§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, further to his reply to the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham, 17 July,Official Report, columns 39–40, if he will publish estimates of expenditure on child additions paid with national insurance benefit in 1978–79 and 1988–89.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 27 July 1989]: The value of the child additions paid with national insurance benefits in 1988 was approximately £130 million. A similar estimate for 1978 is not available.
§ Sir Ian GilmourTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his latest esimate of the total numbers of(a) families and (b) persons dependent on income support, housing benefit or family credit; and how the figures are likely to be affected by the community charge benefit.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardPursuant to the holding answer of 24 July 1989, on the basis of the readily available information for 1988, approximately 1⅔ million families with children (including lone parent families) got at least some of their income from income support, family credit and/or housing benefit. The total number of men, women and children (including young persons aged under 19) getting some income from these sources was approximately 12 million. I will write to my right hon. Friend concerning the remaining part of his inquiry.