§ Mr. Goldingasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will make early in 1976 a £10 bonus payable to pensioners and others on long-term benefits for increased fuel costs.
764WClass 1 national insurance contributions paid by a male employed earner and his employer, the maximum Class II, and, where appropriate the maximum Classes II and IV contributions combined, paid by a self-employed person for the following levels of earning or profits and gains: below £1,150, £1,150, £1,600, £2,500, £3,600, and £4,900, at the rates applying for the following periods: 1st January 1974, 5th August 1974, 6th April 1975, as set out in the Social Security Act 1973, 6th April 1975 as set out in Social Security Amendment Act 1974, 6th April 1976.
§ Mr. O'MalleyThe following table lists for the appropriate dates and levels of profits or gains the maximum—that is, male person's—Class 2 contribution, combined where appropriate with the Class 4 contribution, expressed as a percentage of the maximum combined Class 1 contribution—that is, the contribution payable at the full standard rate on ceiling earnings:—
§ Mr. O'MalleyAs my right hon. Friend explained to the House on 22nd May, when announcing last month's increases in social security benefits, a bonus payment is bound to be somewhat arbitrary in coverage and to exclude many deserving groups. We have just completed a general uprating of benefits which is a fairer method of distributing the resources which are available.—[Vol. 892, c. 1623–36.]