§ Mrs. Chalkerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will revise his estimate of the number of invalidity pensioners not claiming dependency allowances in view of the recent Office of Population Censuses and Surveys' survey finding on prolonged sickness levels;
(2) if, in the light of the findings of the recent Office of Population Census and Surveys' survey into prolonged sickness that between 65 per cent. and 71 per cent. of informants were married men, he will revise the assumption in the paper submitted by his Department to the Committee on Social Security (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill that the proportion of married male invalidity pensions was 10 per cent. less than in the population as a whole.
§ Mr. OrmeNo. The Government's estimate is based on the assumption that, at each age, the proportion of male invalidity pensioners who are married is 10 per cent. less than the corresponding proportion for all males in the population. This assumption is not inconsistent with the information about the proportion of male informants who were married at Table 3.1 of the report on "Prolonged Sickness and The Return to Work", to which the hon. Member refers.