§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services in each year since its introduction, what has been the gross and net saving from the change in supplementary benefit rules which delayed the entitlement of school leavers until one of three terminal dates, showing separately the savings from 16, 17, 18 and 19-year-olds; and what would be the cost of reversing this change in a full year at 1985–86 benefit rates.
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§ Mr. NewtonNo separate records are kept of claims to benefit by school leavers and the information requested is not therefore available.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in each year since its introduction, what has been the saving fom the removal of a parent's right to child benefit where a school or college leaver obtains a job or a place on a Manpower Services Commission scheme before the relevant terminal date; and what would be the cost of reversing this change in a full year at 1985–86 benefit rates.
§ Mr. NewtonThe change, from 31 May 1982, produced savings of about £9 million in the first year. It is estimated that the cost of reversing this change during 1985–86 would be of the order of £11 million.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, in each year since its introduction, what has been the saving from counting as a resource of their parents (a) the earnings and (b) the training allowances of school leavers before their terminal date; and what would be the cost of reversing these changes in a full year at 1985–86 benefit rates.
§ Mr. NewtonFor supplementary benefit purposes income, including training allowances but excluding earnings, received by a dependent child has for many years been taken into account in determining his parents' entitlement to benefit but only up to the level of the child's own requirements; any excess is completely disregarded. Until 1984, all earnings received by a dependent child were completely disregarded but, by virtue of Regulation 3(6) of the Supplementary Benefit (Requirements and Resources) Amendment Regulations 1984, from 26 November 1984 the full-time earnings of a school leaver have been taken into account up to the level of his own requirements, any balance being ignored.
Information about the actual amount of benefit saved as the result of these provisions is not available but it is estimated that if no account was taken of either the earnings or training allowances received by school leavers the additional cost at 1985–86 benefit rates would be about £1.5 million and £0.4 million respectively.