§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is her latest estimate derived from 1974 FES data of the total amount of all social security benefits unclaimed;
(2) if she will publish in the Official Report her latest estimate of the percentage take up of all benefits made available by her Department.
536W
§ Mr. MeacherBenefits made available by the Department are:
Contributory benefits Non-contributory benefits Maternity benefits. Family allowances. Sickness benefits. Family income supplement. Invalidity benefit. Supplementary benefits. Unemployment benefit. Free milk and vitamins. Widows' benefits. Help with prescription charges. Child special allowance. Help with charges for dental treatment, dentures and glasses. Retirement pensions. Help with charges for wigs and fabric supports. Death grant. Attendance allowance. Guardian's allowance. Pensions for people over SO (Old Persons Pension). Industrial injuries benefits War Pensions. Non-contributory invalidity pension (available from 20th November 1975). Refund of out patients hospital travelling expenses. Though precise figures are not available, evidence suggests that there is little shortfall in the take-up of contributory benefits, or of family allowances and old persons' pensions. For other non-contributory benefits the take-up is difficult to estimate. The rate of take-up of family income supplement in 1974 is provisionally estimated to be about three-quarters; that of free milk is estimated to be about 65 per cent. at the end of 1973. The latter estimate covers all grounds for entitlement to free milk—i. e. means-tested and non-means tested, and includes the passport entitlement covered by family income supplement and supplementary benefit. Estimates are not available for other benefits.
It is estimated that the amount represented by unclaimed entitlement to family income supplement for the financial year 1974–75 was about £3 million; that for free milk in the financial year 1973–74 was about £4½ million.
§ Mr. Ralph Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if she will list in the Official Report the number of claimants who are, or who it is estimated will be, claiming the non-contributory invalidity benefit, the mobility allowance, the child interim benefit and child benefit, and state for each of the benefits the 537W number of claimants who will cease drawing means-tested assistance as a result of the introduction of each of these new benefits.
§ Mr. MeacherThe information requested is as follows:
Benefit Estimated number of claims Estimated number who will cease drawing Supplementary Benefit Non-contributory Invalidity Pension 220,000 80,000* Mobility allowance 100,000 None Child Interim Benefit 250,000† Less than 5,000 Child Benefit 7,000,000 ‡ * This figure includes 70,000 long-stay patients in mental hospitals, who hitherto have had to rely on hospital funds for their personal requirements. But for the introduction of the non-contributory invalidity pension, these patients would have been transferred to supplementary benefit in due course. † Number of one-parent families standing to gain by claiming child interim benefit. ‡ The rates of child benefit have not yet been settled.