§ 80. Mr. Allan Rogersasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he has any plans to increase the earnings unemployed people are allowed to retain before losing supplementary benefit.
§ Mr. WhitneyWe have no plans to increase the supplementary benefit earnings disregard for unemployed people. The treatment of earnings is, however, one of the matters examined during the course of the supplementary benefit review, the conclusions of which are currently being considered.
498W(a) manufacturing and (b) services since 1979 to the latest available date in each case, together with the percentage increase in employment and unemployment.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyI have been asked to reply.
Wholly comparable information is not readily available but the following table sets out the available information since 1979 on percentage changes in average hourly earnings, changes in retail prices which may be compared with those of earnings, employment and unemployment.
§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will now instruct his local offices to deposit copies of the current supplementary benefit handbook in each library in their area.
§ Mr. WhitneyNo. As stated in the reply of my hon. Friend the then Minister for Social Security to the hon. Member on 25 May 1984 at columns575–76, we can see no reason why public libraries should not purchase the handbook from HMSO as they do other Government publications.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people of working age claimed supplementary benefit for 12 months and over in (a) the west midlands and (b) the Walsall borough in May 1979; and if he will give the latest figures for the two groups and the percentage difference in each case.
§ Mr. WhitneyFigures showing the number of people in receipt of supplementary benefit for a period of 12 months and over are collected nationally only on a sample basis. Because of the size of the sample no reliable estimates can be produced for local areas such as Walsall borough. Information about regional areas such as west midlands could be produced only at a disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people of working age claimed supplementary benefit in (a) the west midlands and (b) the 499W Walsall borough in May 1979; and if he will give the latest figures for the two groups and the percentage difference in each case.
§ Mr. WhitneyThe numbers of supplementary benefit claims from people of working age which were assessed in west midlands in February 1980 (the earliest figures available), and February 1985 (the latest figures available), are as follows; Walsall borough is covered for supplementary benefit purposes by two DHSS offices; equivalent figures for these offices are also given:
February 1980 February 1985 Percentage variation West Midlands 35,910 32,733 -9 Walsall (East) 793 886 + 12 Walsall (West) 1,657 869 * * These figures cannot be compared because of boundary changes to this local office area in 1983.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the estimated cost of supplementary benefit housing addition payments in respect of mortgage interest in Great Britain in each year from 1982 to 1984; what was the estimated total number of claimants receiving such payments in Great Britain in each year from 1982 to 1984; and how many of these claimants are estimated to have been of working age.
§ Mr. WhitneyDetails of the number of claimants in Great Britain receiving supplementary benefit housing addition payments for mortgage interest and the cost for 1982 and 1983 are as follows:
Total number Cost £ million Number of claimants of working age 1982 235,000 170 189,000 *1983 250,000 not yet available 206,000 * Estimate. There are no figures yet available for 1984.
§ Mrs. Beckettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will place in the Library tables showing, for each supplementary benefit office (a) the number of live cases in each of the three categories, pensioners, unemployed and others, for the most recent month for which information is available and (b) the number of single payments made to claimants in each of these categories by each office in the same month.
§ Mr. WhitneyI am arranging for the information to be placed in the Library as soon as possible.
§ Mr. McTaggartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the Official Report (a) the number of supplementary benefit appeals which were held in Glasgow in each of the last five years for which figures are available, (b) the proportion of the appeals in each year in which the claimants were successful, (c) the proportion of the appeals in each year in which the claimants were repesented and (d) the proportion of successful appeals in each year in which the claimants were represented.
§ Mr. Whitney[pursuant to his reply, 14 February 1985, c. 280]: The information was not recorded for the period 500W prior to 1981 and details for 1984 are not yet available because of the effect of the industrial dispute at Newcastle. The information available is as follows:
Glasgow Tribunals 1981 1982 1983 Appeals heard 1,916 2,726 2,787 Claimants represented 949 1,291 1,254