§ Mr. Hordernasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of increasing the level of supplementary benefit to the real level in May 1979.
§ Mr. NewtonComparisons between dates other than uprating dates can be misleading and unhelpful depending upon when the comparison is made. Between the November 1978 uprating and the most recent uprating in November 1982 the main supplementary benefit scale rates increased by about 65 per cent., while the retail348W prices index increased by 61 per cent. There has therefore been an increase in the real value of the supplementary benefit rates since this Government took office.