§ Mr. Nellistasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will reintroduce the full entitlement to supplementary benefit to the current summer's school leavers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonSupplementary benefit entitlement for a school leaver commences from a set "terminal date" at the end of the holiday following the child's final term at school. This sytem was introduced to avoid the previous complicated and administratively costly situation where a large number of short-term claims to benefit were received from children who subsequently decided to return to school. Child benefit and any appropriate dependency additions remain payable to the parents in the interim. The system works well and we have no plans to change it.