§ Mr. Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will consider making a range of partial social security benefits available for those who do part-time jobs.
§ Dr. BoysonAs is indicated in the Department's leaflet NI 242 which I am sending to my hon. Friend, a number of benefits are already available to people in part-time work. We have no plans to extend the range in present circumstances.
§ Mr. Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will review the arrangements under which men and women looking only for part-time jobs may be entitled to full unemployment benefit for up to 12 months.
§ Dr. BoysonTo be entitled to unemployment benefit, claimants must be available for work. People seeking part-time work will still be eligible for benefit, for those days on which they are available for work, if, despite the restrictions on the hours they are prepared to work, they nevertheless have reasonable prospects of getting such work. I have no proposals for altering these arrangements.
§ Mr. Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will change the present arrangements under which those who refuse suitable employment without good grounds are still entitled to supplementary benefit which, with the addition of social security benefits, may total more than unemployment benefit.
§ Dr. BoysonWhere a claimant refuses a suitable job without good cause and that job remains open to him, he is not entitled to supplementary benefit under Regulation 8(1)(c) of the Supplementary Benefit (Conditions of Entitlement) Regulations. Where the job is no longer available, supplementary benefit is subject to a reduction. Regulations now before the House increase the rate of that reduction in certain categories of cases.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what percentage of the United Kingdom population was in receipt of state benefits other than child benefit in each of the last 10 years.
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§ Dr. BoysonI regret that the information is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Wilsonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what extent over the past two years social security, state pensions and other benefits have kept in line with price rises; and if he will publish figures.
§ Dr. BoysonI refer the hon. Member to tables 5.1 to 5.10 of the Department's "Abstract of Statistics for Index of Retail Prices, Average Earnings, Social Security Benefits and Contributions" (June 1983), a copy of which is in the Library. These show for each uprating date to November 1982 the equivalent value of the principal benefit rates in November 1982 prices and give the proposed benefit rates for November 1983. Figures showing the equivalent value of benefit rates in November 1983 prices will not be available until the retail price index figures for that month are published.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services by what criteria he decides whether to take steps to identify persons who have been underpaid benefits as a result of unacceptable failures of administrative procedures.
§ Dr. BoysonI assume that the hon. Member has in mind failure to refund voluntary unemployment deduction after a favourable decision by an insurance officer. I would refer him to my replies to the hon. Member for Pontypridd (Mr. John) on 21 July.—[Vol. 46, c.212–14.]