§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the estimate that 110,000 more people will claim supplementary benefit as a result of the Social Security (No. 2) Bill takes account of the rate of non-take-up of supplementary benefit; and, if it does, what is his estimate of the total number who will become eligible for supplementary benefit as a result of the Bill.
§ Mrs. ChalkerYes: from recent experience we are assuming a take-up rate of about three-quarters of those eligible.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claimants of national insurance benefits will become eligible for supplementary benefit as a result of the fact that child 88W support for this group will fall in real value in November.
§ Mrs. ChalkerIt is difficult to quantify the effect separately from other changes, but the estimate of the additional numbers expected to become eligible for supplementary benefit might have been some 5–10,000 fewer if the real value of child support for national insurance beneficiaries had been maintained at November 1979 levels.