§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the annual cost of supplementary allowances paid to unemployed young people below the ages of (a) 21 years and (b) 18 years.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe number of young people claiming supplementary benefit varies greatly over the year: it is high at school-leaving dates and goes down as the school-leavers find jobs. For this reason, estimates of the cost of supplementary benefit paid to young people are very difficult. However, on the basis of limited information about the profile of claims during the year, in conjunction with reliable information on the cost in one week of the year, the best estimate of gross costs are, for the calendar year 1978 (a) about £130 million, and (b) about £60 million.