§ Mr. Richard Wainwrightasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will list in the Official Report the ordinary supplementary benefits scale rate for a single person, married couple, married couple with two children under 11 years of age, married couple with four children, two under 11 years of age and two over 11 years of age, respectively, including and excluding an average rent payment, as a percentage of (a) net and gross male industrial earnings and (b) net 558W and gross male manual earnings for (i) the October of each year since 1948 and (ii) the months during which benefits were increased since 1948, including April and November 1975.
§ Mr. O'MalleyI regret that the information requested by the hon. Member, comprising as it does 32 columns of up to 47 figures, could not be provided without a disproportionate expenditure of time. The hon. Member may, however, like to have the following information which is already available:
Year (October) Supplementary Allowance payments to a man, wife and two children as a percentage of Average Gross Earnings Average Net Earnings 1954 … 45.0 46.7 1955 … 44.3 45.8 1956 … 45.2 46.9 1957 … 43.2 45.2 1958 … 48.4 51.2 1959 … 50.5 53.7 1960 … 47.6 50.9 1961 … 48.3 52.9 1962 … 49.4 54.2 1963 … 51.3 56.0 1964 … 47.8 52.9 1965 … 52.3 59.0 1966 … 53.9 61.2 1967 … 54.7 62.9 1968 … 52.9 63.3 1969 … 51.4 62.4 1970 … 49.2 61.4 1971 … 50.3 61.9 1972 … 48.6 59.6 1973 … 47.2 59.3 1974 … 47.1 60.6 NOTES:
1. The figures are based on the appropriate scale rates for a married couple with two children under 5, and with an average rent addition for that type of household.
2. Rent data is not available for the years before 1954, nor yet for 1975.
3. The figures take no account of deductions due to other income—e.g., unemployment benefit and family allowance—and family allowance is accordingly included on the earnings side of the comparison.
4. Average earnings are those of full-time adult male manual wage-earners in manufacturing and some of the other principle non-manufacturing industries.