§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) whether his proposed new income support rates will be less for married parents under 25 years of age than for lone parents;
(2) if he will ensure that the rates of his proposed new income support system do not penalise two-parent families by comparison with lone parents.
§ Mr. NewtonDecisions on the rates of income support that would apply have not yet been taken, but in deciding
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Number of working families at various income levels—(Great Britain, 1981) Thousands Number of dependent children Gross weekly income excluding state benefits Total One parent families Two parent families One wage families Two wage families 1 2 3 4 or more Under £80 310 90 220 290 20 150 100 60 10 £80–89 150 40 120 140 10 60 60 20 10 £90–99 240 30 210 200 40 100 110 20 10 £100–109 300 30 280 220 90 110 130 40 20 £110–119 270 30 250 190 90 100 130 30 10 £120–129 380 20 360 210 170 170 160 30 20 £130–139 370 10 360 190 180 150 140 60 20 £140–149 340 10 330 180 170 140 160 30 10 £150–159 330 * 330 170 170 150 150 30 10 £160–169 330 * 330 130 200 140 130 50 20 £170–179 320 10 310 100 220 130 150 40 10 £180–189 240 10 240 90 150 70 130 40 * £190–199 270 — 270 100 160 120 110 20 10 £200–219 430 20 420 130 300 160 220 50 * £220–239 320 — 320 130 190 120 150 50 10 £240–259 270 — 270 90 180 130 100 20 10 the balance between rates for different groups we will take account of the considerations referred to by my hon. Friend.
§ Sir Brandon Rhys Williamsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will ensure that his proposed income support system does; not penalise married and cohabiting couples by comparison with single people of opposite sexes sharing accommodation, and by comparison with divorced or separated married couples.
§ Mr. NewtonWe expect that the current rules governing the circumstances in which claimants are treated as living together would continue to apply under the proposed income support scheme.