SUPPLEMENTARY BENEFIT 1979: TAKE-UP ESTIMATES (Hansard, 5 April 1982)

§ Lord Elton

Information is given below, including revised estimates based on further analysis of the original data from the 1977 Family Expenditure Survey (FES).

It is too early to judge whether the reformed scheme introduced in November 1980 will have a significant effect on take-up levels. However, we are already seeking actively to promote take-up in the following ways:

we issue an invitation to claim to retirement pensioners and widows;

we are revising the Supplementary Benefits Handbook, the layman's guide to the scheme, directed at claimants and their advisers;

general leaflets and posters are on display at post offices and social security offices;

from the beginning of this year, leaflet SB1 has been issued to all unemployed claimants.

We also aim to co-operate as fully as possible at local level with take-up campaigns organised by local authorities, to whom in turn we look for help to ensure that the impact of extra work fits in with all the other tasks which local offices have to perform.

In the light of the new information about rates of take-up among sick and disabled beneficiaries, we now propose a further step. We are arranging for the leaflet SB1 to be issued to all sickness benefit claimants on the first review of their sickness benefit claim (not later than two calendar months from the outset). When the statutory sick pay (SSP) scheme comes into operation, the leaflet will be issued on transfer of the case to DHSS when SSP entitlement is exhausted. So far as pensioners are concerned, although the figures show some drop in percentage take-up between 1977 and 1979, the average amount unclaimed rose little in money terms and therefore fell significantly in real terms. The 7 per cent. increase (from £2.90 to £3.10) compares with a 27 per cent. increase in the long-term scale rate from November 1976 to November 1978.

The indications are that most of the additional pensioners with unclaimed entitlement are receiving housing rebates or allowances. For them in particular the introduction of housing benefit should improve the position. Our proposals include enhanced tapers for pensioners with incomes below the needs allowance and an improvement in the needs allowance for all pen- 109WA

ESTIMATES OF TAKE-UP OF SUPPLENTARY BENEFIT FOR 1979
	Total likely to be entitled(000's)	Proportion receiving benefit	Number eligible but not receiving benefit(000's)	£ million per annum Estimated Benefit unclaimed	Average Weekly Amount Unclaimed
(i) Pensioners	2,590	65%	900	145	£03.10
(ii) Non-pensioners^*—total	1,420	78%	320	210	£12.70
(iii) Sick and Disabled	300	63%	110	90	£15.40
(iv) Unemployed	700	81%	130	70	£10.50
(v) One-parent families not included in (iii) & (iv)	370	85%	60	30	£10.20
TOTAL for all groups	4,010	70%	1,210	355	£5.60

Original and revised estimates of take-up for 1977: (O = Original estimate, R = revised estimate)
	Total likely to be entitled (000s)	Proportion receiving benefit	Numbers (000's) eligible but not receiving benefit	Estimated benefit (£ million per annum) unclaimed	Average Weekly Amount Unclaimed
		O	R†	O	R†	O	R†	O	R†
(i) Pensioners	2,320	73%	72%	610	650	100	100	£03.10	£2.90
(ii) Non-Pensioners^*—total	1,680	76%	79%	420	350	245	165	£11.00	£9.10
(iii) Sick and Disabled	290	87%	73%	30	80	15	40	£8.00	£9.80
(iv) Unemployed	950	81%	79%	170	200	90	90	£10.10	£8.70
(v) One-parent families not included in (iii) &(iv)	380	89%	87%	40	50	20	25	£10.50	£9.30
TOTAL-all groups	4,000	74%	75%	1,030	1,000	340	265	£6.30	£510
Footnotes
^*This total is slightly greater than the sum of lines (iii), (iv) and (v) since they include a small residual group of miscellaneous cases.
†The original 1977 estimates included provision for an unanalysed residual group whose take-up rate was estimated to be 19 per cent. The Supplementary Benefits Commission expressed doubts about this group, and in their 1978 Annual Report indicated that the 1979 FES analysis ought to provide more information. The work has suggested that two-thirds of the group should be excluded because there were no grounds on which to base an assumption that they might have made a successful claim for benefit: and that the remaining third should be re-classified to the sick and disabled group (though all had jobs to return to, and, at interview, 66 per cent. had been absent from work for two weeks or less).Thus the main difference between the original and revised 1977 estimates is the lower take-up figure for this group.

sioners. These changes will lead to some reduction both in the numbers with resources below supplementary benefit level after meeting residual housing costs and in the amounts of potential entitlement of the remainder. We are actively discussing with the local authority associations possible ways of identifying, and 110WA informing, housing benefit claimants who might also have title to supplementary benefit.

House adjourned at twenty-three minutes before ten o'clock.