HC Deb 01 March 1989 vol 148 cc206-7W
Mr. Nellist

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many copies of his Department's booklet "How to be Better off in Work" were printed, and at what cost; how many copies were distributed to his Department's offices; and, of these, how many were issued to the public and how many remain in stock.

Mr. Lee

The production and distribution of the booklet were as follows:

Number of booklets printed 3,000,000
Cost £98,395
Number of booklets distributed to Employment Service Offices 1,768,000
The balance is in stock.

A publicity campaign to explain in-work benefits ran from 15 August to 24 October 1988. It is recorded that some 550,000 copies were issued to the public during that period.

Mr. Nellist

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will revise his Department's booklet "How to be Better off in Work", to include(a) an example of an income support claimant with a mortgage, (b) mention of the taper affecting withdrawal of benefits as wages rise and (c) a warning that claimants who take low-paid employment who then leave because they are financially worse off risk a 26-week period of reduced income support.

Mr. Lee

The purpose of the booklet "How to be Better off in Work" is to show unemployed people that finding a job need not mean losing out on benefits. The booklet is intended to be a simple illustrative guide. It would not be possible to cover within this format every circumstance which might affect an individual's entitlement. That is why unemployed people are advised in the booklet to contact their local unemployment benefit office or jobcentre for further information.

Mr. Nellist

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will revise his Department's booklet "How to be Better off in Work", to take account in the family examples given of costs of travelling to work, and the loss of free school meals and free milk for the under-five-year-olds abolished by the Social Security Act 1988; what rates were used, and why different rent and rates figures were used for each example in the current edition of the booklet.

Mr. Lee

Travel-to-work costs are not included in the examples in the booklet "How to be Better off in Work", as they vary widely and many people do not have to pay them. The examples clearly state that only the out-of-work families are entitled to free school meals and milk tokens. The rent and rates figures were based on the 1987 average of all local authority rent and rates in Great Britain uprated by the retail prices index which gives a figure of £27.14; the booklet gives examples both above and below this figure.