§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the number of Sick and disabled dependants on supplementary benefit for each year since 1970, together with (a) the number of dependants, and (b) the number of claimants drawing (i) invalidity pensions and (ii) non-contributory invalidity pension.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI regret that the information requested in the first part of the question is not available. Information about the receipt of invalidity etc. pension from 1971–1978 by supplementary404W benefit claimants is given in the table below.
During the same period about 1,000 wives of supplementary benefit claimants were receiving invalidity pension—apart from 1973, when the number fell below 500—and in 1978 about 2,000 wives of supplementary benefit claimants were receiving housewives' non-contributory invalidity pension.
SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT CLAIMANTS RECEIVING INVALIDITY ETC. PENSION Year (November / December) Number receiving invalidity pension Number receiving non contributory invalidity pension 1971 118,000 — 1972 111,000 — 1973 92,000 — 1974 72,000 — 1975 54,000 40,000 1976 48,000 47,000 1977 45,000 43,000 1978 42,000 50,000 1979 Not yet available