HL Deb 24 February 1976 vol 368 cc692-3WA
Lord ABERDARE

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What would be the cost of raising the dependent relatives allowance to a single rate of £300 and what would be the further additional cost if the allowance was paid in full regardless of the income of the dependent relative.

Lord JACQUES

The estimated cost for 1975–76 is about £60 million. The additional cost if the increased dependent relative allowance were not to be reduced according to the dependent's income cannot be properly estimated; if it applied only to those cases where there is at present partial loss of the allowance, the cost would be about £10 million.