HC Deb 19 December 1988 vol 144 cc114-5W
12. Mr. Martyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects there to be a 100 per cent. take-up of family credit.

23. Mr. Sedgemore

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects there to be a 100 per cent. take-up of family credit.

34. Mr. Flannery

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects there to be a 100 per cent. take-up of family credit.

56. Mr. Jim Marshall

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he expects there to be a 100 per cent. take-up of family credit.

Mr. Moore

There are two ways in which it is helpful to measure take-up. One is to count the number of recipients; the other is to look at expenditure. So far as recipients are concerned, we expect to do better than the 50 per cent. take-up eventually achieved by family income supplement. Expenditure is already running at slightly more that we estimated, which suggests that families with higher levels of entitlement are coming forward to make their claims. Experience indicates that even with universal benefits it is not realistic to expect all eligible people to claim.

24. Mr. Haynes

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the latest estimate on the take-up of family credit.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

I refer the hon. Member to the reply to the hon. Members for Houghton and Washington (Mr. Boyes) and for Manchester, Blackley (Mr. Eastham) earlier today.

Mr. Wray

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he will urgently take steps to simplify and reduce family credit application forms;

(2) what consideration he is giving to complaints about the size and complication of the family credit application forms.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

We are looking at ways of improving form FC1 and expect to bring a revised version into use in the spring.