§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in view of 287W the fact that there is not normally any entitlement to supplementary benefit for strikers' families in trade disputes lasting less than two weeks, why the first supplementary benefit payments were made available to the families of striking miners on 15th February 1974, five days after the last coal mining dispute began.
§ Mr. Robert C. BrownAt the end of the first week of the dispute, most of the miners were unable to obtain payments of the wages in hand which would normally have been due to them and therefore had no resources at that time.