HC Deb 15 June 1990 vol 174 cc376-7W
Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what was the 1988–89 cost of providing the national insurance retirement pension(a) including spouse additions and (b) excluding spouse additions to category A retirement pensioners (1) in total, (2) for males and (3) for females.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

The costs1 as requested are as follows:

Including Adult Dependency Additions (ADAs)2
£ million
Total Costs 12,240
To men 7,840
To women 4,400
Excluding ADAs
Total Costs 12,090
To men 7,690
To women 4,400
1 Source Government Actuary Department.
2 It is impossible to tell from Government statistics whether the ADA is paid for a spouse or a person having care of children.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his best estimate of the number of(a) male and (b) female claimants who receive a spouse addition for non-contributory benefits for the latest available year.

Mr. Scott

The latest available figures show that 4,966 male and 487 female claimants receive increases of non-contributory benefits in respect of adult dependants. It is not possible to separate those cases where the increase is payable in respect of a spouse.

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 11 June on the cost of spouse additions, what percentage of the £800 million and £4 million relate to the retirement pension.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

On male contribution records approximately 20 per cent. of the estimated £800 million figure relates to retirement pension. On female contribution records the percentage is negligible. (Note: The figures of £800 million and £4 million in the earlier answer were the estimated cost in 1988–89 of adult dependency additions, which include a small number of adult dependants other than spouses who have care of a child or children. It is not possible to give separate figures solely for spouse additions although the amounts involved are unlikely to be significantly different.)

Mr. Meacher

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, pursuant to his answer of 24 May,Official Report, column 323, regarding the woman's half-test, what information is available.

Mrs. Gillian Shephard

A woman who was affected by the married woman's half-test would not have received any pension (not even a reduced one) based only on her own contributions. However, that test was abolished on 22 December 1984 for all women regardless of when they reached pension age and as a result some women became entitled to a reduced pension based on their own contributions.

At March 1989 there were some 0.6 million women in receipt of a reduced category A pension (that is one based on their own contributions), but it is not possible to say how many of these were women who became entitled to that pension as a result of the abolition of the test.