increase in family allowances in April to these and other beneficiaries who did not get it in full would have been about £10½ million; and extra 3s. a week for them in October would cost about £5 million, before making any allowance for the cost of the promised supplementary benefit increase.