§ Mr. Chris Smithasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury on 12 December 1986, Official Report, column 286, indicating for various income bands the entitlement to standard housing benefit of a one-child family with one working partner, he will indicate what figure was used in calculating the benefit amounts listed in the table for the amount of housing benefit included in the family income.
§ Mr. LyellI am not sure which figure the hon. Member is seeking. In answering his earlier question we carried out the normal standard housing benefit calculation as follows:
- (a) the weekly rent was £16.00, so the 60 per cent. starting point was £9.60;
- (b) the needs allowance applicable to a one-child family was £85.45;
- (c) the various income bands were converted to weekly amounts by dividing by 52; the earnings disregard of £17.30 was then subtracted to give assessable income;
- (d) the starting point at (a) was then increased or decreased by the appropriate taper; 25 per cent. of the difference between the assessable income and the needs allowance for the first three bands, whose
533 income was below the needs allowance; and 29 per cent. of the difference for the last two bands, whose income was above; - (e) finally, the minimum payment rule of 50 pence was applied in the case of the last income band.