§ Lord Monsonasked Her Majesty's Government:
By how much per week child benefit would be raised in real terms if the wife's earned income allowance were frozen at its present level of £2,005 per annum and the resulting additional revenue diverted to the raising of child benefit, assuming inflation at a constant 5 per cent. per annum.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Arts (The Earl of Gowrie)If, for 1985–86, the wife's earned income allowance was maintained at £2,005 instead of being indexed to £2,105, the direct revenue saving in a full year would be about £115 million. If expenditure on child benefit was increased by a corresponding amount, the resulting increase would be about 20p per week. This estimate assumes that the supplementary benefit scale rates for dependent children would also be increased by a similar amount.