§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the gross cost at both current and October 1972 prices of introducing a retirement pension at the present time of, respectively, £10 for a single person and £6 for a married couple and alternatively £14 for a single person and £21 for a married couple; what would be the extra cost of increasing all other national insurance benefits accordingly, though not supplementary benefit; and what would be the net cost in both cases after savings on supplementary benefit and tax clawbacks.
§ Mr. DeanThe estimated extra costs compared with current rates of benefit are given in the following table. The retail price index rose by nearly 8 per cent. between October 1972 and September 1973, the latest date for which figures have been published.
the rate of increase of population in the county of Buckinghamshire during the last ten and five years, respectively; and how this compares with the rate of growth in other counties in England and Wales.
§ Mr. AlisonIt is estimated that the population of the county of Buckinghamshire increased by 18.7 per cent. between 1962 and 1972 and by 8.1 per cent. between 1967 and 1972. The population of each county in England and Wales in 1972 and the percentage increases in their populations over the previous ten and five years respectively are given in the following table. The counties are listed in descending order of their growth in population between 1962 and 1972.
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Estimated Home Population Percentage Increase County Mid-1972 1962–72 1967–72 Suffolk, West … … … … 173,430 29.5 11.6 Huntingdonshire and Peterborough … 211,900 26.4 12.9 Oxfordshire … … … … … 397,150 24.4 11.2 Berkshire … … … … … 657,000 23.4 9.3 Essex … … … … … … 1,386,110 21.5 9.0 Flintshire … … … … … 180,560 19.5 10.4 Bedfordshire … … … … … 474,150 19.2 9.3 Sussex, West … … … … … 502,070 18.8 9.3 Buckinghamshire … … … … 598,230 18.7 8.1 Northamptonshire … … … … 478,800 17.7 9.8 Anglesey … … … … … 60,660 16.5 5.8 Kent … … … … … … 1,423,840 16.0 5.6 Dorset … … … … … 372,750 15.7 10.0 Wight, Isle of … … … … 108,480 15.3 9.6 Hertfordshire … … … … 939,420 15.1 6.6 Hampshire … … … … … 1,602,360 15.1 5.9 Somerset … … … … … 693,550 13.4 6.9 Leicestershire … … … … 780,290 13.1 7.4 Shropshire … … … … … 346,700 13.0 7.2 Rutland … … … … … 29,580 12.6 1.0 Cornwall … … … … … 386,280 12.4 8.1 Cheshire … … … … … 1,564,830 12.3 5.1 Wiltshire … … … … … 494,670 11.8 2.9 Sussex, East … … … … … 760,560 11.4 5.3 Worcestershire … … … … 705,230 11.1 5.0 Norfolk … … … … … 624,830 10.1 5.5 Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely … … 311,830 10.1 4.4 Suffolk, East … … … … … 388,660 9.6 3.2 Devon … … … … … 911,060 9.5 4.5 Lincolnshire (Lindsey) … … … 475,830 9.3 4.6 Staffordshire … … … … … 1,870,150 9.2 2.9 Surrey … … … … … … 1,014,060 9.1 3.1 Westmorland … … … … … 72,090 8.2 2.9 Lincolnshire (Kesteven) … … … 233,920 7.8 2.8 Yorkshire (North Riding) … … … 730,650 7.7 3.0 Nottinghamshire … … … … 978,340 7.0 2.3 Gloucestershire … … … … 1,083,990 6.8 1.7 Denbinghshire … … … … … 186,960 6.6 3.6 Herefordshire … … … … 139,830 4.7 -1.2 Pembrokeshire … … … … 97,730 4. -1.2 Derbyshire … … … … … 887,670 3.8 0.3 Monmouthshire … … … … 463,980 3.3 0.6 Yorkshire (East Riding) … … … 546,070 2.8 0.4 Yorkshire (West Riding) … … … 3,802,730 2.7 0.4 Cardiganshire … … … … 54,660 2.6 1.6 Warwickshire … … … … 2,090,220 2.6 -0.1 Lincolnshire (Holland) … … … 105,640 2.1 1.0 Caernarvonshire … … … … 121,900 1.7 0.6 Glamorgan … … … … … 1,256,180 1.7 -0.1 Radnorshire … … … … … 18,440 0.6 0.9 Durham … … … … … 1,412,070 0.2 -1.1 Lancashire … … … … … 5,110,180 -0.5 -1.3 Montgomeryshire … … … … 43,320 -1.0 0.6 Cumberland … … … … … 290,110 -1.7 -2.5 Carmarthenshire … … … … 162,610 -3.1 -1.8 Breconshire … … … … … 52,890 -3.1 -3.9 Northumberland … … … … 791,530 -4.1 -3.8 Greater London … … … … 7,344,820 -8.0 -5.8 Merionethshire … … … … 34,750 -10.6 -7.3 England and Wales … … … … 49,038,300 5.0 1.5 The 1972 population estimates are based on the final results of the 1971 population census. The percentage increases since 1962 and 1967 are based on estimates which are still subject to revision in the light of the 1971 census.