HC Deb 01 February 1978 vol 943 c170W
Mr. Kenneth Clarke

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the estimated cost of making child benefits payable to the parents of children resident overseas.

Mr. Orme

The cost of making child benefit payable to parents of children resident overseas not already attracting child benefit cannot be estimated with any degree of accuracy as statistics of the number of such children are not kept. However, at the rate of £2.30 payable from April 1978, a sum of the order of £50 million would probably be involved.