§ Mr. Terence Higginsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many unemployed families with children are receiving supplementary benefit; in how many of them the dependency addition for a wife is reduced because she has income of her own; and if he will estimate the number of unemployed families receiving supplementary benefit where there are one or more children under five and the number in which the dependency addition for a wife is reduced because she has income of her own.
§ Mr. Newton[pursuant to his reply, 17 March 1983, c. 245–6]: Entitlement to supplementary benefit is assessed on the basis of the requirements and resources of the family as a whole. A wife's income therefore serves, subject to any disregard, to reduce or extinguish the amount of supplementary benefit payable for the family.
The information requested is not available in relation to income from all sources but only in relation to earnings. £4 a week of a wife's net earnings are disregarded. The following information relates to unemployed families receiving supplementary benefit at December 1981:
All Wife's earnings exceed £4 Unemployed families with children 370,000 39,000 Unemployed families with at least one child under 5 208,000 7,000