§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the annual cost of making up the shortfall in benefits to (a) pensions and (b) other long-term beneficiaries.
§ Mr. PrenticeIf the November 1979 uprating had been based on a 19.2 per cent. movement of earnings and a 17.5 per cent. Movement of prices—with account being taken of the November 1978 shortfall for long-term benefits—the cost of the uprating in a full year would have been higher by:
486W
(a) in respect of retirement pensions and supplementary pension £145 million (b) in respect of other long-term benefits £50 million
§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the value of flat rate unemployment benefit for a single person, a married couple and a married couple with one child, two and four children as a percentage of gross and net earnings for each year since 1970;
(2) if he will list the value of the supplementary benefit payments made to a single unemployed man, a married couple, and a married couple with one child, two or four children as a percentage of gross and net earnings for each year since 1970.
§ Mr. Prentice[pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1980, c. 775]: I have provided the hon. Member with the "Abstract of Statistics for Index of Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social Security Benefits and Contributions" DHSS December 1979, a copy of which has also been placed in the House of Commons Library. The figures for the years 1970 to 1979 (April) can be obtained from tables 5.3, 6.1b, 6.1c, 6.4b and 6.4c of the abstract. I shall let the hon. Member have comparable figures for November 1979 as soon as possible.