§ Mrs. Fennerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services in what manner he intends that claims to family income supplement should be made and dealt with.
§ Sir K. JosephIn accordance with the normal practice in Social Security Regulations, regulations under Clause II of the Bill will provide for the claim to be made on a form approved by the Secretary of State or in such manner as he may accept as sufficient in the circumstances of any particular case. Claim forms will be available in all local social security offices and will be sent by post on request.
283WThe regulations will require claimants to provide suitable evidence of their income, e.g. pay slips.
Regulations under Clause 5(2) will enable a claim to be accepted from one parent where there are difficulties about a joint claim (e.g. disability). Completed forms will be returned to one of about 80 assessment offices spread over the country, where claims will be determined by officers of the Supplementary Benefits Commission, with a right of appeal to the independent local tribunals which hear Supplementary Benefit appeals.
Under Clause 6(2) regulations will be made under which initial awards of the supplement will be made for varying periods—ranging from 13 to 39 weeks so as to spread the load of handling renewal claims. There will also be a permanent provision under which awards may be made for shorter periods in those cases where it has proved difficult to arrive at a satisfactory assessment of normal income in connection with the current claim. The likely occasion for recourse to this provision will be that in which the claimant has very recently changed his employment or has recently begun employment.
Payment will be made from a central office in Blackpool, and will generally be by 26-week order book; where the rate is 10s. a week or less the supplement will be paid quarterly in advance by Giro order. Eventually it is hoped that the central office will take over the whole job of assessing and paying the supplement.
§ Mrs. Fennerasked the Secretary of Staee for Social Services in what circumstances he proposes to prescribe that a person over 16 years of age is to treated as a child for the purposes of the Family Income Supplements Bill.
§ Sir K. JosephI intend that persons over 16 shall continue to be treated as children while they are attending a school or receiving full-time instruction of a kind given in schools.
§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what provision he proposes to make by regulations as to the circumstances in which a person is to be treated as in remunerative full-time work for the purposes of Clause 1 of the Family Income Supplements Bill.
284W
§ Sir K. JosephThe general rule I propose is that a person will be treated as in remunerative full-time work if he normally works for 30 hours or more per week.
§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what provision he proposes to make by regulations as to the circumstances in which a family is to be treated as being in Great Britain for the purposes of Clause 1 of the Family Income Supplements Bill.
§ Sir K. JosephI propose to exercise the power in Clause 11(2)(c) so as to secure that families will in general be treated as being in Great Britain notwithstanding that they or members of them are temporarily absent therefrom and that families will in general be treated as not being in Great Britain, notwithstanding that they, or members of them, are temporarily present therein. It is contemplated that temporary absence and presence will ordinarily be measured by reference to a period of six months.
§ Mrs. Knightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what provision he proposes to make by regulations as to the calculation of a person's normal gross income for the purposes of Clause 4 of the Family Income Supplements Bill.
§ Sir K. JosephIn general terms, my present intentions are as follows:
1. Regulations made under Clause 4(2) will provide that the weekly amount of a person's normal gross income will be calculated or estimated, in so far as it consists of earnings from any gainful occupation, by reference to the average of that person's earnings from that occupation over the period of the five complete weeks (two months if he is paid monthly) immediately preceding the week in which the claim for F.I.S. was made, unless the determining authorities are satisfied that it is appropriate to have regard to the earnings of that person from that occupation over a longer or a shorter period in order fairly to determine what are his normal weekly earnings from it, looking at that Question as at the date of the claim. Where, for example, the person concerned had changed his job within five weeks of the claim for F.I.S. being made, or was in business on his own account, or was in a 285W job in which the earnings varied with the seasons, or was temporarily working short-time, it would normally be appropriate to have regard to a shorter or a longer period than the five weeks (two months) norm.
2. In so far as earnings from any gainful occupation comprise salary, wages or fees related to a fixed period, the gross amount will be taken into account. In fixing the make-up levels allowance is made for working expenses.
3. In so far as earnings from any gainful occupation do not comprise salary, wages or fees related to a fixed period, the profit from that occupation will be taken into account.
4. Initially it is not proposed to exercise the powers conferred under Clause 4(2)(b) (disregarding the whole or part of the income from any source specified in the regulations) or (c) (treating capital resources and any income not consisting of money as equivalent to gross income of a specified amount).
1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 £ £ £ £ £ 1. Organisations for the Blind … … 35,459 53,023 54,944 55,809 68,778 2. National Council for the Unmarried Mother and her Child … … … 1,750 1,750 5,000 5,000 5,000 3. National Association for Mental Health 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 10,000 4. Council for Social Service for Wales* … 850 1,250 1,500 2,000 — 5. Family Planning Association … … — — — — 20,000 6. Family Service Units … … … — — — — 5,000 * This grant was paid by Welsh Office with effect from 1st April, 1969. I regret that information about applications for grants which have been refused is not available.