§ Mr. Pardoeasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for a single person and a married couple all the national insurance benefits and supplementary benefit allowances which are above the appropriate income tax allowance; and if he will estimate how many people in each category for whom the benefits and allowances are their only source of income are paying income tax.
§ Mr. O'MalleyI have been asked to reply.
Supplementary benefit and short-term national insurance benefits are not taxable. The remaining basic national insurance benefits are below the levels of the corresponding single and married tax allowances, with the exception that the specially high rates of widow's allowance and industrial death benefit payable for the first 26 weeks of widowhood may, for one tax year, bring the amount of benefit above the tax threshold. I regret that the information requested in the second part of the Question is not available.