HC Deb 29 February 1996 vol 272 cc710-1W
Mr. Martlew

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate the effect on public revenues in 1996–97 and 1997–98 of introducing a disregard of(a) £25 or (b) £50 to be set against a spouse's earnings in two-earner couples for the purpose of calculating entitlement to family credit. [18102]

Mr. Roger Evans

The structure of family credit in effect provides a disregard of the first £73 of earned income in the household. The estimated cost of introducing further disregards is set out in the table:

£25 disregard £50 disregard
1996–97 1997–98 1996–97 1997–98
Total cost (£ million) 40 45 90 95

1. Estimates are based on the family expenditure surveys of 1991, 1992 and 1993, and family credit quarterly enquiry statistics July 1995, uprated to 1996–97 or 1997–98 prices and benefit levels.

2. Estimates are rounded to the nearest £5 million.

Mr. Bradley

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what are currently the average numbers and proportions of income support recipients who have earnings set against an earnings disregard of(a) £5, (b) £10, (c) £15 and (d) £25, giving figures separately for (i) single people, (ii) married couples, (iii) second-earner spouses and (iv) lone parents. [18070]

Mr. Evans

The information is not available in the format requested. The available information is set out in the table. There is no £25 earnings disregard in income support. The £10 couple disregard will be introduced in October 1996 for income support and jobseeker's allowance.

Claimant group Amount of earnings disregarded £ Number of cases Percentage of claimant group
(i) Single claimants 0.01–5.00 32,000 0.7
5.01–10.00 5,000 0.1
10.01–15.00 66.000 1.4
Total 103,000 2.2
Of which: Lone Parents 0.01–5.00 1,000 0.1
5.01–10.00 4,000 0.4
10.01–15.00 63,000 5.6
Total 68,000 6.1

Claimant group Amount of earnings disregarded £ Number of cases Percentage of claimant group
(ii) Couples 0.01–5.00 31,000 3.2
5.01–10.00 2,000 0.2
10.01–15.00 23,000 2.4
Total 56,000 5.8
Of which: second-earner partners 0.01–5.00 — —
5.01–10.00 — —
10.01–15.00 — —
Total 1,000 0.1
(iii) All cases 0.01–5.00 63,000 1.1
5.01–10.00 7,000 0.1
10.01–15.00 89,000 1.6
Total 159,000 2.8

Notes:

  1. 1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest thousand. A dash represents numbers less than 500.
  2. 2. The amounts shown are the actual amounts disregarded. These may be less than the full amount of earnings disregard that the claimant is entitled to.
  3. 3. Self-employed earnings are not shown.
  4. 4. Couples include cohabitees and spouses.

Source:

Income Support Quarterly Enquiry. February 1995.