§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for Social Services which of the Social Security Advisory Committee's reports listed in his reply of 25 October, Official Report, 726–8, to the hon. Member for Oldham, West were not implemented in whole or in part.
§ Mr. Newton[pursuant to his reply, 30 November 1984, c. 625]: All the committee's reports have been implemented in whole or in part. A total of 21 reports on draft amendment regulations have been published, as listed in my answer to the hon. Member on 25 October. These have covered over 300 changes in social security legislation, some of which have referred to wider policy issues also covered in the committee's two annual reports. The overwhelming majority of proposals relating to draft regulations have been implemented, either directly or by meeting in other ways the point of concern which led the committee to make them. The major exception is that we did not accept the committee's recommendation (Cmnd. 9150 and 9155) to withdraw proposed housing benefit and related changes earlier this year; we did however make a number of important changes responding to the committee's more detailed comments and suggestions. Other proposals we have not felt able to accept, for reasons 228W which are set out in the appropriate government responses to the committee, have included recommendations for extended rights of appeal on weekly payment of child benefit (Cmnd. 8453); reconsidering withdrawal of child benefit for certain young people in temporary full-time work (Cmnd. 8586); writing off unrecovered overpayments after the same period as for ordinary civil debts (Cmnd. 8656); withdrawing for further consideration a provision to restrict application of the lower rate of deduction from benefit in cases of voluntary unemployment (Cmnd. 8978); and certain modifications on single payments for hospital visiting, assistance with house repair and maintenance, and reimbursement of travelling expenses to local offices (Cmnd. 9296).
Of the benefit policy recommendations in the committee's first annual report, published in 1982, 10 out of 14 have subsequently been implemented in whole or in part: these were the preservation in real terms of supplementary benefit, family income supplement and child benefit; the restoration of the 2 per cent. shortfall in benefits; the restoration of child benefit to its April 1979 level; the restoration of the 5 per cent. abatement of unemployment benefit; the eradication of the invalidity trap; and the preservation of the real value of the supplementary benefit capital cut-off and the capital limit for supplementary benefit single payments. We have taken steps to improve the advice and information service given in local offices, and although the committee's recommendation to extend the long-term rate of supplementary benefit to all those unemployed for more than a year remains on the table, we have been able to go some way towards it by enabling unemployed people over 60 on supplementary benefit to claim the long-term rate immediately.
Of the new recommendations in the committee's second report, published in 1983, we have been able to abolish the household duties test for housewives' noncontributory invalidity pension through the introduction of the new severe disablement allowance, and as my right hon. Friend recently announced, we shall be making good the 5 per cent. abatement of invalidity benefit made in lieu of taxation. The remaining recommendations largely relate to matters that are under consideration in the current social security reviews.