§ Mr. Durantasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the current gross cost of making the widowed mothers' allowance non-contributory 24W and what would be the savings in other benefits, the extra costs in housing rebates, and the extra income from income tax.
§ Mr. RossiIt is estimated that the current gross cost of making widowed mothers' allowance non-contributory would be about £15 million a year, and that about half this amount would be saved in other benefits. I am sorry that information on the extra costs which would be incurred in housing rebates is not readily available. Nor is it possible to estimate the extra income from income tax, although it is thought that the amount would be very small.