§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the annual cost of providing a £4 per week home responsibility payment, respectively, for single women caring for an elderly infirm relative and for mothers not in paid employment caring for one or more children under the age of 5 years; and how many persons he estimates would fall into these respective categories.
§ Mr. DeanIt is estimated, on the basis of the 1971 census, that there are approximately 2½ million mothers of children under the age of 5 years who are not in paid employment, while the best available figure for single women caring for elderly infirm relatives is the total of approximately 10,000 women, caring for old or sick relatives, who are receiving supplementary benefit. The gross cost of a benefit of £4 a week for these groups would be of the order of £520 million a year and £2 million a year respectively.