Voluntary Unemployment Deductions (Hansard, 19 July 1983)

§ Mr. John

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will publish the instructions issued to local offices on the administration of voluntary unemployment deductions;

(2) if he will instruct the social security policy inspectorate to carry out a follow-up study of voluntary unemployment deductions in six months time;

Description	Amount £	Last Increased
1. Capital limit for voluntary unemployment deduction.	100.00		November 1980
2. Blindness addition	1.25		1962
3. Age addition	0.25		1971
4. Dietary addition	3.35		November 1982
	1.45		November 1982
	9.60		November 1982
5. Weekly cost of laundry above which an additional requirement for laundry can be given.	0.45		November 1982
6. House repairs and insurance allowance	1.70		March 1983
7. Non-dependant deductions	3.95		April 1983
	4.70		April 1983
	2.20		April 1983
8. Non-householders rent addition	3.10		November 1982
9. Minimum amounts of urgent needs payment which may be recovered.	10.00		November 1980
0.50	a week	November 1980
10. Overall minimum benefit amounts payable: where housing benefit not payable	0.10		1966
for strikers	3.00		November 1980
combined payments by Department of Employment	0.50		October 1982
11. Tolerance rule on change of circumstances	0.50		1977
12. Limit on religious requirements for funerals	75.00		November 1978
13. Capital limit for voluntary repatriation expenses	50.00		November 1975
14. Expenses on starting work	35.00		November 1981
15. Disregards: (i) earnings	4.00		November 1975
(ii) earnings, lone parent	First 4.00 plus½		November 1980

120W

(3) what steps he is taking to identify persons from whom supplementary benefit has been wrongfully withheld on grounds of voluntary unemployment;

(4) if he will defer implementation of amendments to the supplementary benefit regulations providing for voluntary unemployment deductions until such time as he is satisfied that administrative procedures have been improved and are being applied correctly;

(5) if he will estimate the total amount of supplementary benefit which has been wrongly withheld on grounds of voluntary unemployment in each of the last three years; and what is the average amount per case;

(6) if he will estimate the number of cases in which supplementary benefit has been wrongly withheld on grounds of voluntary unemployment in each of the last three years.