§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he has yet made a decision concerning the introduction of administrative orders to be operated by the Supplementary Benefits Commission; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. OrmeThe inter-departmental group of officials, which was set up to study the proposal in the Finer Committee's report, that where a lone mother is receiving supplementary benefit, the Supplementary Benefits Commission should become responsible for receiving maintenancy for her through a system of administrative orders, has completed its work. This proposal was put forward by the Finer Committee as an interim step pending the full introduction of a guaranteed maintenance allowance backed by a similar system for recovering maintenance for all lone mothers.
The Government have not been able to accept the major proposal for a guaranteed maintenance allowance; and in the light of this latest study they have concluded that the interim scheme for collection of maintenance for lone mothers on supplementary benefit should not be adopted. This scheme would be costly in Civil Service manpower, without any matching saving of staff in magistrates' courts, of any financial benefit for the women concerned, and it would introduce added complexity in the handling of cases between the courts and the Supplementary Benefits Commission.
The Government recognise that the Finer Committee wishes to spare lone mothers the need to take court proceedings for maintenance wherever possible, but they consider that this would not be practicable. Steps have already been taken, however, to improve some of the aspects of court proceedings which the Committee criticised, and other important changes in the matrimonial jurisdiction of magistrates' courts have now been recommended by the Law Commission.