§
Mr. Orme
, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 2nd February 1978; Vol. 943, c. 255–6], gave the following information:
Table 1 below updates Table I of the Supplementary Benefits Commission's evidence to the Diamond Commission; and table 2 provides comparable information for 120 per cent. of supplementary benefit levels. The significance of a child of 15 is no different from that of a 14-year-old, but both tables give information for an additional family type which includes a 16-year-old. Because work expenses vary widely between individuals, their effect has been illustrated separately in table 3.
483W
| TABLE 2 |
| LEVELS OF GROSS WEEKLY EARNINGS AT WHICH TOTAL INCOME SUPPORT IN WORK (NET EARNINGS PLUS CHILD BENEFIT AND FAMILY INCOME SUPPLEMENT, LESS NET RENT AND RATES) IS EQUAL TO TOTAL INCOME SUPPORT AT 120 PER CENT OF SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT SCALE RATE PLUS SCHOOL MEALS AND WELFARE MILK, NOVEMBER 1977 TO MARCH 1978 |
|
|
|
|
Equivalent gross weekly earnings assuming take-up of: |
| Family type |
Number of children |
Ages |
120 per cent. of Supplementary benefit ordinary scale rate plus value of welfare milk and school meals |
All means-tested benefits |
Only rent and rate rebates |
Only FIS and passport |
None |
|
|
|
£ |
£ |
£ |
£ |
£ |
| Single person |
— |
— |
17.40 |
20.20 |
20.20 |
29.50 |
29.50 |
| Married couple |
— |
— |
28.26 |
34.50 |
34.50 |
42.00 |
42.00 |
| Married couple |
1 |
3 |
33.99 |
24.70 |
42.00 |
49.10 |
49.10 |
| Married couple |
1 |
8 |
35.45 |
28.20 |
46.00 |
51.55 |
51.55 |
| Married couple |
2 |
4, 6 |
41.18 |
30.85 |
51.95 |
57.40 |
57.40 |
| Married couple |
2 |
8, 12 |
44.02 |
52.20 |
58.90 |
61.70 |
61.70 |
| Married couple |
2 |
12, 14 |
46.96 |
66.00 |
66.00 |
66.20 |
66.20 |
| Married couple |
3 |
3, 8, 12 |
49.75 |
57.70 |
64.45 |
66.85 |
66.85 |
| Married couple |
3 |
8, 12, 14 |
54.15 |
73.80 |
73.80 |
73.80 |
73.80 |
| Married couple |
4 |
3, 8, 12, 14 |
59.88 |
72.15 |
80.65 |
80.65 |
80.65 |
| Married couple |
4 |
8, 12, 14, 16 |
66.08 |
90.25 |
90.25 |
90.25 |
90.25 |
| Notes: |
| (a) Head of family only in full-time work. |
| (b) The following levels of gross rents and rates have been assumed: |
|
|
|
|
|
Rent |
Rates |
|
|
|
|
|
£ |
£ |
| Single person, married couple |
… |
… |
… |
… |
4.70 |
1.85 |
| Married couples plus 1 child |
… |
… |
… |
… |
5.30 |
2.10 |
| Married couples plus 2 or 3 children |
… |
… |
… |
… |
5.60 |
2.20 |
| Married couples plus 4 children |
… |
… |
… |
… |
6.30 |
2.50 |
| These figures are based on information about average levels of rents and rates for local authority dwellings in England and Wales, collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). |
| (c) Figures in the last 4 columns have been rounded to the nearest 5p. |
| TABLE 3 |
| WORK EXPENSES (see note below) |
|
|
Gross earnings needed to give net income equivalent to that from supplementary benefit |
|
|
(a) |
(b) |
| Family type |
Work expenses |
All means-tested benefits received |
No means-tested benefits received |
|
£ |
£ |
£ |
| Single person |
Nil |
14.50 |
24.70 |
|
1.00 |
16.50 |
26.35 |
|
2.00 |
17.65 |
28.00 |
|
3.00 |
20.50 |
29.65 |
|
4.00 |
24.25 |
31.30 |
| Married couple plus 2 children (aged 4 and 6) |
Nil |
20.80 |
46.55 |
|
1.00 |
21.85 |
48.20 |
|
2.00 |
22.90 |
49.85 |
|
3.00 |
23.90 |
51.50 |
|
4.00 |
25.10 |
53.20 |
| Married couple plus 4 children (aged 8,12,14,16). |
Nil |
43.25 |
73.30 |
|
1.00 |
59.65 |
75.00 |
|
2.00 |
62.35 |
76.65 |
|
3.00 |
65.00 |
78.30 |
|
4.00 |
67.70 |
80.00 |
Since work expenses vary widely, it would be misleading to include them in tables which illustrate the general level of
484W
gross earnings needed to equal the income provided by supplementary benefit. The amount by which gross earnings
485W
needed to be increased to produce an extra net amount equal to the actual work expenses would depend on a number of factors: for example, whether the earner paid tax and NI contributions, or received rent/rate rebates or FIS since each of these is responsive, sooner or later, to changes in gross income. Moreover, families not entitled to free school meals or free welfare milk might become entitled if work expenses were incurred, since such expenses are an allowable deduction in calculating entitlement to these benefits. As examples, the table above shows the gross earnings needed for three family types to obtain equivalent net income from work to that provided by supplementary benefit assuming (a) take-up of all means-tested benefits and (b) no means-tested benefits, at 5 levels of work expenses.