§ Mr. Kirkwoodasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will outline the present arrangements for 500W gathering proof of earnings for the purpose of family income supplement claims and indicate what changes will be made to these procedures with the implementation of family credit.
§ Mr. MajorUnder the present family income supplement scheme, claimants are asked to supply wage slips in support of their claim, normally for the five pay weeks preceding the date of claim or two months in the case of the monthly paid. Where wage slips are not supplied or the information on them is inadequate, information is sought from the employer. In practice, most claimants fail to provide wage slips, or the correct ones. The White Paper, "Reform of Social Security", Cmnd. 9691, indicated that the Government had decided that evidence of normal earnings in family credit cases will be sought direct from employers. We are still considering whether this will be necessary on every claim.