§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many invalidity pensioners receive a dependency addition (a) for a wife and (b) for a husband; and what is the highest earnings disregard which could be set if a common earnings disregard were introduced on a nil cost basis.
§ Mr. Newton[pursuant to the reply, 23 November 1984, c. 524.] The limited statistical information available about the number of wives who might successfully claim 424W an increase of invalidity pension for their husbands suggests that a nil cost common earnings rule base on the 100 per cent. taper which applies to male claimants would be set at between £40 and £45.
§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the net cost of introducing a common earnings rule for adult dependants of invalidity pensioners at (a) £45 a week and (b) at the real value of the earnings disregard at November 1978.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what are the latest available figures for the estimated net cost of introducing a common £45 earnings disregard for adult dependants of invalidity pensioners.
§ Mr. Newton[pursuant to the reply, 28 November 1984, c. 524.] The net annual cost of a common rule at £45.00 a week is estimated to be about £1 million. The net annual cost of a common rule at £79.50 (the 1978 value) would be of the order of £40 million.