§ Mr. MacGregorasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the revenue cost of child tax allowances in 1973–74 and the net expenditure cost of family allowances in that year; what is that sum adjusted for the rise in the retail price index between April 1973 and the present; and what is the revenue cost of child tax allowances and the expenditure cost of child benefit during 1977–78.
§ Mr. Robert SheldonThe full cost of child tax allowances in 1973–74 was £890 million. The cost of family allowances in156W that year, less the yield from tax on family allowances and clawback, was £180 million. The sum of these, adjusted for the rise in the retail prices index between April 1973 and April 1977, is £2,100 million. The cost of child tax allowances and child benefit in 1977–78 is £1,825 million.