§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it took his Department four years before discovering that Mrs. Eleni Kyriakapoulou was illegally claiming social security payments for her mother who was for most of the time living in Greece and for some two years when her mother was dead; whether he is aware that there have been substantiated reports of other persons claiming for relatives abroad who are not relatives and when they are dead; and whether he will have a thorough investigation made into these wilful abuses.
§ Mr. OrmeI am having inquiries made and will write to my hon. Friend.
222WJanuary 1978 of a revised tax structure for cigarettes cannot yet be fully assessed. However, the general effect of the changes in manufacturers' prices which have now been announced will be either to maintain or to increase prices of the major brands. In particular, the prices of nearly all plain cigarettes, although these are to bear a lower tax burden, are not being reduced. Two major manufacturers have stated publicly that they were influenced in this decision by health considerations. Plain cigarettes represent in total only 12 per cent. of the cigarette market, and I have no reason to expect that that proportion will not continue to fall.