§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the successive changes of Government policy on child benefit and consequential arrangements since the Child Benefit Act became law.
§ Mr. OrmeAs far as changes in the child benefit arrangements are concerned, my right hon. Friend announced in his statement to the House on 25th May 1976 that although child benefit would be introduced in April 1977 the amounts for second and subsequent children would be the same as for family allowances. Payment of £1 would, however, be made for the first child, £1.50 for the first child of one-parent families. He also announced that the benefit would be taxable and that child tax allowances would not be withdrawn. He made a further announcement on 23rd September 1976, which was later circulated in theOfficial Report in reply to a Question from the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) on 26th October 1976. The announcement explained that the Government had accepted the recommendation made by the Joint Labour Party/TUC Working Party that the scheme should be phased in over 63W three years. Child benefit was to be tax free and child tax allowances reduced from April 1977 by the value of the tax and the clawback which would otherwise have been levied on the benefit. As a result of both of these statements, changes were made in the account of the scheme previously given to the public.
Consequential changes resulting from the first phase of the scheme as announced on 23rd September are as follows. On 16th November 1976 my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced in a reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, South (Mr. Marshall) that it was proposed that child tax allowances for 1977–78 should be reduced by £104 for a first child and £130 for each subsequent child. He also announced that adjustments would be made to parental contribution scales for student grants to take account of the reduction in child tax allowances, that students on advanced courses would be excluded from child benefit from October 1977, also arrangements to ensure that tax paying war widows and widows and others receiving taxable social security benefits should not be any worse off. He further announced, on 14th December 1976, in a reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Newport (Mr. Hughes) the arrangements whereby parents of children living outside the United Kingdom could claim the child tax allowance for 1977–78 at the 1976–77 level; and on 9th March 1977 in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea, South (Mr. Perry) that the special arrangements would not apply after 1977–78. My right hon. Friend made a further statement on 29th March 1977 in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Cunningham) on the transitional arrangements for parents of students whose child tax allowances are being reduced and who cannot benefit from the proposed adjustment in parental contribution scales.
Special arrangements to ensure that recipients of FIS and other means tested benefits would not be worse off were announced in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, South and Finsbury on 28th January 1977 and the reply by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Education and Science to my hon. Friend the Member for Sowerby (Mr. Madden) on 4th March 64W 1977. Adjustments in student grant arrangements to compensate parents for the reduction of child tax allowances were announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Sunderland, South (Mr. Bagier) on 28th March 1977.—[Vol. 912, c. 284–5; Vol. 918, c. 112–4; Vol. 919, c. 501–6; Vol. 922, c. 643–4; Vol. 927, c. 604; Vol. 929, c. 111–2; Vol. 924, c. 788–90; Vol. 927, c. 328–9; Vol. 929, c. 62–3.]
§ Mr. Patrick Jenkinasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will estimate the total sum paid out as child interim benefit in 1976–77.
§ Mr. Ennals£19 million.