§ Mr. David Howellasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what arrangements he proposes for the payment of child benefit other than through visits to the post office and whether he will
576W(2) if he will give the figures since 1960 for, (a) the annual number of whooping cough immunisations, (b) the percentage of the appropriate age group vaccinated and (c) the number of notified cases of the disease; and if he will express each of these as index numbers taking the figures for 1960 as 100.
§ Mr. Ennals, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 18th January 1977; Vol. 924, c. 148–9], gave the following information:
The available figures are given in the attached tables. The proportion of notifications relating to persons immunised is not known.
authorise schemes for automatic monthly or quarterly debit to bank accounts where convenient to the recipient.
§ Mr. OrmeI have no proposals at the present time, nor is the payments system yet sufficiently computerised, to pay child benefit in the generality of 577W cases otherwise than by order book encashable at Post Offices. For the longer term, however, as I explained in my reply to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. McCrindle) on 12th November—[Vol. 919, c. 307–8]—the possibility of payments direct to bank accounts is being explored.