HL Deb 21 October 1981 vol 424 c833WA
Baroness Faithfull

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether it is legal and appropriate for welfare rights officers to be based in social services departments instead of in supplementary benefits offices.

Lord Elton

Local authority social services departments are empowered to give social support to dependent persons in need; this can include advice and assistance concerning supplementary benefit. A few departments employ welfare rights officers and it is not inappropriate that they should be in the authority's social services department as they give assistance to the local authority's own staff as well as to the public on a wide range of services including supplementary benefit; many of these services are provided by the local authority itself. Advice they may give on benefits complements that provided by the local officers of the Department of Health and Social Security.

SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT SCALE RATES1 AS PERCENTAGE OF AVERAGE NET MALE EARNINGS2
DATE3
Nov. 1966 Oct. 1967 Oct. 1968 Nov. 1969 Nov.2 1970 Nov. 1970 Sept. 1971 Oct. 1972 Oct. 1973 July 1974 April 1975 Nov. 1975 Nov. 1976 Nov. 1977 Nov. 1978 Nov. 1979 Nov.4 1980
ORDINARY SCALE RATE
Single Person 26.6 27.1 26.9 26.6 25.7 23.1 23.8 22.7 22.5 24.0 23.6 24.3 25.3 25.7 23.8 22.9 22.5
Married Couple 41.1 41.9 41.7 41.4 39.9 35.9 37.2 35.6 35.4 37.4 36.7 37.9 39.3 39.4 36.6 35.5 34.9
Married Couple plus one Child (Aged 5–11) 47.1 48.2 48.2 47.8 46.3 41.9 43.0 41.6 41.5 43.6 42.9 44.4 45.9 45.9 42.1 41.0 40.4
Married Couple plus two children(1 aged under 5,1 aged 5–11 50.7 51.8 52.1 51.7 50.4 45.7 47.0 45.5 45.5 47.6 46.7 48.6 50.0 50.4 45.9 46.0 46.6
Married Couple plus four Children (2 under5,2aged5–ll 58.3 59.1 59.4 59.1 58.2 53.4 54.2 53.2 53.6 55.7 54.5 57.1 58.5 59.6 53.5 53.8 55.3
LONG TERM RATES6
Single Person — — — — — — — — 25.6 29.7 29.5 30.5 31.3 31.7 30.4 29.7 28.7
Married Couple — — — — — — — — 39.1 44.8 44.2 46.0 47.3 47.4 45.8 45.0 43.9
Married Couple plus one Child aged (5–11) — — — — — — — — 45.0 50.7 50.1 52.3 53.6 53.6 50.8 50.1 48.9
Married Couple plus two Children (1 aged under 5, 1 aged 5–11 — — — — — — — — 48.9 54.4 53.5 56.1 57.3 57.8 54.2 54.6 54.8
Married Couple plus four Children (2 under 5,2 aged 5–11) — — — — — — — — 56.8 62.0 60.8 64.0 65.2 66.5 61.1 61.7 62.8
NOTES:
(1) Includes age-related heating addition for November 1979 and November 1980 in respect of child aged under 5.
(2) Up to November 1970 (1st entry): based on estimates of gross average weekly earnings of male manual workers (21 and over) derived from Department of Employment's October inquiry, by interpolation where necessary, using seasonally-adjusted index of avearge earnings.From November 1970 (2nd entry): based on estimates of gross average weekly earnings of men in fulltime employment in all occupations in Great Britain, derived from the New Earnings Survey. Deductions made for income tax, national insurance contributions (non contracted out rate) and family allowances/child benefit where appropriate.
(3) Months in which benefit was up-rated.
(4) Provisional figures only for November 1980.
(5) Long-term supplementary benefit scale rates were introduced in October 1973.