§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much an unemployed single person, aged 24 years and who receives (a)heating additions and the average amount of single payment per annum will lose in benefit following the introduction of income support, using the assumptions in paragraph 2.4 of the technical annex of the White Paper, "Reform of Social Security" (Cmnd. 9691), and calculated on (i) a weekly and (ii) a yearly basis.
§ Mr. Newton[pursuant to his reply, 19 December 1985, c. 317–8]: As paragraph 1.45 of the White Paper makes clear, no one then on supplementary benefit would lose cash income at the point of introducing the new scheme because transitional protection will ensure that income support will make up weekly cash income to at least the same level as supplementary benefit did before the change.
I assume however that the hon. Member is seeking information about the underlying entitlement in the cases he postulates. Since two thirds of single unemployed people aged 24 are non-householders, and therefore most unlikely to be receiving a heating addition but likely to be receiving a non-householder addition, any meaningful comparison must look at householders and non-householders separately.
Assuming a basic rate heating addition and average water rates, the current supplementary benefit entitlement of a single 24-year-old unemployed householder would be £33.10; while that of a single 24-year-old non-householder receiving the non-householder addition would be £27.50. In either case, on the illustrative figures contained in the technical annex, the income support rate would be £24. Thus the change in underlying entitlement would be £9.10 a week (£470 a year) for the householder with the heating addition and £3.50 a week (£180 a year) for the non-householder with the housing addition.
These calculations take no account of single payments, since the income support scheme is concerned with weekly payments of benefit.
§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how much a 60 to 79-year-old single pensioner who currently receives (a)diet, (b)clothing,(c)heating additions and (d)the average single payment help will lose under his new income support scheme, using the assumptions in paragraph 2.4 of the technical annex of the White Paper, "Reform of Social Security" (Cmnd 9691);
(2) how much a pensioner couple who both currently receive (a)diet, (b)clothing, (c) heating additions and (d)the average single payment help and are aged between 60 and 79 years will lose under his new income support scheme, using the assumptions in paragraph 2.4 of the technical annex of the White Paper, "Reform of Social Security" (Cmnd 9691).
§ Mr. Newton[pursuant to his reply, 19, December 1985, c. 317–318]:As paragraph 1.45 of the White Paper makes clear, no one then on supplementary benefit would lose cash income at the point of introducing the new scheme because transitional protection will ensure that income support will make up weekly cash income to at least the same level as supplementary benefit did before the change.
742WI assume however that the hon. member is seeking information about the underlying entitlement in the cases he postulates. Assuming the basic rate additions for heating and diet, the estimated average clothing addition, and average water rates, the current supplementary benefit entitlement for those between 60 and 79 is £43.35 for a single pensioner householder, £65.85 for a pensioner householder couple, £3835 for a single pensioner non-householder and £68.35 for a pensioner non-householder couple. On the illustrative figures of the technical annex, income support rates in such cases would be £40.60 for a single pensioner and £63.25 for a pensioner couple receiving the lower pensioner premium, and £42.85 for a single pensioner and £65-45 for a pensioner couple receiving the higher pensioner premium— factors associated with ill-health or disability are among qualifying conditions for the clothing addition referred to by the hon. Member. Thus the difference between the two schemes would range from an increased underlying entitlement of £4.50 a week for a single pensioner non-householder receiving the higher income support premium to a decreased underlying entitlement of £2.75 a week for a single pensioner householder receiving the lower income support premium. No account is taken in these calculations of single payments, since income support is concerned only with regular weekly payments.
It is estimated that fewer than 1 per cent. of pensioners currently receive the combination of additions mentioned in the question.