§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will request the Social Security Advisory Committee to publish an annual statistical digest in a single volume detailing information pertaining to the operation of the national insurance supplementary benefit and family income supplement schemes for Grew Britain and Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. NewtonThe first report of the Social Security Advisory Committee—"Social Security Advisory Committee Report 1981"—contained several tables covering both Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The analyses included social security expenditure by individual benefits, source of social security finance, take-up estimates of supplementary benefit and family income supplement and the proportion of each population receiving certain benefits.
Comprehensive statistics relating to national insurance benefits, supplementary benefit and family income supplement are published annually in "Social Security Statistics" for Great Britain and, for Northern Ireland, in "Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics". As the information is already available, I would not be justified in requesting the Social Security Advisory Committee to prepare an additional publication.
Copies of all these publications are placed in the Library of the House.