§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many invalidity benefit claimants have working spouses;
(2) how many invalidity benefit claimants have spouses who earn more than £45 per week net
§ Mrs. ChalkerOn 3 June 1978, the latest date for which statistics are available, 462,400 men and 46,150 married women were claiming invalidity benefit. Information about the number of claimants who have working spouses is not available, but it is thought that about one-third of male claimants have working wives and about four-fifths of the married women who claim have husbands at work. Separate statistics about the earnings of spouses of invalidity pensioners are not kept, and DHSS records contain no information about the earnings of dependants for whom no benefit is claimed.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many invalidity benefit claimants are (a) eligible for and (b) claim supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. PrenticeThe number of recipients of invalidity benefit who were also supplementary benefit claimants was about 42,000 in November 1978. An estimate of the number with an unclaimed entitlement to supplementary benefit is not available, but unclaimed entitlements amongst the sick and disabled generally are estimated to have averaged some 30,000 in 1977.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many invalidity benefit claimants are (a) eligible for and (b) claim free prescriptions.
§ Sir George YoungFrom the latest information available—1978—about 80,000 people in receipt of invalidity benefit were eligible for exemption from prescription charges on grounds of age or because they were in receipt of supplementary benefit. Information is not available for any of the other exemption categories or for the number who actually claim free prescriptions.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how 402W many invalidity benefit claimants are estimated to be living (a) on or below the poverty line, (b) up to 10 per cent. above the poverty line and (c) up to 20 per cent. above the poverty line.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThere is no agreed definition of poverty, and therefore no generally accepted poverty line.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the Government will introduce regulations which allow one year on invalidity benefit to count as a qualifying year for supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. PrenticeNo. The Government have been able to make a small concession for 17-year-old non-contributory invalidity pensioners, but benefit and administrative costs prevent going further than that at present.
§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what organisations of or for disabled people he consulted on the Government's proposal to cut the value of invalidity benefit; how much time was allowed for the consultation before the proposal was announced; and what advice the Government received on their proposal.
§ Mrs. ChalkerNone. The proposal was part of the Budget Statement by my right hon. and learned Friend the Chancellor on 27 March, and prior consultation was not appropriate—[Vol. 981, c. 1658–1678.]