§ 64. Mr. Hastingsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied that the work of his Department in the field of social security is adequately explained to the public; and if he will make a statement.
§ Sir K. JosephWe must always try to increase our efforts to make benefits known to those entitled to them, but I believe that in the last year my Department has done more than ever before in this direction. Well over 1 million new claims have been made for family benefits including family income supplement, attendance allowance, welfare food, free prescriptions and help with charges for dental treatment and glasses.
Amount of supplementary benefit/national assistance paid Strikes lasting 12 days or more Strikers Dependants Number of disputes Number of man days lost £ £ 1950 … … — 9,327 71 56,000 1951 … … — 37,524 67 55,000 1952 … … 127 30,620 93 80,000 1953 … … 141 11,037 62 25,000 1954 … … 93 55,604 67 101,000 1955 … … 2,114 155,580 87 138,000 1956 … … 85 25,466 89 46,000 1957 … … 445 122,163 94 211,800 1958 … … 263 80,265 102 96,000 1959 … … 1,093 67,052 116 149,700 1960 … … 463 75,789 125 109,000 1961 … … 1,001 91,367 155 133,000 1962 … … 316 52,827 162 33,000 1963 … … 147 27,023 105 34,000 1964 … … 602 50,015 141 42,700 1965 … … 173 65,936 174 131,000 1966 … … 1,454 127,588 116 71,700 1967 … … 1,770 377,100 172 77,300 1968 … … 749 334,471 230 103,600 1969 … … 1,401 747,141 283 417,500 1970 … … 2,191 1,445,912 508 828,300 1971 … … 3,708 3,877,643 * * * Information not yet available.
§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was paid out each week to miners and their