§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the expected saving resulting from making incapacity benefit payable in respect of any day at one seventh rather than one sixth of the weekly rate.
§ Mr. ScottThis measure will produce both gainers and losers, depending on whether a Sunday is included in a part-week payment, or in the waiting days at the start of a claim. We estimate that the overall expenditure consequences of this change will be minimal.
Benefit Number1 of pensioners2 England Number1 of pensioners2 Great Britain Date of statistical sample Attendance allowance3 760,000 890,000 31 March 1993 Community charge benefit 2,216,000 2,621,000 May 1992 Disability living allowance4 283,000 354,000 30 November 1993 Disability working allowance 17 19 31 August 1993 Family credit 280 320 31 July 1993 Housing benefit 1,387,000 1,675,000 May 1992 Income support 1,289,000 1,524,000 February 1993 Industrial injuries disablement benefit5 62,000 79,000 4 April 1992 Invalidity benefit 198,000 264,000 4 April 1992 Invalid care allowance n/a 11,000 31 December 1993 Reduced earnings allowance5 47,000 62,000 4 April 1992 Retirement pension 8,141,000 9,476,000 31 March 1993 Graduated retirement benefit only 116,660 134,130 31 March 1993 Sickness benefit 1,000 1,000 4 April 1992 Severe disablement allowance 31,000 40,000 4 April 1992 Unemployment benefit 60 60 13 May 1992 Widows' benefit 40,000 48,000 31 March 1993 1 Figures shown are rounded to the nearest thousand except in relation to disability working allowance, family credit and unemployment benefit where exact figures have been shown. 2 A pensioner is defined as any person over state pension age—ie a man aged 65 or over and a women aged 60 and over. 3 Attendance Allowance is for persons aged 65 and over. 4 Disability Living Allowance was introduced in April 1992 to replace attendance allowance for the under 65s and mobility allowance. 5 Figures for industrial injuries disablement benefit and reduced earnings allowance are provisional and relate to pensions/assessments in payment not recipients. n/a = Not available. Note:—A benefit listed may be payable to a pensioner with any other benefit or benefits listed (subject to offsetting where appropriate) except in the cases of the following combinations:—
Famiily credit or disability working allowance and income support, invalidity benefit, severe disablement allowance, sickness benefit or unemployment benefit.
Retirement pension or graduated retirement and invalidity benefit, sickness benefit, unemployment benefit or widows' benefit.
§ Mr. BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of the cost of extending the linking rule for incapacity benefits to two years.
§ Mr. ScottThe expenditure consequences of extending the linking rule would depend on the extent to which claimants subsequently gave up incapacity benefit to attempt work, training or other activities. There is no reliable information on which to base an assessment of these possible behavioural changes.