§ Mr. Chris Pattenasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of restoring the death grant to its original 1949 value and abolishing the age restriction on payment of the grant.
§ Mr. PrenticeBased on the movement of the general index of retail prices up to April 1979, the latest month for which figures are available, the present grant would have to be increased to £132 to restore the value it had in 1949, when it was introduced. The cost of paying a grant at this level would be about an extra £55 million a year. To extend the grant at this level to those elderly people who at present qualify for only a half-rate grant or no grant at all would cost a further £12 million a year.