§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what consideration he is giving to extending the use of postal claim forms to reduce the need for claimants to attend in person when claiming benefit; and if he will make a statement.
§ Dr. BoysonFollowing the success of the postal claim form for unemployed claimants, a three-month experiment will start in January 1984 in 14 local offices to test two new postal claim forms for all other claimants to supplementary benefit. Pensioners will be able to choose either to complete a postal claim form or to have an interview in their own homes or at the local DHSS office. Other claimants will usually be asked to attend their local office should they have difficulty in completing the form or should their circumstances be unusual. If the experiment is a success the new forms could be introduced by early 1985. A supplementary benefit postal claim form for use by people involved in a trade dispute will be introduced in December this year.
§ Mr. Frank Fieldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, from the 1981 family expenditure data material, he will estimate the number and percentage of those eligible claiming (a) supplementary allowance and pension, (b) family income supplement and (c) rent and rate rebates; and if he will subdivide each answer according to the different groups of beneficiaries.
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§ Mr. NewtonI regret that I am not yet in a position to give the 1981 take-up figures for supplementary benefit and family income supplement. I hope to be able to give the supplementary benefit figures shortly and those for family income supplement are expected to be available early next year. In the case of rent and rate rebates, overall estimates for 1981 of the proportion of those eligible claiming rent rebates, rent allowances and rate rebates have been published in "Housing and Construction Statistics 1972–82", table 11.3, a copy of which is available in the Library. The data are currently being analysed to show different groups of beneficiaries, and I shall write to the hon. Member as soon as the results are available.
§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will seek to amend the legislation relating to social security payment for household items to reduce the qualifying period for such benefits.
§ Dr. BoysonWe have no plans to relax the conditions prescribed in those regulations in any way that would enable unemployed claimants to obtain single payments, possibly for several hundred pounds, automatically on their obtaining unfurnished accommodation. To do so would put supplementary benefit claimants in a far better position than equivalent groups, such as those in work on low incomes, who are not on supplementary benefit. We have, however, asked the social security policy inspectorate to look at the operation of these particular regulations and will be considering whether any amendments are appropriate in the light of its report.
§ Dr. McDonaldasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the value of child support, including any family allowance child benefit payments, for a two-child family on unemployment benefit, for each year since 1953 (a) as a percentage of the married couple's unemployment benefit rate and (b) as an index number using 1980 as 100.
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§ Mr. NewtonI refer the hon. Member to "Social Security Statistics 1982", a copy of which is in the Library of the House. That gives the rates of unemployment benefit, including the rates of additions for a dependent wife and for children, and the rates of family allowance-child benefit throughout the period from 1953 to date. As the hon. Member may know, the rates will go up next week: unemployment benefit for a couple will be £43.75 a week, and dependency additions plus child benefit for two children will be £13.30 a week. The comparisons sought by the hon. Member can be derived from those figures.