§ Mr. Ovendenasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total value of dependency allowances, child tax allowances and family allowance or child benefit for a working widow with two children in 1977 and 1976; what will be the corresponding value for 1978; and how these figures compare with the value of child tax allowances and family allowance or child benefit for a married man with the same family.
§ Mr. Robert Sheldon, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 8th May 1978; Vol. 949, c. 354], circulated the following answer:
The figures are as follows:
£ per annum Working Widow Married Couple 1976–77 674 243 1977–78 740 254 1978–79 815 335 The figures include the value of child benefits or family allowance, child tax allowances and, for the working widow, the dependency allowance and the partial exemption from income tax of the dependency allowance. The figures are net of tax, at the appropriate basic rate for the year, on widow's benefits and on family allowance, and also take account of the family allowance deduction—"claw-back".
The figures for 1978–79 are based on the Budget proposals and take account of the increased level of child benefits and dependency allowance from November 1978.
It has been assumed that the children are aged under 11.