Mr. R. C. Mitchellasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make arrangements to ensure that parents with children over the age of 19 years who are still at school, and therefore do not receive student grants, do not have their child tax allowance reduced in connection with the introduction of the child benefit scheme.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 4th March 1977; Vol. 927, c. 357], gave the following information:
I do not think this would be justified. Only a small minority of children stay at school beyond the age of 19, and within the same tax year most of these either enter employment, when their earnings will usually, in any case, extinguish their parent's entitlement to child tax allowance, or become students for whom other arrangements have been prepared.