§ Mr. David Priceasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of how many extra disabled housewives would be brought into benefit if the criteria for eligibility for disabled housewives were to be made the same as for non-contributory invalidity benefit, namely, inability to perform paid work, without any reference to inability to perform household duties.
§ Mr. Alfred MorrisI regret that the material from which this information could be directly calculated is not available. However, from using the information contained in the OPCS survey of 1969 and the Department's records of the numbers receiving invalidity benefit, including non-contributory benefit, it is estimated that some 240,000 women would become entitled to HNCIP if the household duties test were abolished. Estimates based on the 1976 general household survey and the same Department records suggest the lower figures of 141,000.
Estimates of the number who would qualify for new benefits based on the OPCS survey indicate that the former is the more reliable estimate. It is also a better estimate than I was able to give to my hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Miss Richardson) and the hon. Mem- 548W ber for Woolwich, West (Mr. Bottomley) on 11th May 1978—[Vol. 949, c. 578]—and to the hon. Member for Carlton (Mr. Holland) on 23rd May—[Vol. 950, c. 543–4.]