§ Mrs. Ann TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, under the new rules,(a) the first child of any woman, (b) the first child of any man and (c) the first child of a couple who may separately have other children, will be eligible for child benefit.
§ Mrs. Gillian ShephardIt is proposed that the additional payment of £1 announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State in his statement on 24 October should go to all families receiving child benefit. It will be paid in respect of a child who, at any given time, is the only, elder or eldest child for whom the family is being paid child benefit. The question whether a child is the first child of a woman, man or couple is not of itself a determining factor. If a couple are getting child benefit for other children in their family, for example, from a previous marriage or marriages it will be the elder or eldest child overall who will qualify for the additional payment.