HC Deb 19 February 1981 vol 999 c197W
Mr. Dobson

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services when the earnings limit for claimants was set at £3.99; and what it would be now if it had been raised in line with the retail price index.

Mrs. Chalker

The earnings disregard for supplementary benefit was standardised at £4 per week in November 1980, as part of the reform of the supplementary benefits scheme. If raised in line with the retail price index it would now be £4.05. Before November 1980, the disregard was £2 for those people who were required to register for work and £4 for others—apart from lone parents who have a special higher disregard which was considerably improved in November 1980. Those figures were set in November 1975 and would be £3.85 and £7.69 respectively if raised in line with the retail price index.

The special higher disregard of earnings for lone parents is £4 plus half of additional earnings up to a total of £20. Thus a lone parent with earnings of £16 would have £10 of it disregarded, and with earnings of £20, £12 would be disregarded.