§ Mr.Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services for what reason he has decided to spend a different amount on television advertising for one-parent benefit from that spent on family income supplement.
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§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 29 June 1981, c. 295]: It has been the policy of successive Governments to advertise family income supplement since it was intoduced in 1971. Advertising at the time of upratings, including the use of television, has been very effective in attracting claims, the last campaign particularly so. Television advertising is expensive and resources for publicity are limited, but we believe it is right to continue to give priority to publicising FIS in this way. FIS is an important benefit for low paid working families. It provides automatic entitlement—a "Passport"—to free school meals and other means-tested benefits. The average payment is over £11 a week. Many families receive more than this and the maximum amount payable is £17 a week, with an extra £1.50 for each child after the first. Half the recipients of FIS are one-parent families.
The take-up of one-parent benefit, which is payable at £3 a week, is not satisfactory and we are taking steps to improve it. In my reply to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Dr. Thomas) on 10 March—[Vol. 1000, c. 291–92]—1 set out in full the lengthy list of measures already taken to bring OPB to the attention of lone parents. In addition, we have recently changed the name from "child benefit increase" to "one-parent benefit" and we shall write about one-parent benefit as soon as circumstances allow to 300,000 people who may be lone parents because their child benefit order book is issued in one name only. Apart from these initiatives, which I believe will help to stimulate new claims, a TV filler has been prepared and issued to the BBC and the independent television companies; and I have prepared a radio cassette tape about OPB which has been distributed to all local radio stations. Finally, I should like to confirm, that the take-up of one-parent benefit will continue to be reviewed.