§ Mr. Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, what would be the annual cost of (a) paying 16 to 17-year-olds in receipt of supplementary benefit the adult rate of benefit, and maintaining the present distinction between householders and non-householders and (b) paying 16 and 17-year-olds in receipt of supplementary benefit the adult rate of benefit, and paying all those in receipt of benefit at the householder rate.
§ Mrs. Chalker[pursuant to her reply, 14 July 1981]: Sixteen and 17-year-old householders and married couples are already paid at the same rate as adults. The additional cost of paying the adult non-householder rate of benefit to 16 and 17-year-old non-householders is estimated at £28 million annually; to pay them the adult householder rate would cost £58 million. If the householder rate were paid to non-householders generally, regardless of age, the cost would be £152 million. This figure takes no account of those members of special groups—for instance, boarders and residents in local authority homes—for whom such a change might be relevant but for whom an estimate cannot be made without disproportionate expenditure. All figures are based on current benefit rates and December 1980 numbers of claimants and assume that the housing addition for non-householders continues unchanged.