§ Miss Richardsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the answer, Official Report, 3 November 1980, col. 409, about the cost of making the maternity grant non-contributory applied to the whole of the year 1982 or to part of that year only and if so, which part; whether the estimated cost of £1½ million represents only the additional outgoings in benefit to mothers, or whether any administrative savings which may occur because of contribution entitlement no longer having to be checked have also been included; and, if administrative savings were not included in the £1½ million, what these might be in a whole calendar year or whole tax year, whichever is more convenient.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe estimated £1½ million represents the additional benefit expenditure in paying an extra 60,000 maternity grants in any one year period. This cost is expected to be almost wholly offset by savings achieved through transferring administration of the benefit from local offices to the child benefit centre (about £1.2 million a year); and the savings on supplementary benefit (about £0.3 million a year).