HC Deb 29 April 1986 vol 96 cc377-8W
20. Dr. Marek

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his latest estimate of the saving to Her Majesty's Government of the latest bringing forward of the annual pension and social security upratings.

Mr. Newton

Our proposed change from a November to an April date for the uprating of social security benefits as from 1987 is being effected via an interim uprating in July 1986. The cost of that uprating is estimated to he about £420 million in a full year. It will not be possible to determine what, if any, difference the change of uprating date makes to eventual expenditure on benefits until a comparison can be made between benefit levels at April 1987 and what they would have been if the uprating had continued to be in November.