§ Mr. Oakesasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what was the total amount of benefit paid by the National Assistance Board to deserted wives who had obtained a court order which was not complied with by the deserting husband, for each of the years 1963, 1964 and the first nine months of 1965.
§ Mr. PentlandI regret that the information required is not available. Separate statistics are not obtained of the amounts of National Assistance paid to deserted wives who have court orders. The total amount of assistance paid to all categories of deserted wives, including those with court orders not being complied with, was £21,531,000 in 1963 and £22,653,000 in 1964. Figures for the first nine months of 1965 are not available.