HC Deb 11 March 1988 vol 129 cc407-8W
Sir Brandon Rhys Williams

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish a table using the assumptions in his answer to the hon. Member for Kensington of 4 February,Official Report, column 737, showing the current net weekly spending power of families in the same range of examples and that which will result from the changes in benefits intended from April, with an

Private non-resident charges 1988–89
Item of service 1987–88 Class A to E 1988–89 Percentage change 1987–88 Class F + G 1988–89 Percentage change
1. Consultation 6.50 7.00 +7.7 12.00 13.00 +8.3
2. i. Day cases 26.50 38.50 +7.5 27.50 29.50 +7.3
ii. Day patients 31.00 34.00 +9.7 32.00 35.00 +9.4
3. Pathology 7.00 7.50 +7.1 13.50 15.00 +11.1
4. Radiography

any housing costs, and assuming that householders have average local authority rents and rates representative of the income support client groups.

Mr. Portillo

The answers are as follows:

additional column showing the extent of the differences; and if he will publish a comparable table using expenditure and benefit figures likely to be appropriate for families in inner London in the same income ranges.

Mr. Scott

[holding answer 2 March 1988]: The additional information requested can be obtained by simple subtraction using the information provided to my hon. Friend on 4 February at columns 737–38.

It is not possible to produce comparable tables for families in inner London. Insufficient inner London local authorities have made returns recording their local authority rent and rates in sufficient detail to allow the estimation of statistically sound average figures for specific family types.