§ 32. Mr. AlisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security by how much spending on income-related benefits for families with children has increased since April 1988.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardEstimated expenditure on income-related benefits for families with children increased by some £280 million in cash terms between 1988–89 and 1989–90. This figure represents the latest available cash estimate based on the annual statistical inquiry and the public expenditure White Paper 1990. It excludes housing benefit paid to unemployed families with children, as this figure cannot be separately identified. It also excludes forecast expenditure for the current financial year.
Taking into account the additional annual expenditure on family credit compared with family income supplement, the real increases in children's rates in the income-related benefits in April 1989 and the real increases in the income support family premium and adult credit in family credit in the current financial year, the provision—including forecast spending for families with children —now amounts to over £350 million a year extra in real terms compared with the position before the reforms were introduced in April 1988.