§ Mr.Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement setting out the extra expenses for which (a) one-parent benefit is paid and (b) child benefit is paid.
§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 29 June 1981, c. 295]: Neither child benefit nor one-parent benefit is paid for extra expenses of a specific nature. Child benefit is a contribution to wards the costs which all families have in bringing up children. One-parent benefit is an additional contribution towards the extra expenses which lone parents and others bringing up a child alone generally have in maintaining, by themselves, a household containing children.
§ Mr.Dobsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many lone parents are estimated to be entitled to one-parent benefit and would gain from claiming it but are not doing so; and how many lone parents are claiming one parent benefit.
§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 29 June 1981, c. 295]: About 180,000 lone parents are estimated to be entitled to one-parent benefit and would gain if they claimed it. This is the figure I gave in my reply to the hon. Member on 28 October 1980—[Vol. 991, c. 259]—based on November 1979 figures. Later figures are not yet available on which to calculate a more up-to-date estimate. The number of lone parents claiming one-parent benefit at 12 May 1981 was 459,000.