§ 23. Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on his Department's spending plans as outlined in "The Government's Expenditure Plans 1989–92", Cm. 615.
§ Mr. ScottWe plan to increase spending on social security from £47.6 billion in 1988–89 to £51 billion in 1989–90, rising to almost £60 billion in 1991–92. This programme is by far the largest in Government, accounting for over 30 per cent. of the total.
The plans imply a growth rate in spending on benefits of over 2 per cent. each year above the assumed increase in prices. This is on top of the 33 per cent. real terms increase in expenditure on social security which has taken place since 1978–79. The plans also take account of the continuing fall in unemployment, which more than accounts for the £900 million fall in expenditure this year, compared with previous plans, and which saves over £1.5 billion in each of the next three years. This has enabled us to keep the planning total for 1988–89 much the same as in previous plans despite plans to spend more on other parts of the programme, in particular on benefits for the long-term sick and disabled, where spending has already increased by over 90 per cent. in real terms since we took office in 1979.
The extra package of help for poorer pensioners which we announced on 24 November last year is additional to the programme described in the White Paper. This adds almost £100 million to the totals in 1989–90 and £200 million a year thereafter.
It is thanks to the growth in the economy and to the success of our economic policies that the country is able to afford the massive resources devoted to social security spending which are detailed in the White Paper.