HC Deb 06 August 1976 vol 916 cc1161-2W
Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he can explain how a person who has not made any contribution to the National Insurance Fund can enter the United Kingdom and draw sums to the amount of £50 per week; and if he will review the system in order to reassure long-term contributors in the United Kingdom that this is not at their expense.

Mr. Orme

If my hon. Friend has in mind supplementary benefit, this is funded directly from taxation and not from the National Insurance Fund. Any person in Great Britain aged 16 or over and not in full-time employment can get supplementary benefit if his resources are insufficient for his requirements, which include those of his dependants living in the same household.