§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Prime Minister if she will give updated estimates of the cost of achieving a £2 post-tax increase in the income of a two-child family by(a) increasing child benefit, (b) increasing the married man's allowance and (c) increasing the average level of male earnings.
§ The Prime MinisterIncreasing the average level of earnings depends on the performance of the economy, as indeed does any general improvement in living standards. The estimated direct costs of increasing child benefit or the married couples' allowance to give an additional £2 per week to most two-child families are as follows, but it should be noted that the increase in income a family derives from them depends also on its individual circumstances.
(a) an increase in child benefit of £1 a week would have a gross cost of around £630 million a year.(b) Increasing the married couple's allowance (together with the additional personal allowance) by £416 would have a gross cost of around £1,150 million a year.