§ 39. Mr. Macfarlaneasked the Secretary of State for the Social Services whether she will consider extending the invalid care allowance to married women.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisThe invalid care allowance has been designed to provide help towards the maintenance of those, mainly single women but also some men, who are prevented from going out to work by the need to stay at home and care for severely disabled relatives. It will also be available to married women whose circumstances are similar to those of single women, that is, married women who are neither living with nor supported by their husbands. It will not be payable to married women in general because many such women have, in any event, reasons for staying at home which are not connected with the need to care for a severely disabled relative. For example, many married women remain at home to care for their young children; others have elderly parents who are not disabled living with them. Furthermore, the payment of an invalid care allowance to a married woman who is caring for her invalid husband would not normally increase the total family income, because the husband would no longer qualify for an increase of his benefit for her as a dependant.