§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will extend the provisions of the dependent relative allowance to those persons who have now suffered the bereavement of a dependent 666W number of different questionnaires sent out by his Department and agencies responsible to it to companies and self-employed business people; and how many of each sort were sent out for the most recent year for which information is available.
§ Mr. Bruce Millan, pursuant to his reply[Official Report, 18th July 1977; Vol. 935, c. 340], gave the following information
In the past 12 months, six questionnaires have gone out from the Scottish Economic Planning Department itemised as follows:
Subject Number of recipients 1. Oil-related work in Scotland 700 2. Survey of openings of new manufacturing establishments. 130 3 Quarterly output survey 4x20 4 5 6 In 1976 the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland issued questionnaires as follows:
relative and who are over retiring age, and in consequence of their service in looking after the dependent relative cannot now obtain a full State pension.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisI understand that the hon. Member has in mind the invalid care allowance. An important advantage of the receipt of this allowance below pensionable age—65 for a man, 60 for a woman—is that is carries with it the right to class 1 national insurance credits, which safeguard the beneficiary's future rights to contributory benefits, including retirement pension. The allowance continues over pensionable age if there is no 667W title to retirement pension at a higher rate than the invalid care allowance and provided that the qualifying conditions continue to be satisfied. Invalid care allowance will be continued beyond "retiring age"—70 for a man, 65 for a woman—even if for any reason the beneficiary's caring role ceases, provided that there was entitlement to the allowance immediately before "retiring age".
We have no proposals to extend these provisions.