HC Deb 11 March 1988 vol 129 cc405-7W
Mr. Gregory

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide estimates of net weekly spending power, both under the present system of supplementary benefit and under the new system of income support, for each of the following illustrative cases: (i) a lone parent, living in rented acommodation, who has been claiming benefit for herself and two dependent children aged four and 11 for three months, (ii) a lone parent, living in mortgaged accommodation, who has been claiming benefit for herself and three children aged under 10 years for a period of six months, one of the children is disabled and receives attendance allowance and help with heating and laundry, (iii) a lone parent, living in rented accommodation, who has been claiming benefit for herself and one child aged 12 for less than a year and who has part-time earnings of £25 a week, (iv) a single unemployed man aged 30 years living with parents, (v) a pensioner aged 76 years, living in her daughter's household and receiving additional supplemantary requirements for diet and heating, (vi) a single woman aged 26 years, living in her parents' home, who receives a severe disability allowance and who needs extra heating, (vii) an unemployed householder with a wife and a child aged three years living in rented accommodation and (viii) a single man aged over 25 years who is sick, entering a new claim and living in rented accommodation, with a net weekly spending power defined as income after payment, where appropriate, of any housing costs, and assuming that householders have average local authority rents and rates representative of the income support client groups.

Mr. Portillo

The answers are as follows:

man aged 28 years, sick for seven months needing an extra allowance for laundry and diet and who lives in his own house, (iv) a single man, living alone in rented accommodation, who has been disabled for over a year and who has an attendance allowance and additional assistance with heating and diet, (v) an unemployed man whose wife is sick and receives a severe disablement allowance and help with heating and laundry, (vi) a pensioner aged 82 years living in rented accommodation,

(vii) a pensioner aged 82 years with a wife aged 77 years who is an owner-occupier, with net weekly spending power defined as income after payment, where appropriate, of

Net Weekly Spending Power1 April 1988 Illustrative Income Support Cases2
Supplementary Benefit3 £ Income Support £ Change £
(l) Sick man paying a mortgage, non-working wife, 2 children aged 3, claiming 8 months 78.23 97.70 +19.47
(ii) Unemployed man, non-working wife, 3 children aged 3, 11 and 12, local authority accommodation 96.13 100.55 +4.42
(iii) Single man aged 28, sick 7 months, additional requirements for laundry and diet, owner-occupier 40.61 46.45 +5.84
(iv) Single man, living alone, rented accommodation, attendance allowance and additional requirements for heating and diet, disabled over a year 71.83 93.20 +21.37
(v) Unemployed man, wife sick, receiving a severe disability allowance with additional requirements for heating and laundry 61.25 70.05 +8.80
(vi) Pensioner aged 82, rented accommodation 42.93 46.45 +3.52
(vii) Pensioner aged 82, wife aged 77, owner-occupier 69.40 70.05 +0.65
1 Net weekly spending power is defined as income after payment of housing costs (rent or mortgage and local authority rates—where appropriate).
2 All other main assumptions as in "Impact of the Reformed Structure of Income Related Benefits", October 1987, except where detailed assumptions have been specified elsewhere.
3 April 1987 net spending power on supplementary benefit has been uprated to April 1988 hypothetical levels by the retail price index excluding housing.