§ Miss MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services how he intends to publicise the major benefit changes due to take place in April, including the replacement of supplementary benefit and family income supplement with income support and family credit; and whether such publicity will be made available in the major ethnic minority languages.
§ Mr. PortilloThe Department is taking several measures to ensure that this April's social security reforms receive adequate publicity.
A series of factsheets on the social security reforms have been produced and are available free of charge to members of the public from social security offices.
Next month there will be an advertising campaign in the regional press on the new housing benefit scheme. Similar campaigns will follow in March to publicise the introduction of income support (national press), the new arrangements for widows (regional press), and the introduction of family credit (national press). The family credit campaign will also feature a TV commercial.
Posters will publicise the changes in main post offices and social security offices, and copies of these will be sent to other agencies for display. Leaflets are being redesigned and rewritten in line with the Department's communications strategy of improving the quality of information on social security benefits. The leaflets will be available from the usual outlets.
There are no plans at present to issue additional publicity in minority languages specifically on the reforms. However, there will be a new translation of the English-language leaflet FB 2 "Which benefit?", which will be published later this year in seven languages. This will provide a general overview of all social security benefits including the reformed ones.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services which categories of recipients of benefits will gain a special payment following the discovery of the error in the retail prices index; and how many claimants of each benefit will so qualify.
§ Mr. ScottThe benefits which qualify a recipient for a special payment in the first week of February and the numbers of recipients of each are shown in the table. A recipient may qualify under more than one benefit.
381W
Qualifying benefits for February special payment and number of recipients of each (thousands) Number Attendance Allowance 635 Industrial Death Benefit 30 Industrial Disablement Benefit 200 Invalid Care Allowance 105 Invalidity Benefit 995 Mobility Allowance 495 Retirement Pension 9,725 Severe Disablement Allowance 265 Supplementary Pension 1,875 War Pensions 265 Widows' Benefits 380 In addition, the few thousand people who receive child's special allowance, guardian's allowance, or benefit under the pneumoconiosis and byssinosis and workmen's compensation schemes will receive special payments.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services which categories of recipients of benefits will not gain a special payment following the discovery of the error in the calculation of the retail prices index; and how many claimants are currently drawing these benefits.
§ Mr. ScottAffected benefits for which no special payment will be made and the estimated number of recipients of each are shown in the table. Beneficiaries may be receiving more than one of these benefits or they may be receiving them in addition to a benefit which qualifies for the special payment.
Benefits affected by the error in the retail price index for which no special payment will be made and the estimated number of recipients of each (thousands). Number Family Income Supplement 210 Housing Benefit 7,000 Maternity Allowance 40 Sickness Benefit 90 Supplementary Allowance 3,285 Unemployment Benefit 845