§ Mr. JohnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what proportion of claims for invalid care allowance are abated wholly or partly by receipt of other state benefits.
§ Mr. JohnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how many claims from married women, cohabiting women and women separated from their husbands have been refused because the overlapping benefit they receive exceeds the amount they would have received in invalid care allowance.
§ Mr. Scott[holding answer 2 November 1987]: I regret that the requested information is not available. Since June 1986, when the allowance was extended to married and cohabiting women, some 2,270 claims from women have been disallowed on account of the payment of other social security benefits which equal or exceed the weekly rate of invalid care allowance.
§ Mr. JohnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the additional cost to the public funds of paying invalid care allowance in full to all successful claimants, irrespective of what other state benefits they receive.
§ Mr. Scott[holding answer 2 November 1987]: I regret that information on which an estimate could be made is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.