§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish tables employing the assumptions in his answer to the hon. Member for Bradford, West (Mr. Madden) on 22 June 1988,Official Report, columns 575–80, but using expenditure and benefit figures appropriate for families in Greenock and Port Glasgow, together with a column showing the extent of the difference resulting from the April 1988 social security changes.
§ Mrs. Gillian Shephard[holding answer 12 February 1990]: I regret that the information requested is not available for Greenock and Port Glasgow. Moreover, the passage of time and subsequent changes to the benefit system have rendered increasingly meaningless any attempt to make hypothetical comparisons between what people get now and what they might have got under a system which was almost universally recognised as being riddled with anomalies and failing to target help sensibly. With this in mind, the Government do not intend to publish tables making such comparisons any longer.