§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Wolverhampton, North-East, how many of the gainers in the reply to the hon. Member's previous question,Official Report, 10 December 1979, col. 482–4, will not now be gainers because of the decision not to increase short-term social security benefits and therefore not to increase in real terms short-term supplementary benefit rates.
§ Mrs. ChalkerIt is estimated that between 200,000 and 230,000 claimants would not now be gainers on November 1978 information. The amount of the loss is 20p per single person per week and 25p per married couple at 1979 benefit rates. At 1980 benefit rates the loss is 25 or 30p.